WARNING:
This story follows on the events of my first orginal series story, Legends and
Monsters. While this story is independant and you don't have to read L&M to
understand it, it does contain references to the story that could be spoilers.
In other words, if you might want to read Legends, do so first, as this story
will give away large chunks of the ending. It is available on the tpfict
archives at http://www.xmission.com/~ladyslvr/TPFICT/, if you don't have web
access, contact me and I'll email it to you.
Disclaimer:
The Tomorrow People were created by Roger Price and the copyright is held by
Thames Television. This story is for entertainment purposes only; no copyright
infringement is intended. Permission is given to distribute freely via email
as long as my name and the complete texts of both story and part 0 are
included. Do not post this story to any webpage other than the tpfict archives
without my express permission (in short, only Wendy has permission to put this
on the web at this time).
The bad guys are mostly mine, any resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental, regardless of what their name might be.
Some of the technobabble is based on the work of Robert R Birge, but any mistakes and conjecture are my fault. And credit goes out to Debby Walser-Kuntz for assigning the report I had to do on the work in the first place.
Other thanks goes to:
Wendy Kelley, for support, encouragement, an infinite number of Betas (which helped shape the story immensely), and a funky character check. And general stuff like having the list in the first place. Not to mention the cool title she came up with!
Shaun Owen Hately, for the beta, and writing "The Lesser of Two Evils", without which this story would still be rotting in my fanfic notebook. (And I'd be posting Midsummer's).
Maria Sloughter for general support during the writing of the first draft, and for saying I wasn't as far off as I thought I was for the end. That and the 42/47 thing.
Another note:
Last year, Selma McCrory sent the entire list a gift, namely her story called "Birthday Gifts" on her birthday, continuing a family tradition. I thought this was a sort of neat idea, so I'm following suit with part one of this story.
I will post weekly on Thursdays (although it's most likely to be in the evenings/nights as I'll normally have lab) until it wraps. This is finished, so if I'm more than 48 hours late, please feel free to (politely) bug me. (This allows me time to ask for a repost if I send it and xmission eats it.)
Comments welcome/appreciated/begged for. Even if it's something like, "[spoilers] would never do [spoilers]." (-8
Enjoy! Beth
"Andrew Forbes, what is that in your mouth?" John nearly yelled from the jaunting pad.
Andrew reached up with a hand, took hold of the white stick in his mouth, and pulled it out, brown eyes laughing. On the end was a red circle of candy. "Sorry, John, I didn't know sugar was a psychoactive substance."
"You've never met my little sister," Mike quipped from the depths of his book. "How was your date, John?"
Andrew went back to his newspaper, turning the page.
"A gentleman never tells, Mike," John replied, walking over to behind where Andrew was sitting.
"A simple 'good' would suffice, John. You don't have to be James Bond."
"It seems to me, that if John does not want to tell us anything he should not have to, Mike," Hsui Tai suggested.
"Yeah, well... if it was bad he'd go running... no, that's not..." Mike stuttered.
"Not another one!" Andrew exclaimed after turning a page of the newspaper.
"What is it?" John leaned over, placing a hand on Andrew's shoulder.
Mike inwardly rolled his eyes- John had been overly... something... ever since adopting Andrew.
"Another teenager disappeared from West London yesterday," Andrew replied, concern evident in his voice.
"How many does that make, TIM?" John requested.
Mike squirmed. He needed to get home.
"Ten boys in the last two weeks-- and the police suspect those are just the ones who were missed. All disappeared within ten blocks of the Abercourt buildings."
Mike was slightly relieved, his sister, at least, was safe.
"Isn't that where you used to live, Mike?" Hsui Tai asked.
"Yeah, it is. Do you think it's a coincidence, John?"
"You haven't lived there for two and a half years, Mike, I doubt it could be anything *but* coincidence," John replied sensibly.
"Still, I think I'd better go check it out-- check up on some old friends."
"No you're not. Not alone."
"I'm not going to learn anything with any of you lot hanging about."
"Surely Andrew or Hsui Tai wouldn't be considered threatening?"
"As much as I'd like Hsui Tai--- or Andrew-- along, well.... do you remember what I was like after I first broke out?"
"Unfortunately."
"Like that, only more so."
"All right, but check in every few minutes-- we don't want you disappearing, too."
"I'm not going to argue with that." Mike got his jacket and stepped onto the jaunting pad.
"Take a stun gun for Pete's sake!"
"What does Peter the Time Guardian have to do with anything?" Mike strapped on a holster. "Anything else?"
"Be careful," Elizabeth replied.
"I will."
Mike jaunted. John frowned and sat down next to Andrew, taking part of the paper that Andrew was finished with. He started trying to read it upside down.
A short exchange of gestures occurred, resulting in Hsui Tai and Andrew retiring to Andrew's cabin for a game of crazy eights.
* * *
"I don't like this," Hsui Tai said as they settled down on the floor.
"Would you rather play rummy, then?"
"No, I meant Mike on his own."
"It's all right, Hsui Tai. He can take care of himself."
* * *
"He can take care of himself, you know," Elizabeth prompted John gently, trying to get him talk rather than sitting there stewing.
"I know. I still worry though."
There was silence for a beat. Elizabeth noticed John kept glancing over his shoulder in the direction of the boys' cabins.
"Why are you doing that?"
"You don't think we have to worry about them, do we, Liz?"
"No. Now, if it were Mike...."
"He knows she'd run out of the room screaming in terror if he tried anything. And as dense as Mike can sometimes be, he realizes it would probably ruin their friendship."
"How do you know that?"
"We've been having some rather... interesting chats lately."
"Speaking of, have you spoken to Andrew about..."
"Yes! It's not like it was with Hsui Tai, you know-- Andrew wasn't raised by monks!"
* * *
[Hi, John, fifteen minutes and I haven't been carted off by a bunch of gypsies yet,] Mike 'pathed.
[The next time I see Tyso I'll tell him you said that.]
