CHAPTER 22: HEAL WHAT'S BROKEN

The Universal Keeper medical team that Theas requisitioned was efficient.

There were twenty-two of them, two for each of us, and they stormed in like Navy SEALs and began their work. They wore dark-blue suits that resembled haz-mat suits, except less bulky, and they had what looked like astronauts' helmets that only showed their faces. I expected them to use Focal Inverters, but that wasn't the case. I heard one of them saying to her colleague that we would certainly experience Chronology Rifts, causing all of our injuries to return. Instead, they took what looked like metal detection wands all across our bodies, scanning for injuries both inside and out. I watched as the two people attending to me took in all the information and compiled a treatment plan.

"Alright, we have treatment rooms set up this way," said the woman known as Jovri. "Come on."

I glanced over at Sarah, who stood on the other side of the room, behind most of the Anomalies, watching me while holding back tears. I tried to give her a reassuring look that likely only came out as a pained grimace, and I rose to my feet and followed the medical staff down the hall. We passed the residential areas and entered a room that looked markedly similar to the one I was in after I came back from Vanuatu.

"Take your clothes off, please," Jovri requested. "You can leave on your underwear."

I nodded and did as she asked. Even this amount of effort seemed to exhaust me, on top of shooting pain across my body from all my injuries. That blast from Iryn had likely nearly killed me. It cleaved its way through my skin, leaving gouges in my flesh nearly to the bone.

"I don't need to tell you you're in bad shape," Jovri said. "On top of this very nice laceration down your whole front, you've got three broken ribs, a fractured right ulna, and a concussion."

"I feel like I won a game show," I said with a pained grimace.

"One I won't be competing in," Jovri agreed. "We can treat the immediate injuries, but your body is going to need time to fully heal. If this were a regular injury sustained from this universe, we could heal that no problem, but Hunter powers are a totally different thing."

"I don't think I'm going to be competing in my local triathlon anytime soon," I assured her.

"Stay still, please," Jovri requested.

I nodded, and she and her assistant grabbed a large, metal briefcase off the counter that I hadn't noticed before. They set it on the floor in front of me, put their thumbprints into scanners on either side, and the case opened. I watched as machinery expanded out of the case, and metal arms spread out on either side of me, scanners activating at the tips. The head of the machine was a large scanner with a white panel over it that made it look like an industrial light fixture. I stayed as still as possible, and Jovri typed on the computer attached to the device. A few seconds later, I heard machine parts activating, and the scanners lit up.

Immediately, I felt my breath taken away. It felt like my chest was being compressed, and I struggled to remain upright.

"That's it," Jovri said encouragingly. "That's a good job. Just keep holding still. Try to take deep breaths. I know it's uncomfortable, but you're going to be just fine."

I wasn't sure how she wanted me to take deep breaths, as it felt like my diaphragm had gone on vacation. I clutched the edge of the bed tightly, closing my eyes while the machine did its work. The process seemed to take nearly an hour, and when it stopped and I was left gasping for air, I was shocked to realize that not even a minute had passed.

"What just happened?" I croaked.

"Your cell replication was accelerated," Jovri answered.

She pointed at my torso, and I didn't know what I expected to see when I looked down, and I was shell-shocked when I saw the scar tissue that had taken the place of the gruesome cut to my body.

"Seriously?" I said, my mouth hanging open.

"Those cells are still new," Jovri reminded me. "Too much exertion, and they'll split wide open again. Your broken bones are healed as well, but it's the same situation. You need to take it easy. No fighting wars for the next couple of days."

"Uh, understood," I said, examining my body as though it was something alien.

Jovri nodded, and she pressed a button on the cell replicator that caused it to fold back into itself and return to the case. Jovri's assistant closed the case, and the two of them exited the room, carrying the replicator between them. Jovri's heel had hardly vanished from view when Sarah stormed in looking anxious.

"Okay, seriously, what happened to you?" she asked, her voice strained. "I didn't want to ask anyone else while they were busy dealing with their own problems, but you need to tell me."

"A new Hunter team is here," I told her. "They made Algaltha and his team look like second-rate bandit thugs."

