Chapter 145: The Secret Base Part 5

Research Station Beta, PU-9623, January 29th, 2000 (Earth Time)

The more he heard about the Ancients, the less Jack O'Neill liked them. Well, it would be more honest to say that he liked them even less - he hadn't had a good opinion of them for a long time now. That some of their robots thought he was one of them didn't change that. Quite the contrary. Between their crazy experiments and dangerous tech thingies that they just kept lying around, it was a wonder that the Galaxy was still standing.

And he couldn't help feeling that Beta here was working on changing that. "So… if I remember correctly, the last time someone tinkered with a portal like that, they almost blew up reality, right?"

Judging by the looks from Carter and Daniel, his Columbo impression needed some work. Or it was because Entrapta cringed at his comment, he realised with a wince. He hadn't wanted to hurt her - criticising her, even when it was perfectly justified, made Jack feel like he shot Bambi's mom. Well, when she actually took his criticism to heart and didn't misunderstand it.

"Well, it's debatable how far the effect would have spread, but as far as Etheria in Despondos was concerned, reality would have been destroyed, yes," Entrapta said after a moment. "Though since that was an alternate dimension, it might have been contained." She blinked. "Actually, if we take the new data from Beta into account - though we still need to study it; we just got the synopsis from Beta, so to speak, even though I trust her - then this might not have been the end of reality but more a merging of the two dimensions and the aspects of the other dimension dominating Despondos's reality. Of course, that would require that we connected to the same or a similar dimension as the one Beta is targeting."

Jack almost snapped that experimenting further was too dangerous and they should destroy the lab. The only thing that held him back was knowing that Adora wouldn't abandon Catra. And suspecting that Beta would use that to influence Adora and sideline Jack. Also, taking risks to save a friend was not the same as risking the galaxy to become gods or whatever - he wasn't Daniel, but Jack knew what Ascension meant in that context. And Carter would probably never forgive him if he destroyed the lab here.

Still, someone had to point out the danger. "So, what are the odds that we get another such merge here?" Jack asked.

"We don't know if that happened back in Despondos!" Entrapta pointed out. "It's just a possibility. Of course, we did use a lot of First Ones tech there, which probably came from this lab, but we also used Horde tech, so we need to examine the data here and compare it to what data we have left from the Horde to tell!" She perked up. "Oh, we really need to get my science buddy here! He might remember more because it was his project at the start!"

Yeah, the clone of a warlord with a god complex is just the thing a laboratory where aliens planned to get an easy way to become gods is missing, Jack thought.

"Yes!" Adora nodded firmly.

"Indeed," Beta agreed. "Horde Prime displayed and deployed very impressive technology in the war against our people. It would be only fitting if that technology would be used to continue the experiments here."

So much for Jack's hope that the Ancient bot would make Adora and Entrapta mad by trying to oppose Hordak coming here. That would have made Adora distrust the bot, at least. "That might take a while," he said. "We shouldn't run experiments without him, then."

"We need time to review the data here anyway," Carter added.

He could see Adora biting her lower lip. She obviously didn't want to hear that but didn't want to object. Good. The last thing they needed was a crazy bot running experiments that could ruin reality itself. Jack liked his reality being real.

"Yes!" Entrpata nodded emphatically. "Let's start on that! Beta, can you point us to a data terminal with enough workspace?

"Yes. Please follow me." The projection turned and led them towards one of the doors in the back.

Jack looked at Bow, but the boy was already following them. Good. Jack trusted Carter, of course, but she could get caught up in her work sometimes. Another grounded tech head helping them wouldn't hurt.

"Don't worry - we'll get Catra back," Glimmer told Adora.

"Yes." Adora nodded, but her expression belied her words.

"We're like the Marines in that - we don't leave anyone behind," Jack added. And hoped he wasn't lying through his teeth.

Though he hoped even harder that the whole thing here wouldn't end in a catastrophe.

Captured Base, PU-9623, January 30th, 2000 (Earth Time)

Adora had to be patient. Rushing things would not help anyone - would even endanger everyone since they were working with dimensional portals. Entrapta and Sam were geniuses who knew what they were doing, but they needed time to study Beta's data before they could start the recovery operation.

Adora knew that. Knew that very well. But the longer they waited, the longer Catra was missing, the greater the danger was that something would happen to her. Something else. Something more dangerous than being transported into a weird dimension. They had to save her, as quickly as possible.