[Can't you take a joke?]
[He thinks it's crunch time all ready, Mike,] Elizabeth teased.
[Ha ha.] John was clearly not amused. [Do me a favor?]
[Maybe. What is it?]
[Promise me you'll jaunt out of there at the first sign of trouble.]
[Sure, right after you promise not to worry.] Mike sent him a mental image of a big "have a nice day" happy face. [I promise I'll jaunt if anyone makes a grab at me. I'll be back in a few minutes anyway, everyone who I've found is clueless, everyone I haven't are enigmas and there's only a few places I can check.]
[Enigmas?] Elizabeth 'pathed curiously.
[People who don't have too many friends or even families. Lots of them haven't been seen for days. I'm beginning to wonder if someone's intending to take people no one would miss and making a bit of a mess of it.]
[Possibly. Be extra careful, Mike, someone might think that no one would miss you, since you're around so seldom.]
'No one would, would they?' Mike thought, then shook it. Of course the others would miss him. John was being silly though. [Don't be ridiculous, I'm not dressed like I'm from around here.]
[Famous last words.]
Mike rolled his eyes and broke the contact.
* * *
"Look on the bright side, John, at least Mike isn't corrupting Andrew and Hsui Tai too much."
"What are we going to do with that boy? He hasn't checked in for ages."
Elizabeth sighed. "Don't be ridiculous John, it's only been..." she checked her watch, "twenty-five minutes. Uh- oh."
She and John rose and placed their hands on TIM's table. [Mike. Mike!]
Andrew and Hsui Tai bolted into the room.
[Mike, Mike, please respond,] the four called worriedly.
'What's wrong?' John thought.
[Mike?] there was still no response.
'He's not dead,' Andrew reminded himself. 'We'd know if he were dead.'
Andrew switched to speech. "Where is he?"
"Unconscious," John replied, "I know the signs. TIM, can you track him, please?"
"It won't work right now, John, the signal is fading in and out and moving in a highly erratic fashion."
"How is that possible if he's unconscious?" Hsui Tai wondered.
"Let's not worry about that now, Hsui Tai. Jaunt us to his last position, TIM," John instructed. He handed Hsui Tai a stun gun belt and strapped another to his own waist.
They jaunted.
"Aw. I wanted to go. He sent Stephen and Kenny into more danger than I ever see. Even when they were younger than I am now," Andrew complained.
"We're trying to toughen Hsui Tai up a bit, and two's enough. Besides, you're a valuable ace in the hole," Elizabeth reminded him.
* * *
"I don't like this," a brown haired man whispered to his companions.
They sat in the shadows. One of the others was a blond- haired man a couple years younger than the first, the other an auburn haired woman. The three were talking in extremely hushed whispers, incomprehensible to someone even passing by. To the untrained eye, they appeared relaxed, as if chatting about insignificant matters. However, one with training in espionage would notice that they sat so that they could watch all of the courtyard but the blank wall behind them. That they were more alert than they appeared. An observer would have to sit next to them and concentrate hard to understand them. And even then, they might miss things, unless they were telepathic, for the conversation was half aural whisper, and half telepathically filling in the blanks-- which was harder for a telepath outside of the communication to detect.
"You'll just have to put up with it, James," the woman replied.
"Easy for you to say, Tina, you've got the cushy job, I've got to go turning boys into mindless drones for the 'good' doctor's patrol guards."
"I hardly consider pretending to be in love with that madman cushy!"
"Volume," the blond hissed. "I still don't understand why he doesn't make more robots."
"The memory and the security measures cost an arm and a leg."
"I still don't know why we're here, John and the others can handle it," James insisted.
"This man is a threat to the entire Federation and the Trig have decided that we are to handle it," Tina replied.
"We should warn them that we're 'ere, at least, they're likely to get in the way otherwise," the blond added.
"No, Tom. In no way is either of you to contact the Tomorrow People. That is a *direct* order, which I believe you know the consequences of breaking. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm supposed to meet his royal lowness for lunch." Tina stalked off.
* * *
John and Hsui Tai materialized in an obscure corner of the yard enclosed by Mike's buildings. They scanned quickly about.
Nothing.
John signaled Hsui Tai to go in one direction, then headed in the opposite one himself. They searched thoroughly, calling telepathically every few minutes. There was still no response.
[Liz, Andrew, I think we need to widen the search,] John replied.
* * *
James's hip radio beeped.
"Yes?"
"Sir," Anthony, who headed the "acquisitions" team, responded, "we're getting some unusual readings from our newest recruit."
"I'll be right there."
* * *
James walked into a room with tons of scientific equipment. One was recognizable as an electroencephalograph (EEG) machine. The others would be unknown to most Saps, but James knew them to be equipment for wiping the minds of the boys their group was collecting. This process created perfect soldiers with nothing to live for; they served in his boss's "mercenary" army, willing to harm other living beings for no particular purpose other than orders. It made him sick.
The knot in his stomach wrenched as he saw who was laying on the table. He took a quick glance at the wedge shaped pattern on the monitor to prevent Anthony's growing suspicious.
"The boy's a telepath. Let's turn him loose before he wakes up."
"Oh, James."
James turned round to discover his "boss", the target of the undercover operation, standing in the doorway. Dr. Jeffries smiled at him and beckoned.
****
[Mike! Mike!] Andrew called desperately.
It was getting late, and Andrew felt like he'd been searching for weeks instead of mere hours.
He turned a corner and shone his electric torch down what must have been the three hundredth alley that night. Atop piles of rubbish lay a shadowy figure. Andrew concentrated the small circle of light on it as he slowly approached.
[I've found him,] Andrew called triumphantly as he recognized the slightly bruised face of his friend.
John jaunted to Andrew's side. "Well done, Andrew. He's in a bad way. Mike?"
Mike groaned, but otherwise didn't respond.
"Come on, let's get you back to the lab."
"Lab? What've I done?"