Sarah took a deep breath, and she embraced me. I buried my face in her chest, and we held each other tightly.

"I'm really glad you're okay," she whispered to me.

I laughed dryly, and I looked up at her. "That sentiment has been going around between us lately."

She laughed, and we hugged each other again.

IN THE EYES OF THE MULTIVERSE:

Gibbs sat in the living room of the Fosse house, watching television and drinking a beer. Ari walked in, seeing Gibbs on the couch, and he hesitated. Gibbs made no acknowledgement of him.

"So, you're not going to try to kill me again?" Ari asked. "You sent me this message here." He looked at his smartphone. "Let's see, it says, 'Find me.'" He looked at Gibbs incredulously. "I didn't even know you could text."

Gibbs reached over to the table next to him, grabbed a second beer bottle, and held it up towards Ari. Ari stared at the glass bottle, keeping his face as absent of reaction as possible. After several seconds of silence, Gibbs said, "Dad told me what you did."

Ari nodded, and he took the beer from Gibbs and sat in the reclining chair adjacent to him. Gibbs muted the television, and he and Ari held eye contact.

"He also told me what you tried to do," Gibbs said. "Saving lives. Trying not to kill people. That's new ground for you."

Ari gave a light chuckle, and he said, "I thought I'd try it on to see how it fit."

"Yeah," Gibbs said, and for the first time since Ari's arrival, he smiled. "How's it look?"

"I don't know," Ari said, his lips curled in a grin as well. "Give me a few days to think about it."

Gibbs nodded, and the two of them shared a drink. After a few seconds, Ari said, "What happens now?"

Gibbs shook his head. "I got no idea."

"My time in this universe has been…interesting," Ari said, examining his beer in his hands.

"Yeah, how's that?" Gibbs asked.

Ari exhaled deeply. "I've got a few puzzle pieces, but I'm still trying to fix the whole picture," he said. Gibbs took another drink, waiting patiently for Ari to elaborate. "You're older," Ari observed, looking at Gibbs. "And the technology I'm seeing here, beyond what we've been supplied by the Keepers, is…advanced. Far more advanced than anything I've ever dreamed of. And earlier, Fornell mentioned Sergei, who is supposed to be underground, staying far away from America. Time has passed since you and I last saw each other in our own universe. Years."

He looked at Gibbs for confirmation, who didn't immediately respond. "Where were you when you jumped over?" he finally asked.

Ari scoffed, grinning. "On the way to your basement to kill you," he said. "I can already see how that went." Gibbs didn't respond. He stared at the television screen, determinately avoiding eye contact with Ari. "So," Ari continued, "it seems that your vendetta has been fulfilled."

"You know," Gibbs said, still not looking at Ari. "My dad said the same thing, and I've been thinking about that. I guess…maybe you might be right." He looked at Ari, and the two developed a mutual understanding of companionship.

Ari held up his bottle, and Gibbs clanked his against it, camaraderie forged. They shared another drink, and Gibbs unmuted the television while they both relaxed.

Sloane and Luca stood in the lab, looking at a computer monitor.

"We need to find a way to make sure this doesn't happen again," Sloane said, looking forlorn.

Luca shook his head. "I wouldn't even know where to start. Weapons are one thing. These Hunters have powers. They're more powerful than anything I've ever seen."

"Yeah, they are," Sloane agreed. "But when everyone is done with their recoveries, they're going to expect us to have more assistance than an encouraging high-five."

"I'll work on it," Luca said, his voice a bit hoarse.

"Hey," Sloane said. "It's not all on you. The rest of R and I is here to help you. It's going to take all of us to figure out how to fight these guys."

Luca nodded, and after a moment of thought, he started typing on the computer.

"What are you doing?" Sloane asked.

"The Keepers have intel on everything in the multiverse," Luca reminded her. "I want to know what they have on Nok and his group."

Sloane nodded, and she watched as Luca typed for several seconds. Eventually, he pulled up an image of Nok, looking as grimly satisfied as when he was prepared to kill all of them.

"Do the Keepers have good intel on him?"

"Not much better than they do on any other Hunter," Luca said, surveying the information displayed on the screen. "I tried to find intel to help stop Algaltha, and this database didn't even know how old he was."