But she also knew that Beta had lost track of every test subject the bot had sent into the other dimension - and had lost track of Catra as well. Even if they were willing to risk it, they couldn't just start the recovery attempt. It wouldn't do any good.

And yet, waiting, unable to do anything for Catra, was unbearable.

Adora clenched her teeth. She should sleep - it was past midnight, at least according to Alliance Time on Earth, and Glimmer had already taken over Taweret's bedroom while the others, except for Bow, Entrapta and Sam, had found places to sleep themselves - but Adora knew she wouldn't be able to rest. Not with her lover missing. She had to keep busy until her friends finished - there was no time to lose. And she was She-Ra; she could handle an all-nighter.

Also, it wasn't as if there was nothing to do - as Supreme Commander of the Alliance, she always had paperwork to do. And thanks to the spy bot network, it followed her onto missions such as this as well - sometimes even in actual paper form when they used Stargates.

But having the work and doing the work were not the same. Leaning back in what apparently had been Taweret's office in her quarters, Adora sighed. Reading reports that were mostly updates of earlier reports, and generally confirmed the projections, wasn't helping much. Especially since the lack of scathing commentary reminded her of Catra's absence with every report she read.

There were several important - or more important - reports, of course, some concerning the latest fleet trials, but none of them required immediate action except for referring them to her staff for analysis. The British were making more progress, the Americans were still dealing with problems with their 'light battle carriers' - a designation for the design Adora didn't think would last much longer than its predecessor 'light multirole cruiser' - and the French were a bit behind because they were leading the shared European design for a frigate and just coordinating half a dozen requests and requirements apparently took a lot of time even if they were mostly copying the British designs.

Perhaps she should have insisted on launching more Horde frigates instead of everyone designing their own ships. But everyone wanted the ability and knowledge to build spaceships on their own, so…

A beep announced another E-Mail. She checked it - ah, the first formal after-action report from the task force had arrived. A bit of skimming later, she winced. She would have thought that any of the mistakes made in the first landing operation wouldn't be repeated, but she had been wrong. The need for more training, especially coordinating between different forces, was evident.

She wrote a quick memo and sent it to her staff to check, then went over the supply requests - just to check that nothing was being forgotten; Jack's people were handling that.

And as expected from Jack's force, everything was in order. Maybe she should check up on the news from Earth…

Or she could check on the prisoners. The Jaffa, as expected from the most loyal and fanatical of Apophis's forces, had usually fought until death, but there had been exceptions. Some were knocked out, but others had surrendered when facing her. Adora should see how they were doing.

But what were the odds that some of them would pray to her? Atak did, and the way a few of the prisoners had looked at her when they had been taken, Adora didn't think Atak was the only one mistaking her for a goddess here. Maybe she should sleep on that before meeting them.

Stifling a yawn, she started on the rest of the paperwork - mostly informative, non-crucial messages and memos. Like the food consumption reports - with the usual complaints about the MREs that made her roll her eyes; if those people had ever eaten Horde rations…

Another message interrupted her. Oh! It was from Sam - they had finished reviewing the data!

Adora jumped up and rushed toward the transporter room.

Catra, we're coming to save you!

Research Station Beta, PU-9623, January 30th, 2000 (Earth Time)

"You finished going over the data?"

Samantha Carter turned and looked at Adora - her friend had blurted her question out as soon as she had entered the main laboratory of Beta. "We have finished our preliminary review of the research data," Sam corrected her.

"Oh."

"Yes. But we already have a lot of ideas!" Entrapta added, nodding with a slight smile.

"Speculation," Beta said. "But well-reasoned speculation based on the analysis done. I cannot disprove the conclusions."

"It's fascinating data." Entrapta grimaced. "Although there are also a few concerning data points. Kinda."

"Concerning?" Adora's eyes widened as she approached them at a fast pace. "How concerning?"

She must not have been resting, Sam realised. Not that Sam could throw stones here - she had worked through herself, as had Entrapta and Bow, who had gone to personally wake up Glimmer.

"Well…" Entrapta started to say, wincing under Adora's stare.

They should wait for the others, in Sam's opinion, but with Adora in such a state… "We analysed the data of the past tracking attempts, and there might be outside interference," she explained.

Adora gasped before pressing her lips together for a moment. "Outside interference?"

"Yes," Beta said with a deep scowl. "They're interfering with the experiment!"