"Don't ye want to go home?" Andrew was so worried he slipped slightly into his Scottish accent.
"Home. Right," Mike replied, trying to get up.
Andrew and John helped him to his feet.
[Can you jaunt, Mike.] John frowned. Something was wrong, he suspected Mike's powers were out.
"Let's go," Mike said. He started trying to walk forward.
John pulled a matter transporter band off of his wrist and strapped it round Mike's. "I don't think you're up to it at the moment."
"I'm fine."
[All right, TIM.]
The three young men disappeared from the alley and reappeared on the jaunting pad in front of two very worried faces-- those of Liz and Hsui Tai.
"All right, Andrew, let's get him to the medical couch."
"I'm fine... John, really." Mike disengaged himself from the grip of his two friends. "I don't need your mother hen act, just a good night's sleep."
He headed in the general direction of the girls' cabins, then turned round.
"Mike, I really think it best if TIM has a look at you," John protested. "You might be concussed."
"Cluck, cluck," Mike replied as he left the room.
The other four Tomorrow People stared at each other in amazement.
* * *
The next morning, the others were all ready eating breakfast when a sleepy Mike emerged from the boys' wing.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Sleeping Beauty," Andrew teased.
Mike slapped him. Hard.
"Ouch!" Andrew screeched. "What are you doing?"
"Mike, what do you think you're playing at?" John rose angrily and started for Mike, but Elizabeth held him back.
"Careful, don't make it worse," she hissed.
Mike glared in John and Liz's general direction and then sat down next to Hsui Tai. A little too close for her comfort.
"Mike, why are you treating Andrew so horribly?" Hsui Tai scooted away, closer to the younger boy.
Mike moved closer and extended an arm round her shoulders. "I'm sorry, darling, did I upset you?" He pulled her in, close to his body. "I'm sorry." He kissed her full on the lips.
Hsui Tai was too shocked and dismayed to so much as pull away from him, but Andrew was not similarly paralyzed. He grabbed Mike by the shoulder and shoved. When that didn't work, he got up, and grabbed Mike's ear.
"Ow!" Mike pulled away from Hsui Tai and trapped Andrew in a headlock.
"Let me go!"
Hsui Tai got up and ran from the room.
"Knock it off!" John exclaimed.
Mike tore off after Hsui Tai.
Andrew followed. Hsui Tai ran into her cabin and slammed the door. Mike opened it and followed.
"Leave me alone!" Hsui Tai sobbed.
Andrew ran in and tried to haul Mike out of the room. Mike resisted but grabbed Andrew by the collar and dragged him into the corridor. He then caught Andrew in another headlock.
"Mike," John's voice was low, threatening, as he walked into the corridor. He had one hand behind his back.
"Sure, take his side. That's all you've done since that dragon toasted his Daddy anyway!"
Andrew started sniffling.
"What a horrible thing to say, Mike," Elizabeth scolded from behind John.
"I can see we need to have a talk," John began. "Why don't you let go of Andrew and we'll retire to your cabin...."
"What do you care?"
John pulled a stun gun from behind his back. "Let go of him now, Mike." John took aim.
"You're not gonna shoot me."
John fired. Mike and Andrew tumbled to the ground. Mike's head hit the corner of the door frame with a sickening crunch.
"Oh, no," Hsui Tai squealed, covering her ears, curling up in a ball, and cowering in terror.
John raced over. There were computer parts everywhere- transistors, things Saps would use mostly, and some pretty advanced looking cubes of some sort. A quick inspection revealed that they were streaming out of "Mike's" head.
"Help me get this thing off Andrew, will you, Liz?"
Elizabeth rushed to his side. "Give us a hand with this, Hsui Tai."
"How can you be so calm when Mike is hurt?" Hsui Tai nearly wailed.
"It's not Mike, Hsui Tai. It's a robot. Help us get it off Andrew, will you?" John replied irritably.
"We should have TIM examine it," Elizabeth added.
The three hoisted the robot up and dragged it into the lounge and onto TIM's medical couch.
"What do you make of it, TIM?" Elizabeth asked.
John returned to Andrew's side.
"Andrew?" he shook the boy gently.
"Ugh, what hit me?" Andrew groaned, and sat up, despite John's gestured protests.
"A fifty kilo robot pretending to be Mike." John smoothed Andrew's hair. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, but if that was a robot, where's Mike?"
"I wish I knew." John frowned and gingerly carried Andrew to a couch in the lounge. "Let's see if your brains have leaked out."
Andrew rolled his eyes. He hadn't been hit *that* hard.
"I have completed my analysis," TIM prompted.
"Go ahead, TIM." John turned to face the artificial intelligence.
"It is a cybernetic android, far in advance of anything the Saps have. Most of its key programs were stored on cubes that contained bacteriarhodopsin, a chemical that changes configurations when exposed to a special sort of light; it can maintain those changes at four degrees Celsius and be used to store data. When the android's head was cracked open, the coolant ceased to flow, thus allowing the chemical to return to its ground state and randomizing the information it recorded. It also contained a transmitter, but essential parameters, such as the frequency it was transmitting on, were set using the bacteriarhodopsin technology."
"In other words," Elizabeth sighed, "you can't tell us anything about where Mike might be."
"I'm afraid not."
"I have a feeling it was connected to Mike, somehow," Hsui Tai nearly sobbed. "Like he wanted to treat me that way."
"Don't be silly, Hsui Tai, Mike would never do anything like that to us," Andrew said bravely. He looked to John for conformation. John nodded.
"I'm not so sure," Hsui Tai sobbed.
"Hsui Tai," John put a comforting arm round her shoulders, "Mike would *never* do those things against your will. Never."
Hsui Tai shook her head, sobbing.
John pulled her closer for a moment, emitting warm, comforting thoughts. "Shh, it's all right."
Hsui Tai lingered in the warmth, then pulled away, stifling the last of her sobs.
"It wasn't Mike."
Hsui Tai nodded.
"TIM, is there any reason this robot can be of any more use to us?"