Sloane stared incredulously at the computer screen. "What's the point of a database if it doesn't have any data?"

"It has plenty of data. On anything else," Luca said. "All those times that Theas said the Keepers don't know much about the Hunters, he wasn't kidding."

"How does that work?" Sloane asked. "You would think if the Keepers had been fighting the Hunters for thousands of years, they'd at least pick up a thing or two."

"I might agree, but then again NCIS only knows so much about half the people they fight, right?" Luca stated.

Sloane couldn't argue with this. "So what do the Keepers know about him?" she asked.

"Nok's work against the Keepers dates back around two thousand years ago or so," Luca explained. "He rose to lead his own Kill Team quickly. He's been sent on several high profile missions that ended in the deaths of a lot of powerful Keepers. His hit list is long."

"What are his powers?" Sloane asked.

"What you saw at Turkey Run is what they've got," Luca said. "Energy manipulation, but while Aolen seems to be the base of it, Nok mixes it with something else that the Keepers haven't been able to identify. How powerful he actually is isn't clear."

"Do you think you have enough to develop any countermeasures against him?" Sloane asked.

"Not anywhere close," Luca answered. "And I'm not convinced that he's where we should start. The four Keepers under Nok were on the frontlines. I think any plan at stopping them needs to start there."

"Okay, so we need to figure out what their abilities are and how best to counter them," Sloane surmised. "We can do that."

A grunt of pain made them look around, and Admiral McGee walked slowly into the room. He flexed his fingers, clenching them into a fist and unclenching them again. He looked around, seeing Sloane and Luca watching him, and he chuckled. "This is nothing," he assured them. "Fornell has it worse. I think he took a nap after getting treatment."

"Don't tell them that," Fornell said as he walked in. "They'll think I'm old."

"We are old," McGee said with a grin. "I'm so old they had to dig me up from the grave."

"Yeah, but at least your hair is growing back," Fornell commented, nodding to the miniscule hairs that had started forming on McGee's scalp.

"Well, you two seem like you're in good spirits," Sloane commented with a sincere smile.

"Yeah, getting your ass kicked will do that for you," Admiral McGee said. "Let's hope next time we're a little bit better prepared."

An echoing alert went out across the lab, causing the four of them to look around. The enormous computer monitor on the back wall showed a map of the region with a red, blinking dot.

"Someone else has crossed over," Sloane realized.

"Ah, yes, someone was unceremoniously plucked from their universe and deposited to this one through entirely unknown means," Fornell said. "How nice, something normal."

"Do you want to gather ART?" Sloane asked.

"I'll go get Gibbs," Fornell said.

"Who else will go with him?" Admiral McGee asked.

"Well, myself, for one," Fornell said, looking incredulous.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Luca asked. "You were beaten up pretty bad. Wouldn't it be better for you to stay here and someone else to–"

"And who's that going to be, Luca?" Fornell asked. "We're all pretty beaten up. The Admiral here nearly lost a hand. Jack's in no shape to do much, and Sarah just got back from the hospital."

"There's the terrorist," Admiral McGee said in an undertone.

"There is indeed," Fornell agreed. "I will speak with Jethro and get his opinion. Seeing as he's the one in charge of ART."

No one made any further arguments, and Fornell climbed the stairs up to the Fosse kitchen. He entered the living room to see Gibbs and Ari still watching TV.

"Oh," Fornell said, not bothering to hide his surprise. "Goodness. It would appear I've wandered into a third universe."

"Uh-huh," Gibbs said dismissively. "What do you need, Tobias?"

"To inform you that there is another Macrobreach," Fornell answered, looking between Gibbs and Ari. "Unless, of course, you have other plans."

"No," Gibbs said, rising to his feet. "No, I'm ready."

"Where are we going?" Ari asked, rising to his feet as well.

"Not we," Gibbs corrected him. Ari looked at him with confusion, and Gibbs said, "I might not be out to kill you, but that doesn't mean someone else won't be."

Ari considered this. "I can't argue."

"So, just you and me, then?" Fornell asked, sounding somewhat hopeful.