Sam rolled her eyes at the bot's apparent priorities. "The data indicates that tracking - albeit indirectly - works at the start, I mean, shortly after arrival at the destination. And there's no sign of the compiled tracking data deteriorating over time - while the original effects on the environment recorded by the station's sensors seem to fade in time, they are continually renewed and partially replaced."

"As predicted," Beta cut in. "Though due to outside interference, we lack the data to track long-term effects of sapient minds - where the effects can stabilise or even become self-sustaining is still in doubt."

"The data tracks until it stops and vanishes," Entrapta added. "And it always happens after about the same time has passed there - except for the first few attempts, where it took longer."

Adora didn't look reassured. "But you need a sapient mind to affect the dimension, right?"

"Yes." Beta firmly nodded.

Sam had her doubts that this was entirely correct, but this wasn't the time to discuss this. But Adora had raised another point or seemed to be about to. Best nip that in the bud. "We don't think that this means the people transported there die at that point," she said. "They disappear too quickly for environmental influence."

"And there's a spike right before the effect ends and starts to fade - a very distinct spike," Entrapta added. "One that looks almost identical in over a dozen cases. The pattern is clear and nearly identical, while the patterns generated by the test subjects often vary significantly."

"The most probable explanation is that someone is removing the people from the dimension we're tracking or from their location there," Sam took over again. Or, though she didn't say that, someone was hunting down new arrivals and killed them very quickly.

Even so, Adora looked grim. "Removing them - for what reason?"

"Perhaps they want to save them?" Entrapta's hopeful smile slowly died as Adora looked at her.

"We don't know yet. But barring some truly exotic environmental effect, we believe this is outside interference," Sam said.

"And it shows that recovering people from that dimension is possible." Entrapta was really trying to console their friend.

Adora slowly nodded. "Did that happen to Catra as well?"

"Yes. We've analysed the data from the attack, and while it's not as detailed as the other readings, it tracks as well," Entrapta said.

"I couldn't use the sensors to the best of their capabilities since I lacked the necessary preparation time for the experiment." Beta inclined her head. "The prior administration was not overly interested in proper documentation." Her tone made this sound like the worst of Taweret's crime, Sam noted.

"So, what can we do with this?" Adora asked. "How can we get Catra and the others back?"

Sam suppressed a wince at her friend's expression. Adora looked both hopeful and desperate.

"Now that we have identified the interference, we can plan to deal with it," Beta said.

"We haven't actually identified the interference," Entrapta pointed out. "We just know that something is interfering."

"And we need to recover the people who vanished from wherever they happened to be taken to," Sam reminded Beta.

"Yes, of course." Beta nodded. "But that will require dealing with the interference as well. I suggest sending an armed test subject next, to see if they can fend off the interference. Even if unsuccessful, the data should reveal if they can temporarily delay the interference."

"We're not using people as test subjects!" Adora snapped.

Beta looked puzzled, cocking her head to the side. "I was under the impression that volunteers would be acceptable. And from what I gathered, many of your followers would volunteer to help recover your consort, Adora."

Adora gaped. "That's… That's… I won't ask that of them!" she blurted out.

Beta looked confused. "Would you refuse their help to save your consort? Even if freely offered?"

"That's… why would they offer in the first place?" Adora asked.

"It's an obvious solution to the lack of test subjects," Beta replied.

Before Sam could think of what to say to that - and how to deal with her suspicion that Beta had been busy gathering as much information about Adora as possible - the others arrived, led by Glimmer.

"You finished going over the data?" Glimmer blurted out, mirroring Adora.

"I told you that!" Bow said behind her.

"We did," Sam told them.

"But we have a problem," Adora said. With a glance at Beta, she added: "A bunch of them."

Unknown Location, January 30th, 2000 (Earth Time)

"Look, I'm not your Carta! I'm from another universe - or another dimension!"

A scoff answered her. "Really? That's the best you can come up with?"

"It's the truth!" she insisted.

"Is that why you cut your hair? To make us believe you?"

"My hair was cut by Horde Prime!" She shivered at the memory. Or not-memory - it was a bit hazy.

"Horde Prime?" Another scoff. "Making up Horde members now? It's not working."

"Horde Prime was Hordak's leader - his commander. He was the leader of the entire Horde. He had a fleet of spaceships and tried to destroy Etheria. In my universe."

"Really, Catra, this is just pathetic. Bad lies and a bad haircut won't save you from the consequences of your actions."

"Bad haircut? Adora - my Adora loves it!" She did! She knew it.