"I don't see how, John."
"Then deatomize it, please."
The robot faded out of existence.
"All right, Andrew, your turn," John instructed.
"I don't want to be deatomized!"
John shook his head in annoyance. "I meant that it was your turn to be examined. I wouldn't ask TIM to deatomize you; at least not as long as you don't pull any more stunts at school."
Andrew rolled his eyes, but complied. He, Mike, and Hsui Tai had tickets to a Beach Boys concert that weekend, and he had *no* desire to get grounded for it. Why did John have to be such a tease? It's not like he was the only one who put chalk in the erasers sometimes, even if he did so by using subtle telekinesis in the middle of class. No one figured it out.
"John, shouldn't we go after Mike?" Liz was getting impatient.
"What good are we going to do him if Andrew's going to keel over on us?"
"There's no chance of that happening, John. Andrew is perfectly fit and healthy, outside of a couple of bruises, which I have all ready cleared up."
John sighed with relief. "TIM, go through the immigration computers and see if you get any anomalies, please. Start a couple weeks before the first disappearance and work from there."
"Now what?" Andrew sighed.
"Well, we'd know if he was dead, and if he's conscious, he's probably lost his special powers or he'd have contacted us by now. I guess we go back to the area around the Abercourt buildings and search out from there. Unless anyone has any better ideas?"
No one had.
"OK, Hsui Tai, you're with me. Elizabeth, take Andrew, and don't let him out of your sight, he's particularly vulnerable."
"I won't, John."
"I can take care of myself."
"I know," John replied, "but so can Mike."
Andrew didn't argue any further.
"Everyone take stun guns and matter transporters. We don't know if Mike will be any condition to jaunt or not."
* * *
Dr. Jeffries stood glaring at Anthony and James.
"Anthony, you idiot!"
"What'd I do now? It's not my fault he blasted the thing!"
"It doesn't matter whether or not he blasted it! You used the wrong protocols. Those were meant for the natives of this planet, not a telepath! They're less aggressive than your kind. That behavior was so uncharacteristic that it couldn't have fooled them for very much longer even if he hadn't. And you, James, should have known better than to let him handle such things. He's good at snatch and grab, but I depend on you for the more... intellectual side of things."
"I guess we'll have to let the boy go now," James attempted.
"You'll do no such thing. We may not be able to obtain intelligence on his friends anymore, but his knowledge may come in handy. Or at least we may be able to use his telepathy to track his friends' movements once they learn what we're planning."
"So what do we do now, Dr. Jeffries?" Anthony inquired.
"There's no time, right now. Put the boy in the sensory deprivation chamber. Then activate the other robots and brief them."
"Is that wise considering what happened to the prototype?"
"That was jury-rigged compared to these models."
"Point well taken, boss, I'll get right on it.
"Are you ready, Gary, dear?" breathed a voice from the doorway.
"I'll be with you in a moment, Tina," Jeffries replied.
Anthony left the room.
"James, I thought you were dedicated to our cause."
"I am, sir," James stared at the floor, hoping he looked submissive rather than reluctant. "I want the galaxy to be safe for real people again."
"Then think things through more carefully in future."
"Yes, sir."
* * *
[Any luck, TIM?] John 'pathed.
[I'm sorry John, but this will require more than fifteen minutes to complete.]
[Elizabeth, Andrew, find anything yet?]
[No John, it would be more effective if we split up.]
[All right, but check in every five minutes, Andrew.]
* * *
[John,] Andrew 'pathed.
[It's only been three minutes Andrew, and I thought I was paranoid.]
[No comment. I've just realized something-- if whoever- we're-up-against managed to make a copy of Mike in just about an hour or so that fooled his closest friends, even for a little bit, what would happen if they used it to replace someone they know a great deal about, like the Prime Minister or the US President?]
[TIM, jaunt Andrew and I to Downing Street at once. Hsui Tai, Elizabeth, start with the American President. I'm sure Mike wouldn't want us to ignore a potential world crisis just to find him.]
* * *
"The Prime Minister will see you now," the secretary said, showing them towards the PM's office.
John indicated that Andrew should go first. Andrew obeyed, knees shaking.
"You wanted to see me?" the Prime Minister inquired. She was not so open to the idea of the Tomorrow People as her predecessor, but she had, so far, taken his advice in listening when they spoke to her.
She also spoke directly to John and ignored Andrew's presence all together. John decided that this attitude was a failing on her part, and should probably be discouraged.
[OK, Andrew, show 'er your stuff.]
"Madam. Prime Minister, ma'am, um, we have reason to believe that you and other world leaders are in great danger. We've encountered...."
The doors to the Prime Minister's office burst open.
"OK, stick your hands in the air and no one gets hurt!" Anthony burst into the room with four young men and a robotic clone of the Prime Minister. "And throw those guns down, very slowly."
Andrew and John slowly took the stun guns out of their holsters and dropped them.
"Now, if you want to live, you'll do exactly as I say."
John used telekinesis to make the matter transporter band around his wrist appear around that of the Prime Minister. Fortunately, she was wearing long sleeves, so this went unnoticed.
"What do you want? What are you doing here?" John inquired, hoping to learn more.
"We aim to prove to the galaxy that they've misconstrued the Earth," Anthony replied, then realized, too late, that such discussions were probably not a good idea. "No more talking, or I'll shoot."
There was nothing more to be learned there.
[TIM, please jaunt Andrew and I back to the lab and activate my matter transporter.]
The three figures vanished from Number 10 and reappeared in the Tomorrow People's lab.
"How did I get here?" the Prime Minister inquired, confused.
"You'll find a matter transporter band 'round your wrist. Sorry to move you so abruptly, but I thought it best to get you out of there. Have a seat," John gestured as he stepped down from the jaunting pad. "Would you like something to drink after all that?"
"Yes, please." She sat opposite to the couch containing Elizabeth and Hsui Tai.
"I take it you had better luck with her than we did with the American President."