"No, Tobias, I'm not taking you," Gibbs said.

"Why not?" Fornell demanded angrily.

"Because I'm not dragging your sorry ass across whatever poor town we're going to next," Gibbs answered with a grin.

Fornell glowered. "Then who will be joining you, wise and wonderful leader? No one else in ART is in any better place to accompany you."

"That's why I'm not taking anyone from ART," Gibbs said as he walked towards the basement door.

"You know, I was thinking," Sloane said as she drove Sarah's car.

She, Gibbs, and Kyle all rode through the Indianan countryside.

"We've received a lot of money for our jobs for Theas and the Keepers," Sloane elaborated. "We could start putting downpayments on vehicles. Even houses or apartments. Take some of the strain off of Jack and Sarah."

"Yeah," Gibbs said, "that's something to think about."

"Did you know the people of Indiana are technically known as 'Hoosiers'?" Kyle said, staring at his phone with disbelief.

"I mean, it really seems like we're going to be here for a while, right?" Sloane said. "Rather or not we like it, I really think it's time to start thinking about our stay here being more long-term."

"Yeah, I don't disagree," Gibbs said. "Hard to swallow, though."

"Well, sure it is, but we've dealt with worse things, right?" Sloane said. "I mean how fortunate was it that the first person you saw when you got here was Jack?"

"Oh, it was fortunate for me," Gibbs said. "Not so sure if it was for him."

"Well, I'm grateful for it," Kyle agreed.

"Just think about it," Sloane said. "We don't need to make that decision right now. Lord knows Theas can make it so that their place can accommodate us all, but I just really feel like we're crowding Jack and Sarah out of their own home. I mean, they need to get away from it once and a while, right? They've got their own lives to live."

"You're right," Gibbs agreed. He then looked at Sloane and asked, "Where would you move to?"

"Oh," Sloane said, trying to mask her face as it steadily turned red. "Oh, I don't know. I'm sure Afghanistan has just as many problems in this universe as it does ours."

Gibbs scoffed in amusement. "Yeah, I would agree with that." He then grew a much more serious, sincere look. "I guess you liked it there?"

"I mean, I wasn't even there for a week, so it's not really easy to make a judgment call," Sloane said. "But, yeah. I did, I liked what I was doing and I liked the people I was working with and helping. It felt good. What about you, Jethro?"

Gibbs considered it. "Alaska," he answered.

Sloane gave him an incredulous look. "Really?"

"Sure, why not?" Gibbs said, grinning at her. "Alaska's nice, right?"

"Well, sure," Sloane said, still surprised. "It's just not what I would have expected."

The three of them drove until they reached a rural road a mile south of Royal Center, Indiana.

"You know, it's fortunate that all of the Macrobreaches have been so accessible," Kyle noted. "It's lucky that they haven't wound up in the ocean or something, you know?"

"Well, that's proof that it's not completely random," Sloane said. "There's a design in mind."

"It'd be nice if we could figure out what it is," Gibbs said.

Gibbs's eyes then widened in horror, and Sloane slammed on the breaks. They all scrambled out of the vehicle, clutching their weapons, and Gibbs aimed his rifle ahead of them.

Brindier stood, leering at them with fire surrounding her fist, her foot pinning down a woman with dark-red hair.

"Stop!" Gibbs screamed.

"Make me," said Brindier cruelly.

She aimed her fist down at the woman, who grunted in dismay, and Gibbs, Sloane, and Kyle all fired their weapons. Brindier raised her opposite hand high, bringing forth a wall of fire from the ground that intercepted their attacks.

"Get off her!" Gibbs roared as he charged forward.

Sloane and Kyle provided covering fire for Gibbs, but their offensive didn't so much as phase Brindier. She aimed her fist and fired a blast of fire at Gibbs, who rolled out of the way as it gouged out a chunk of the road. Gibbs aimed his rifle and fired, and while Brindier tried to defend herself, the power of Gibbs's gun punched right through her fire and perforated her shoulder. Brindier yelled in pain while stumbling back, and the woman below her climbed to her feet.