Laughter. They were almost back at her cell now. "It's ugly. And you claim 'your Adora' loves it? Is she a Horde Adora, huh?" The eyes narrowed into a glare. "Wait… Are you talking about your perfect world? The world for which you almost destroyed Etheria? That's pathetic, Catra."

"No!" She shook her head and clenched her teeth. She wasn't pathetic! "In my universe, things went differently. We defeated the Horde. Adora saved us all. She saved me!"

More scoffing followed. "Now you claim you fought the Horde? While still wearing their uniform? Catra, Catra, Catra… No one would be so foolish as to believe this. Just stop and show some dignity." Laughter briefly filled the hallway. "No lies will save you. No one will save you."

"Adora will," she spat. She would! "She loves me!"

Wide eyes stared at her before the surprised expression turned into a sneer. "No one loves you, Catra. You're a monster without a conscience. And you will be punished for what you did!"

She gasped at that. It wasn't true. It wasn't! Adora loved her! "I'm not your Catra!"

But they were at the cell, and she was pushed inside with enough force to send her stumbling into the marked area in the centre. She looked over her shoulder, turning, as the force field sprang up around her, to appeal to Adora again, but she only saw the back of her as Adora walked out the door, leaving her behind.

Sitting in a corner of her cell, Catra took a deep breath. She should sleep instead of running through this in her mind. This hadn't been her Adora. She had to remind her of that. Her Adora would have listened. Her Adora loved her. She knew it. Her Adora would do everything to save her.

Catra just had to wait until she did. And survive. And she would. She could take whatever this world threw at her. She would. She would…

Her ears twitched, and she turned - the door was opening. In the middle of the night? She suppressed a gasp as hope filled her. Adora? Had she reconsidered Catra's claims? "Hey…"

She trailed off, her forced smile vanishing. It wasn't Adora who entered. It was Angella. Alone, without guards. And staring at her with a cold expression.

Catra had weathered worse, though. Much worse. Like Shadow Weaver. Or… Whatever! She rose and cocked her head to the side. "Visiting prisoners in the middle of the night, Your Majesty?"

Angella didn't say a word. Instead, her mouth twisted into a slight sneer for a moment as she approached until she was standing directly before the force field.

Catra frowned, pressing her lips together, and raised her head to meet Angella's eyes. The queen was far too tall for Glimmer's mother. "Come to pass the sentence? I thought you would have wanted to do that in the Throne Room. Make a spectacle," she said as dismissively as she could. She wouldn't beg. "Maybe followed by a public execution?" she added in a mocking tone despite the fear making her stomach clench. If they killed her… Bright Moon doesn't kill their prisoners, she reminded herself. Not even this Bright Moon - not when they didn't have actual dungeons here, either.

Angella still didn't answer. The queen walked around the force field, and Catra turned her head to follow her. Her back itched when the queen was directly behind her, but Catra didn't move except turning her head. She had to stay calm. Collected. In control. Even though she wasn't.

Angella completed the full circle, facing her again, then scoffed and slightly shook her head. "How did you end up here?"

Catra almost said: 'You had Adora lock me up here. Did you forget already?' before she managed to hold her tongue. She frowned instead - something was odd here. Wrong. But she couldn't tell what. So, best play along. Shrugging, she said: "I was shot with some First Ones weapon that threw me into this dimension. By an alien."

"Fitting."

Catra shrugged again. "I got a bit too cocky. We've been rolling up their forces easily, too easily. Charged straight into their trap." Better her than Adora, though. But she would have to do better next time. She couldn't get sloppy.

"Typical." Angella sneered.

Catra suppressed a scowl. She was better than that - she wouldn't lose her temper at some petty comments. She had taken much worse from Shadow Weaver. "I blame hanging around with the Alliance for too long. It wouldn't have happened when I was still leading the Horde. But you know Adora - always charging in headfirst and making it work somehow. She's going to save me, by the way." She had to.

"Adora? Save you?" Angella sneered even more.

"Yes." Catra nodded and tried to show as much confidence as she could. "She saved me from Horde Prime before. You know her - she never abandons her friends."

"You? Her friend? Liar!" Angella spat. "You hurt her - you hurt all of us. You are no one's friend."

"That wasn't me!" Catra snarled. "I hurt my Adora, not yours. I'm not your Catra!"

"So you claim." Angella drew back with a haughty expression. "And yet… You are the same, aren't you?"