"We didn't get anywhere before we were burst in upon by a bunch of thugs and a robot made to look like the Prime Minister."
"How did you know that was a robot? Are you in on this?" the Prime Minister accused.
"Of course not, Prime Minister, we were there to warn you that might happen. Our friend was replaced in much the same way."
"What advantage would that have?"
"We believe that Mike was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time," Elizabeth replied. "Either that or the forces at work knew about us and wanted to keep tabs on us."
"All right, let's try contacting Mike again. If he's regained consciousness, he might be able to tell us something," John ordered.
The four Tomorrow People linked.
[Mike? Mike!]
There was still no response.
"John, there has been an announcement that the leaders of the US, Canada, Britain, the Soviet Union, China, Japan, and Australia are going to make a joint announcement in twenty-four hours."
"What?! I'm not even there." The Prime Minister exclaimed.
"Yes, but they have a robot willing to do their bidding who looks just like you," John reminded her. "TIM, was there any indication of where they are broadcasting from?"
"No, John, but there have been freak transmission beamed to a satellite from somewhere in West London. Elizabeth, Andrew, and I will continue searching there. Hsui Tai, I want you to scout out Number 10 Downing Street; see if there's anything there that might give us a lead. Prime Minister, make yourself comfortable. I think for the time being, you'll be safer where you are."
* * *
"Hsui Tai? Andrew? Liz? John?" Mike was delirious.
He was suspended in a dark room. He couldn't see anything, hear anything, taste anything, smell anything, or feel anything in either the physical or psychic sense. He wasn't even sure where he was or how he got there. There was no conspicuous absence, similar to that felt when a telepath dies; there was just nothing.
* * *
"You have to be more careful, James, another stunt like that and you could blow our cover."
"What was I supposed to do, do it right myself? That would endanger all the Tomorrow People, *and* our cover."
"We should just bust 'im now, before this gets out of hand," Tom added.
"I won't end this yet. We're so close...." Tina insisted.
The blond man interrupted. "Close! We can get them on interference in the affairs of a closed world."
"No, we can't, Tom, we can only arrest him for conspiracy to interfere and violating the closure act. He wouldn't get the proper treatment. He'd be released in six months regardless of whether it was safe to do so or not."
"Captain, you don't intend to let them make that broadcast, do you? What he's done with the world leaders is enough. You know what it's like here; there could be another major crisis at any time. If it is announced that one man is now in control of the entire world, there would be widespread panic, not to mention what happened the last time advanced life made themselves known to the Earth as a whole."
"No, Lieutenant, I don't intend to allow him to make the broadcast, I intend to stop him just before. I just want to be sure we never have to chase him down again, that's all. It's bad enough he killed my last partner, now he wants to destroy everything we've ever worked for. I want him locked up forever!"
"Is this about justice or revenge for your partners, Tina?" James insisted.
"I've had enough of your insubordination, Lieutenant! Follow your orders and quit arguing." Tina stalked off.
"I don't think she's thinkin' with a clear 'ead," Tom sighed when the Captain was out of earshot.
"Definitely not; although she doesn't know the Tomorrow People well, so it's possible that she simply doesn't believe they'll be able to find this place."
"Well, I'm supposed to be back on duty soon. Everyone's distracted, I'll see what I can dig up in the way of solid evidence in Jeffries's files. Right now, our testimony isn't enough."
James sighed, and nodded. "I guess that's the best we can do at the moment. It's Mike I'm worried about. He may be a pain in the neck, but if something happens to him, John will drive himself crazy and I'd never forgive myself."
"We'll just have to keep him safe, that's all," Tom gave James a cocky grin and squeezed his shoulder.
James smiled.
Sure that James would be all right, Tom left.
* * *
James wandered to the control room, where he found Anthony fooling with the controls.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Anthony turned. "The boss may be crazy enough to keep this guy around, but I'm hooking up the mind-wipe machine to the sensory deprivation chamber controls. He's too much of a liability."
James grabbed Anthony by both arms, restraining him. He didn't do anything menacing, or painful, only enough to make Anthony feel vulnerable, make him think that James *would* hurt him. "Our orders are to leave him as he is. You're such an idiot! I don't know why the boss likes having you around, but as such, I can't kill you. However, if you so much as *think* about trying this again, I'll make you wish I had. Do you understand?"
Anthony nodded weakly.
"Good. Now get back to your duties." James released him.
"Yes, sir."
* * *
[John?]
[Yes, Hsui Tai, what is it?]
[I- I've found some of the vans they've been driving. They just shuttled the Prime Minister robot into one of them. Shall I have TIM look up the number plate?]
[No, Hsui Tai, let's just leave it alone and let Mike rot and the forces of evil take over the world.] John's patience was shortening by the minute.
[OK.]
[It's called sarcasm, Hsui Tai!] John was going from impatient to just plain cross. [Give TIM the number!]
Regardless of whether Hsui Tai really misunderstood him, or pretended to do so, it would have to be dealt with later.
[I have the address, John. It is near where you originally found the robot.]
[Jaunt us all there, please, TIM.]
* * *
They appeared outside a large warehouse.
"I wonder how many we're dealing with." John passed his watch out in front of him in a sweeping motion. "Life content nil? That can't be right, surely."
Andrew sneaked up to the building and peeked in the window. [There's some equipment and filing cabinets, but it looks like no one's been in there for a couple of weeks.]
[Andrew, you stay there and snoop around a bit, see what you can find out. Hsui Tai, Elizabeth, and I will go back to searching.]
* * * Tom flinched. He thought he'd felt someone jaunt away. [You two haven't jaunted off on me, have you?]
[We're both still here, Tom. Must've been one of the locals,] James replied.
[Maintain telepathic silence.]
Tom went back to rifling through papers.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Tom turned to see Jeffries standing behind him.
"Oh, um, I was just looking for those mind-wipe notes. There have been some cases of..."
"Carry on, then."
Tom frowned. That was way too easy.