Diane Fornell punched Brindier in the mouth, knocking her off her feet. Diane then drew her pistol and aimed it down at the Spatial Hunter, glaring mutinously at Brindier. "Stay where you are," she ordered.

"Diane, no! It's not gonna work!" Gibbs said.

Brindier started building up fire around her, and Diane fired her gun. The bullet hit the wave of fire around Brindier and was reduced to a burnt husk as it clattered to the ground. Diane's eyes widened, but Gibbs took a well-aimed shot that hit Brindier's hand, nearly blasting it off.

Brindier growled in pain, and as she glared at Gibbs and Diane, she faded to ash and blew away. Gibbs ran over, and he stopped just short of Diane as she turned to face him.

She scowled furiously and said, "You know, I was wondering how I got magically teleported from D.C. to Indiana, and then you run along and suddenly it all makes sense."

Gibbs couldn't help but laugh, and meanwhile Sloane and Kyle maintained their distance. "I missed you, Diane," Gibbs said.

Diane's face fell in horror, and she stepped back. "Oh, God, you're not Jethro at all, are you? You're some creep disguised as him, right? Right!?"

"Diane," Gibbs said, still laughing in spite of himself. "It's me, it's me. I swear."

"Then what's the matter with you?" she demanded. "Are you dying? Lord knows you don't take care of yourself."

"Diane, I'm not dying," Gibbs said. "There's just…there's a lot for us to talk about, okay? Come on, we've got somewhere we're keeping safe. Let's go."

As Gibbs, suddenly finding himself the happiest he'd been in years, introduced Diane to Sloane and Kyle, they all returned to Sarah's car.

An hour and a half later, they were pulling back into the garage of the Fosse house. Diane sat in the backseat with Gibbs, staring at him with some mixture of shock, fear, incredulity, and anxiety.

"How'd you manage to break an entire multiverse?" Diane asked breathlessly.

"You know, I still haven't figured that one out," Gibbs answered. He nodded to Sloane and Kyle, and they both got out, leaving the two of them in peace. "You're afraid," Gibbs noted.

"Well hell yes, I'm afraid," Diane shrieked. "You're telling me I died, Jethro. And it's been six years since. This is a little much to take in. What am I supposed to do when I see Tobias? I mean I only saw him the other day, but it's been so long for him. He's going to hate me. He's going to disavow me."

"No," Gibbs said firmly. "No, he's not. I can tell you that."

Diane let out a deep, shuddering breath. "My baby," she whispered. "My Emily, I've missed so much of her life. I don't know if I wish she was here too or not. I can't ever make up for that."

"Diane," Gibbs said gently. "I can't help you with that. But you need to get in there and see Tobias. I promise you it's going to be okay."

Diane nodded, and while she still seemed quite apprehensive, she managed to pull herself out of the car.

Fornell and Ari sat at the kitchen table, playing cards.

"Yeah," Fornell said. "So, Jethro and I drew him out to the forest where we set a trap for him. And I shot him in the head."

Ari nodded. "Sergei deserved it. He was a bastard long before I died."

The door to the garage opened, and Ari and Fornell looked around as Gibbs walked in. He gave a meaningful look to Ari, who immediately took his cue and left the table. He strode off towards the guest bedroom, and Fornell and Gibbs held eye contact.

"What is it?" Fornell asked, somewhat foreboding.

Gibbs reached into the garage, dragging Diane into view. Fornell's face slowly fell as he processed what he was looking at, and Diane stood awkwardly in the doorway, hesitating to approach.

"Well," Fornell said in a choked voice as he stepped closer. "Isn't this quite the plot twist?" Gibbs stood off to the side, watching as Diane slowly approached. After a few seconds, the two stood face to face, and Fornell took in every facet of Diane's face.

"I am," Fornell said slowly as tears spilled from his eyes, "so sorry I didn't return your call."

Diane laughed, and Fornell stepped in and kissed her. Deeply, passionately, blocking out the world. They held each other as though they were the last thing on the planet. Fornell gasped, drawing back as he started openly crying. Diane steadied him, and Fornell held eye contact with her, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"I think I'm gonna start going to church," he said with a grin. "What do you say?"

Diane laughed, and as Gibbs watched them, he couldn't help but smile.