Catra narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"You said you hurt 'your Adora'. You did the same deeds, didn't you? You didn't deny it earlier, either, did you?"

Catra clenched her teeth. "That was in the past. I changed." She had. She really had. Even if Angella wouldn't believe her.

She frowned. Why was Angella here, alone, anyway? Why hadn't she taken Glimmer with her? Or Adora? Adora knew her - or the other Catra - best. She would have helped a lot with the interrogation. Why had the Queen of Bright Moon come to her cell at night, alone, like… Her eyes widened for a moment. "You are hiding something! From everyone! That's why you're here alone, at this time of the night!"

For a moment, Angella looked surprised. Then she straightened, and her lips twisted into a tight smile. "You are different. You aren't from here."

"I told you that," Catra spat. "I'm not your Catra!"

Angella's smile widened. "That still remains to be seen."

Catra stared at her. What? What did she mean? This was… She drew a sudden, sharp breath. It couldn't be! But the woman hadn't doubted her about the First Ones weapon… "You stepped into the portal, didn't you?" she whispered.

Angella flashed her teeth at her as she nodded.

Damn. Catra felt a shiver run down her spine as her fur bristled. If this Angella was the one from her universe, then Catra was the one responsible for sending her here. "But the others…" She trailed off. This Adora wasn't her Adora.

"They're native to this dimension," Angella replied. She narrowed her eyes. "But they have suffered at the Horde's hands as well."

Catra flinched at that. Yeah, she wasn't proud of what she had done in the past. And yet… She frowned. "But what happened to the Catra from this dimension?" Her eyes widened. "And what happened to the Angella from this dimension?"

"They're gone," Angella replied. "The entire Horde is gone. Only the memories of the war remain."

"Gone? You defeated them?" Catra leaned forward, almost touching the force field. Sure, the Horde had been in a bad spot after the portal, but they had recovered and almost beaten the Alliance. "How did you do that? What about Horde Prime?"

"Who?"

Damn! "Horde Prime. I told Adora about him - he's the one who created the Horde in his own image - Hordak is a clone of him. He destroyed the First Ones," Catra explained. "The portal alerted him to Despondos, and he invaded." Right after everything had gone to hell. Right after the Alliance had taken the Fright Zone. "He didn't arrive here?"

"No." Angella shook her head.

"So, you beat the Horde and the war was over? What happened to Scorpia and Entrapta?"

"The Horde is gone," Angella repeated herself in a flat voice. "Only the memories remain."

Catra flinched. That sounded bad. Really bad. "Did Adora…?" She trailed off. If this Adora had completely wiped out the Horde using her power... "What about the Heart of Etheria?"

"What is that?"

Catra tensed and wanted to curse some more. They hadn't dealt with it yet? "It's the First Ones superweapon meant to be used against Horde Prime. It would destroy Etheria when used - and it's controlled by She-Ra's sword. And it has been gathering magic power from the entire sector for a thousand years. If it's not stopped, it will destroy Etheria. It's activated when all of the Elemental Princesses connect to their runestones."

Angella looked as if she didn't believe her. "That's not a problem in this world."

"What? All it takes is the Princess of the Scorpion Kingdom connecting to the Black Garnet, and everything goes to pieces!" Catra blurted out.

"There is no such princess. The Scorpion Kingdom was destroyed by the Horde."

"You haven't restored it? But…" Right. 'Gone'. Scorpia was gone. But her family! "What did you do to the people? In the Horde? In the Fright Zone?" Catra asked.

"I told you - they're gone."

Catra found herself kneeling on the floor, staring at Angella. "You… you killed them all?" That was monstrous! How could they do this?

"They're gone," Angella said again. Catra could see her jaw muscles twitch as she clenched her teeth. "Only the memories of the war remain."

Catra shook her head, blinking. "No wonder this Adora's so different. She must be traumatised by this." Her Adora would have never done that. To kill so many people… She gasped. "Entrapta! What happened to her? She was on Beast Island, not in the Fright Zone!"

Angella frowned but didn't answer.

Catra blinked again to clear her eyes. They couldn't have wiped out the island if they didn't know about it, could they? "Beast Island! The place where the Horde banished the worst prisoners! Entrapta's there - and Micah!"

Angella recoiled as if Catra had struck her. "Micah's dead!" she yelled. "Killed by the Horde! Killed by you!"