* * *
"Anthony."
"Yes, Doctor Jeffries?"
"Watch Tom, he's been acting suspicious lately."
"Yes, sir."
* * *
Andrew went through file after file. There were files of footage of many world leaders, but he knew what those were for. There were files of galactic coordinates, but those didn't mean very much to him. Then, suddenly, one of the star charts looked familiar, but he didn't know why. There was a bulls-eye painted over a rather specific area.
[TIM.]
[What is it, Andrew?]
[Are the coordinates 091176 by 062777 by 110295 familiar to you at all?]
[Those are the coordinates of the Galactic Trig,] TIM replied.
[John.] Andrew was near panic.
Warmth came with John's thoughts. [Panicking won't help, what did you find?]
[Star charts, with a bulls-eye around the Galactic Trig. I think we're in trouble.]
[TIM, send a message to the Trig at once. Warn them we may have uncovered a possible attack. I knew the Saps couldn't be behind this.]
Andrew noticed a real estate ad on the floor. It was circled in read with "perfect" written on it. [John, I think I've found an address.]
* * *
"What are those new guns the drones were carrying?" Tom whispered to James in the mess hall.
"Voluminite ray guns. Jeffries is expecting trouble." James attempted to make his next statement sound as if he thought it were ridiculous. "They're to be used on anyone who appears out of thin air."
"We're really gonna have to watch it, if one of us gets in the way of a shot..."
"...Our cover goes out like the air in a busted space suit."
"Same if they catch one of the others and they happen to see us."
* * *
"I don't like this," Hsui Tai said, staring at the compound.
"Tough, Hsui, we can't leave Mike to rot, and we can't let these people take over the world."
"I meant that there's something wrong with this place, *master*," Hsui Tai snapped at John, disliking the use of only half of her name.
"What do you think, Liz?" John ignored the younger girl.
"We should be careful, they're all ready managing to hold on to one of us."
"That's why I told Andrew to keep sorting through the warehouse. Let's split up, we'll cover more ground that way."
* * *
Each Tomorrow Person was assigned a different segment of the compound and jaunted in. This new development did not go undetected in the mess, where Tina had joined James and Tom for dinner; Jeffries was otherwise occupied, and part of their cover story included that Tina was James's sister, so that they could be seen together without arousing suspicion.
"Did you feel that?" James half whispered.
"What do we do about it?" Tom added. "This can't go on."
"Eat your dinner, Lieutenant."
"This is going too far; they could stumble in at the wrong minute and ruin everything."
"James you're such an idiot!" Tina picked up her tray and stalked off to another table.
Tom frowned. "Now what?"
"We try to stay out of sight, I suppose," James sighed.
* * *
John found himself in a corridor. He heard footfalls and ducked into a closet, waiting until they were well past before emerging. He slipped about from corridor to corridor, darting in and out of rooms. He found a television studio, but nothing else of terrible interest, until he came across a door labeled "Indoctrination".
He opened the door and found an EEG machine, and something much more alien and sinister. He examined it carefully, relaying as much of the image as he possibly could to TIM via telepathy. [Any idea what it is, TIM?]
[Some sort of memory erasing device.]
John gulped, hoping it hadn't been used on Mike. [Is there any way to reverse the effects.]
[I will start working on the problem,] TIM replied.
John sighed. That meant TIM didn't know.
* * *
Hsui Tai found a locked door, it was labeled "stasis control". Wondering if it might give her a clue to what was going on, she jaunted into the room.
A drone sat monitoring the equipment. On a monitor the occupant of the sensory deprivation chamber appeared.
"Mike!" Hsui Tai exclaimed.
The drone whirled around and fired a pistol. A flash of white light enveloped Hsui Tai and she fell, quivering like Jell-O in a car on a poorly maintained road.
* * *
[Hsui Tai?] TIM called. [Hsui Tai?]
There was no response.
[John, I believe that Hsui Tai might have been struck by volumin.]
[Can you jaunt us near to her, please, TIM?]
John and Elizabeth appeared outside the door marked "stasis control". John tried to door. "Locked. She must've jaunted in and surprised whoever's in there."
John held a hand up to the lock and the tumbler shot back. He opened the door and went through, Elizabeth on his heels, both with stun guns drawn.
"Stay where you are!" John exclaimed. "Put my friend down, slowly."
The drone placed Hsui Tai gently back on the floor, then drew his voluminite pistol and fired.
John and Liz joined Hsui Tai in a heap on the floor.
* * *
[Andrew,] TIM called. [All the others have been struck by volumin.]
[Oh, bother,] Andrew sighed. [Did you try activating their matter transporter bands?]
[Yes, but only the bands came back. They must have been removed.]
[These guys must know about us. I can't just go barging in there, I'll be captured too. Any ideas, TIM?]
[I should contact the Galactic Trig for help, they have a stake in this, after all.]
[All right, TIM, I'm going to see if I can find out anything else useful here, then I'll come back to the lab.]
* * *
John woke up, groaning. "What hit me?"
"Feels like volumin," Hsui Tai replied. "Elizabeth is here too, but Andrew is still free. I'm worried about him."
John looked around. "There must be a way out of here... that vent."
"I tried it, John, but it won't even budge," Hsui Tai replied.
"I have better upper body strength," John replied, and tried to move the vent. And tried. And tried. "Damn. We'll just have to hope Andrew can get us out of here in the next... hour."
"I'm worried about him, John," Hsui Tai sighed.
"Me too."
* * *
"Shouldn't James and Tom be in on this, sir?" Anthony inquired.
"As much as I despise your incompetence, it seems that those two, as well as Tina, are not to be trusted. You are to make preparations in case they attempt to interfere with the broadcast." Jeffries replied. "Nothing must stop our clones from declaring me supreme ruler of the Earth. Is that clear?"
"Crystal clear, sir."
* * *
"Any word from the Trig, TIM?" Andrew inquired from the jaunting pad.
"They have said that they cannot dispatch anyone at this time. They seemed rather puzzled by the request as well."
"I guess I'm on my own, then," Andrew sighed. Why is it he only got to go into real danger when he was completely on his own, with no one to bail him out? OK, so the first time, Hsui Tai was with him, but she wasn't much help, and last time Liz was free, but 800 light years away.
"Do not fear, Andrew, I left a message for Carol and Kenny, they will see that there is someone to rescue you, even if they must do it personally."
"Won't that put the species Homo superior at risk?"
"Carol and Kenny aren't the only Tomorrow People who moved away from Earth."
Andrew took an extra stun gun. He thought for a moment.
"TIM, did John happen to keep one of the old matter transporter belts? Or better yet, five of them?"
"I am sorry Andrew, but they are in the old lab, which is virtually impenetrable at the moment."
"What if we ever need it again?"
"I can lower the defenses from here, but it would take several hours."
Andrew checked his watch and sighed, "We only have half an hour. Did you study those blue prints I gave you, TIM?"
"I am in the process of deciphering them. The code used to label them is unknown to me. I will let you know when I learn anything of interest."
* * *
[Did you feel that?] James inquired as he white balanced a camera with Tina holding up a sheet of white paper.
[Shh, he'll hear you,] Tina replied.
[Good, it's bad enough the others have been taken, if we tell him the situation's under control, then he'll go back to the lab where he's safe,] Tom suggested.
[YOU ARE NOT TO CONTACT ANDREW.]
[How far do we let this guy go, Tina? Maybe you don't consider them family but...]
[It goes to the wire. It's the only way. I have considered the safety of John and the others...]
[Don't tell me you think this is an acceptable risk, Captain.]
[That's enough out of you, Lieutenant. Just be glad my cover hinges on yours or you'd be joining your friends.]
Tom and James exchanged glances. They needed Tina's help to make the arrest, but in her current condition it was clear that her judgment was impaired. What on Earth should they do? James glanced at his watch, 'We have to be there in five minutes. Great, first time in years I desperately need to talk to John, and it's possible, but there's no *time*.'
* * *
[Are you sure this will work?] James was getting nervous.
[All of the top humans are here and the broadcast is in just under ten minutes,] Tina replied, as she adjusted the make-up on the Prime Minister robot, and then returned to her seat (things were so chaotic, she'd been drafted). [We're all three here. What could go wrong? We move at the ten second mark.]
Anthony's hip radio went off. "Yes?" He listened intently. "We have another intruder in the compound."
"Secure this room, Anthony."
Guards started streaming into the room, more coming to the doors to replace them.
[You were saying?] James snapped.
[Tom and I are just going to have to cover the humans on our own. You jaunt to the robot control room and deactivate them. Cut the main power if you have to.]
[But that would terminate the life support system in the sensory depravation chamber! Scratch one Tomorrow Person.] James's telepathic "voice" was practically a whine.
[We'll just have to get him to medical attention in time.]
[What if we can't?]
[Cross that bridge if we come to it. There's no time for being squeamish.]
[We're not just talking about guts here, we're talking about the Prime Barrier. I can't believe you have no...]
[There's too many ifs in that equation, there's no time for that now.]
[Easy for you to say, Mike's not just anyone, don't forget.]
[I have considered every factor. We move on ten seconds.]
"Now!" Anthony barked.
Guards shot James, Tina, and Tom with their ray guns. The three collapsed. Tom was out cold while James and Tina writhed on the floor.
Dr. Jeffries cackled. "I knew those three were too brilliant for their own good. They must be Fed agents. Lock them up with the others."
Three drones dragged the incapacitated Federation agents out of the TV studio and into the hallway. A shadowy figure ducked unnoticed into a doorway. The figure appeared to be wearing a plaid skirt.
The drones didn't notice as the figure followed them down the hallway, hoping they would lead him to where he needed to be.
The drones opened a door down a third corridor, and tossed the limp forms onto the floor, relocking the door behind them.
John looked up. "Stephen!" He raced to his friend, patting his cheeks. "Stephen, are you all right? Did Andrew call you here? What's going on?"
"Ugh, I *hate* that voluminite stuff," Stephen groaned.
"You've been hit by it before?" John was amazed. "Who are these guys? What are they doing with volumin? What are you doing here?"
"They exposed us to it so we wouldn't get as disoriented by it, recover quicker, as soon as they discovered that the Sorsons had it. The leader of this unsavory bunch is Neektor, alias Dr. Gary Jefferies, and he's trying to destroy the Federation. Reminds me of that guy who was accidentally killed when Carol met Peter; what was his name? Rabowski. Neektor wants to rid the galaxy of telepaths. Thinks we're not real beings or something. We were assigned to stop him, but we made a mess of it. Tyso and I wanted to contact you, John, but Tricia wouldn't let us. At least they haven't got Andrew."
"And you do everything Tricia tells you?" John's voice rose ten decibels.
"Ugh, John, you'll wake the dead," Tyso groaned.
"She is our commanding officer, John, although we were beginning to wonder if we were going to have to title 73 her."
"And I suppose, Stephen, that you'd justify the loss of any innocent lives, say Mike's, by the fact that you were 'only following orders'?"
The door swung open.
"Andrew!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "See, what'd I tell you? Ace in the hole!"
"Yell at him later, John, we've got to get out of here," Andrew suggested.
Seven matter transporter bands and six stun guns appeared. Each of the former prisoners donned a matter transporter, but Tricia was left without a stun gun.
"Could I have that please, kid," she inquired, indicating Andrew's gun.
"Have TIM bring her back to the lab," Stephen whispered to the youngest TP.
Tricia vanished.
"She'll be mad, later," Tyso observed.
"No time," Stephen checked his watch. "Damn! Andrew, go down two floors, three rooms that way, and throw the main power switch. That ought to create enough confusion to give us time. Go directly from there to directly above us, Mike is in that room, get a matter transporter band and get him to TIM for treatment-- that's the *worst* way to get out of sensory deprivation, but there's no alternative."