"No! He's on Beast Island. Adora and the others found him there when they rescued Entrapta!" Catra retorted. "Send them there and look for Entrapta and Micah!"

"You lie!" Angella spat. "Micah's dead! You killed him!" She turned around and quickly walked to the door.

"They're on Beast Island!" Catra yelled after her. "Save them!"

Angella didn't answer and didn't look back.

Captured Base, PU-9623, January 30th, 2000 (Earth Time)

Jack O'Neill felt as if he was back at Stargate Command during a crisis. He was trying to keep busy while Carter worked desperately on alien technology to save the day. Only, he wasn't the leader of SG-1 any more, hovering around her lab and trying to ensure that she didn't work herself to death. He was a general in charge of Special Forces Command of the Alliance - and the second-in-command of the entire mission to this planet.

Of course, back in Stargate Command under General Hammond, he would have been in charge of the entire mission as leader of SG-1, but the mission here was a tiny bit bigger. SG-1 hadn't done any planetary invasions.

Well, it meant he didn't have to feel completely useless while he waited for Carter, Entrapta and Bow to find a way to get Catra and the 'Test Subjects' back from another dimension. He had to turn the fortress they had taken from Apophis's forces into an Alliance base that could protect the research station below it. At least until the Alliance found some other general to take over. Jack and his people were Special Forces, not garrison troopers.

Still, watching as combat engineers tore out the snake queen's luxury furnishings to install proper quarters and offices was satisfying. All the pomp and waste finally… "Hey!" he snapped. "Put that into the crate! No souvenir hunting!"

The soldier who had been about to palm a golden trinket flinched. "Yes, sir!"

"That goes for everyone!" Jack snapped. He had said that before! "Don't take anything here! First, you never know if it's trapped. Second, thanks to our magic scanner, we'll find out anyway, and then you'll be in trouble."

He turned around to watch the balcony for a moment and pretended not to hear the sounds of more trinkets being thrown into the closest crates. Soldiers were the same whatever their nationality or age. Send them into a palace, and they'll try to loot it.

After a bit, he turned back to watch them work again. Some idiot would still try to sneak something past the scanner, Jack was sure of it, but that was better than half the soldiers. He'd still feel better once all the gold stuff was safely stored on board a transport.

And, speaking of transports… He cocked his head when he heard the sound of a shuttle descending on the base, then quickly ran the numbers in his head. Yep, unless this was some unscheduled supply drop that no one had bothered to tell him about, this would be Hordak, ferried here by a frigate from the closest Stargate to help with the whole portal stuff.

Jack just hoped the clone wouldn't blow up the planet.

Research Station Beta, PU-9623, January 30th, 2000 (Earth Time)

"Hello."

"Science buddy!"

Adora wasn't jealous - or envious, or whatever. She shouldn't feel bad watching Entrapta's face light up when Hordak entered the research station just because Catra was still missing.

But she did. She missed her lover. Dearly. And seeing others reunited with their loves didn't help. She reminded herself that Hordak was experienced with portals to other dimensions and should be able to deal with the problems they were having here and managed to smile somewhat honestly when she nodded at him. "Hello. Good to have you here." Neutral. Professional.

"I came as soon as I heard," Hordak said, nodding back.

"And we need you!" Entrapta said, voice slightly muffled since she was still hugging him, and her face was buried in his chest. "I missed you!"

"I see," Hordak said in a bland tone, but Adora could see he was blushing slightly.

"Fascinating." Beta had appeared, peering at the couple. "I was not aware that different species felt attracted to each other. Or that Horde clones actually felt attraction. None of the data we gathered during the war indicated any such inclinations."

Entrapta frowned as she released Hordak - somewhat; one hair tendril stayed wrapped around his waist - and turned to face Beta. "You didn't really gather enough data then! Once freed from their mental conditioning by Horde Prime and given enough time to grow, the clones are just like everyone else!" She blinked and cocked her head to the side, scrunching her nose. "Which should have been expected since Horde Prime was an Asgard, kind of."

Beta looked surprised for a moment. "But the Asgard have abandoned sexual reproduction long ago. Why would one of their offspring develop such instincts?"

"Well, Loki wanted to revert the damage the Asgard genetics had suffered, and so it makes sense that that also included the capability for sexual reproduction," Entrapta replied.

"I see." Beta nodded. "Although I think I should exchange data with Alpha to update my memory banks about the biological sciences. While not essential for my own research, biological aspects could play an important role in the project, and Alpha should have the most advanced data on the subject."

"Yeah, that's just what we need - a network of mad scientist bots," Jack muttered next to Adora.

She winced a little. Jack wasn't exactly wrong - Alpha and, apparently, Beta had some slightly worrisome tendencies when it came to their research. Loki, too, of course. But calling them mad scientists was a bit much. They were more like Entrapta - sometimes, they went too far in the pursuit of their research because they didn't consider all the consequences, but not maliciously so. Of course, they were a bit worse at weighing the consequences than Entrapa was, but that was a work in progress.

So… "We can do that once we have recovered everyone," Adora said.

"Right!" Entrapta nodded and turned back to Hordak. "I sent you our data. Did you find anything?"

"I went over it during transit - I could have done more if the vessel had had a dedicated laboratory," Hordak replied. "Unfortunately, despite his heritage, Horde Prime did not deign to add such a functionality to his fleet."

"Yeah." Entrapta nodded. "We should design a science vessel. Or maybe a science module we can add to a frigate - if we replace a shuttle with it, it should fit into a hangar bay. Oh! A science shuttle! Every ship could carry one if it were needed! Maybe we could make them specialist science shuttles, one type each for all the various fields!"

Adora cleared her throat. Case in point, as Mermista would say. "That sounds like a project for later," she said.

"Ah, right." Entrapta nodded. "Saving people first, then pushing science!"

"Yes." Adora nodded firmly - just in case Beta might disagree.

"...so I found no fundamental fault in your methodology and came to the same conclusion as you did after analysing your data: Someone is removing the test subjects faster than you're tracking them."

Samantha Carter nodded as Hordak finished his summary. Part of her was disappointed that Hordak hadn't found anything that would allow them to recover the missing people, but another part of her felt vindicated for not having overlooked a solution. "That leaves us with the problem of finding out where they have been taken," she said.

"Yes." He nodded. "And it is doubtful that not enhanced sensors and searching methods will be enough for that - we would have to search an entire dimension, potentially an alternate universe, for that."

"Light Hope managed to find and snatch Adora from our universe while Etheria was still in Despondos," Entrapta pointed out. "And we have all the technology she had access to, and then some more!"

"She did," Hordak conceded. "But she might not have been searching for Adora specifically but merely for anyone who matched her criteria."

"That still means she could search another universe for such an individual," Sam said.

"But we don't know what exactly she did to achieve that," Hordak retorted. "The data died with her. Although I consider it likely that she used She-Ra's magic to find her - She-Ra's power would have been seeking a worthy vessel, and as Mara's moving of Etheria to Despondos proves, She-Ra's power can cross dimensions."

"Well, we have Adora here!" Entrapta said.

"But she already has She-Ra's power," Sam retorted.

"Well, yes. And she can wield it." Entrapta beamed.

Oh. "You want her to use her power to track Catra?" Sam asked.

"Yes! If she restores magic to this world, she should have enough power to cause a portal into another dimension."

Sam bit her lower lip. That could work… or it could cause a lot of damage to the world - and to reality itself. But were there viable alternatives?

Sam couldn't think of one. "We'll have to be very careful with this," she said. "We'll only have one shot for this. We can't afford to miss."

Entrapta nodded emphatically. "Right! Let's gather more data, science buddies!"

Unknown Location, January 31st, 2000 (Earth Time)

A nice cell was still a cell. Catra was very aware of that. Most of the 'guest room' was cut off by the force fields, anyway. And from her spot, she could only see part of the sky outside - the angle to the window didn't allow her to see the walls or the ground. If she didn't know better, she would have assumed that this was by design, to prevent prisoners from gathering intel - or snipers to silence them.

But she knew it was mostly coincidence - she had asked Glimmer after the war was over. Bright Moon just wasn't really used to holding prisoners. Catra's Bright Moon and this Bright Moon seemed to share that.

Though this Bright Moon was far more ruthless than Catra's. All of the Horde, the entire Fright Zone, gone?

She shivered. It was almost ironic that she had thought Glimmer was ruthless and brutal compared to Angella. This Angella… She closed her eyes and leaned back against the force field. Was this Catra's Angella? She didn't know. But did it matter? This Angella had perfectly inserted herself into this world despite knowing that she wasn't their Angella - she had said she wasn't native to this dimension, unlike the others. Had she even told them? Or was she pretending to be their Angella?

Pretending to be someone's mother - or lover - without telling them that the real person was still missing… Who would do such a thing? Well, Double Trouble would, of course, that piece of scum would find it amusing, but who else would be able to do that? Just thinking about talking to this Adora, or kissing, or having sex, pretending to be their Catra made Catra feel sick. Angella couldn't be doing that, could she? She was supposed to be that great Queen, all noble and self-sacrificing, a bit too protective, and a bit too afraid of losing people, but to lie to this Adora, to this Glimmer, and pretend to be their Angella?

Catra shook her head. She couldn't believe it. But she couldn't believe the Angella she had heard so much about would wipe out the entire Fright Zone with everyone inside and be proud of it.

And this person was now deciding Catra's fate - and had made no secret of her hatred for Catra. Damn.

Even worse, if this Angella was lying to everyone else here, she wouldn't want Catra to reveal that both of them were from another dimension. Certainly not to Glimmer, her 'daughter'.

Catra clenched her teeth and couldn't help looking at the windows. If this Angella wanted to keep this secret, the best way would be to silence Catra permanently without giving her the chance to tell anyone. Was that why she had visited last night without anyone with her? If Catra hadn't mentioned Micah, would Angella have killed her?

Too many knew about Catra - the entire Princess Alliance - to disappear her, but if Angella could pass for this dimensions' queen, framing someone else for her death or arranging an accident or suicide wouldn't be difficult.

And Catra was helpless to stop her. She couldn't escape this force field - not even her claws would cut it. But the floor? She looked down, hesitated a moment, then pulled the thick carpet up and stared at the stone below. Marble. Her claws could cut it - a quick test confirmed it. Depending on how thick the floor was, she could escape. At least to the floor below. And she knew Bright Moon - once she was out of the cell, she could flee. Not even Adora would be able to catch her if she had enough of a lead.

And they would be looking for the Catra they knew - a person Catra wasn't any more. They would be working from all the wrong assumptions. Evading them would be child's play.

So she could escape. Unless there was another force field below the stone. Even so, if the floor was thick enough, she might be able to squeeze through between both force fields if she removed the stone - like digging a tunnel. That would take longer, of course. Something best left for the night.

Of course, the question was: Did she want to escape in the first place? That would make it harder for Adora - her Adora - and the others to find her. And kind of sour relations with this Bright Moon. If they just imprisoned her, Catra could stand it. She had been a prisoner before. And Adora and the others wouldn't take too long to find her. Probably.

They haven't found Angella in years, a small voice whispered in the back of her mind.

That was different! She told herself. They couldn't replicate the portal - but they had surely taken the base with the weapon that had hit Catra. Entrapta, Bow and Sam would be able to use that to find Catra.

She just had to wait. Survive and wait. She could do that.

But if Angella wanted her dead…

Catra clenched her teeth. She wasn't going to let herself be killed here. Certainly not so Angella could keep lying to everyone.

Maybe she should just risk it. Better safe than sorry? She had received breakfast a bit ago, so she wouldn't get lunch for a few more hours. Plenty of time to cut through the floor. In a pinch, she could cover a hole with the carpet. So…

The door opened, and Catra hastily dropped the edge of the carpet and stood up to face whoever was entering.

It was Angella. And… Micah and Entrapta! Angella must have rushed to the island right after leaving Catra to have made it back with them so quickly.

Catra wet her lips and drew a deep breath. "I told you they were alive and on Beast Island." Then she nodded at Micah and weakly smiled at Entrapta. "Hello."

All three glared at her, and Catra winced. That wasn't how her Micah and Entrapta would have reacted. "I guess you were right about the portal's danger," she told Entrapta.

Instead of agreeing - or sneering at her - this Entrapta looked confused. "What do you mean?"

That was… Something was wrong here. "You warned me not to open it," she said.

"I did?" Entrapta cocked her head to the side.

Catra clenched her teeth. "That was why you were sent to Beast Island," she said, her stomach twisting with guilt at the memory.

"But… I was banished to Beast Island because I tried to sabotage the portal."

That wasn't how it happened. But had that happened here? Had Entrapta gone further than in Catra's dimension? Were there other differences?

She glanced at Angella. How was Angella able to fool everyone else if there were more such differences?

The woman scowled and turned away. "Let's leave the prisoner. She will get her just punishment soon enough."

"I'm not your Catra!" Catra snapped. Should she accuse Angella of not being their Angella? Would Angella kill her with witnesses here?

She hesitated, and then the door closed, and she was alone again.