* * *
"When do you want me to throw the switch?"
"As soon as you can, there's emergency torches just across the corridor."
Tyso dashed out to retrieve the torches, dragging Hsui Tai with him to act as a pack animal.
"Do you know anything about that... thing?" Andrew inquired.
"If you mean the robot, it was running Mike's raw emotions through a jury rigged set of personality parameters: it started as generic for Saps, but then Anthony monitored the programming and the robot's performance. He's... I can't think of a term that I would dare use in front of John, and if he overhears me say it to you, I'd get at least a twenty minute lecture. Whatever it did, it's not something Mike would have done."
Tyso returned with the torches and handed them round. Andrew took his and jaunted.
"Stun everyone as you go, the higher-ups are all in the television studio. There are only mind controlled drones elsewhere."
John was glaring daggers at Stephen, but realized the younger man had a better grasp of the situation, so he didn't say anything; it would have to be dealt with later.
* * *
[OK, TIM, be ready to move my matter transporter to the lab on my signal,] Andrew 'pathed, as he stood in front of the main power switch.
[Ready whenever you are Andrew.]
Andrew gave TIM the coordinates he needed to jaunt to from there, then threw the switch. [Jaunt me to him, TIM.]
Andrew materialized in a pitch black room.
He could hear Mike moaning in pain.
[It's all right, Mike,] Andrew soothed, putting a matter transporter band 'round the other's wrist, using TK as he needed one hand to hold the electric torch.
Mike shut his eyes against the diffuse light of the torch.
[Now TIM, and you should probably dim the lights.]
Andrew and Mike disappeared from the hated chamber.
* * *
The others were nearly to the TV studio when the lights went. Close enough to hear Jeffries cursing.
"Now," Stephen said.
The seven Tomorrow People burst through en masse, stun guns blazing.
As if he had a seventh sense, Jeffries grabbed John and held a knife to his throat.
Stephen aimed his stun gun at Jeffries.
"Drop it or he dies," Jeffries threatened.
Tyso held up three fingers, then two, then one. He leapt forward and grabbed Jeffries's hand, pulling the knife away from John's throat. The moment there was no chance of John's throat being cut by the slip of an unconscious madman's hand, Stephen fired, stunning Jeffries and his two friends.
"Silly man, we can't kill, but I don't mind giving my friends a light nap."
Stephen pried a tile in the floor loose. "Matter transporters, set to deliver them to individual cells of a cloaked kalinar in geosynchronous orbit."
"Can a matter transporter take them all that way without a biotronic computer?" Elizabeth was shocked.
"These are slightly more advanced than John's models," Stephen replied.
Andrew jaunted in. "Anything else I can do?"
"How's Mike?" Elizabeth's voice was clouded with worry.
"TIM thinks he's out of the woods, but he's still monitoring him, just in case."
"Run 'cross the hall and get the world leaders home," Stephen ordered.
"Too bad the Americans haven't had elections yet," Andrew sighed. Matter transporters for the world leaders appeared.
Elizabeth laughed. Andrew jaunted. Hsui Tai and Liz finished clipping the matter transporters to Jeffries and his cronies. Stephen activated them.
A figure appeared in the room. "So are you lot ready yet?"
"Carol!" Stephen embraced his old friend. "What are you doing here?"
"Answering a distress call, only by the time Kenny and I got here the situation was reportedly under control."
"Where is Kenny?"
"Seeing to Tricia on your kalinar, she'll probably have to spend a few weeks on the Trig for psychological treatment: losing her last teammates seems to have affected her far more than she originally let on. Don't look so glum," Carol swatted at Stephen's hip affectionately, "he'll be back. With all the rest of us here, there's probably going to be a bit of a party."
Stephen smiled widely.
"Are we ready?" Carol inquired.
"There's one more thing we need to do," Stephen replied.
He walked out of the room. The others (who were conscious) followed.
Stephen entered another room. It was labeled "Personnel Control". The room was filled with equipment, lights flashing vibrantly, making the room, without overhead lighting, look like a disco.
"These are powered by a fusion reactor over there," Stephen indicated a small apparatus with a lot of snakes streaming forth into the other machines.
Stephen turned dials and flicked switches, the lights grew dark with each adjustment, until none were left, leaving the room in darkness.
"Crush it with telekinesis, please, Carol," Stephen instructed.
Sparks screamed through the air as the equipment in the circle of light from Elizabeth's torch shrunk into useless cubes of metal.
"All right, we're ready."
[Jaunt us in, please, TIM,] Carol 'pathed.
* * *
They all appeared in various positions in the lab, most on the jaunting pad, but John and Tyso on the couches as they were still unconscious.
Hsui Tai saw Mike laying on the mediprobe couch and hightailed it to her cabin.
John woke up, groaning. Then he saw Stephen and his discomfort turned to rage as his adrenaline pumped. "How long have you been on Earth young man?"
"Are we supposed to tell you about every covert top- secret investigation we're on."
"You are when it takes you to Earth. Chapter alpha-zed- plural-zed-alpha, item 42, section 46 of the Galactic Code clearly states that all galactic space travelers must notify the head of Federation representation when landing on a closed or protected world. In this case, that means me or Liz."
"Section 47 stipulates that section 46 is null and void when such travelers are participating in deep-cover covert galactic police business or natives of said planet, and in this case, both apply." Stephen snapped in return. "We're still from Earth, you know."
"You deliberately endangered Mike's life. You knew he was here, and you didn't even contact us."
"I wanted to, John, but I was acting under orders from Captain Conway. I was charged with dealing with him, and if he'd been in any real danger...."
"How many people have committed heinous crimes because they were only following orders?"
"It's nice to see you too, John," Stephen replied. It was no use arguing with John, he always won-- unless you were Elizabeth.
"We did miss you, Stephen," Elizabeth moved closer and laid a hand on his shoulder. John's tirade was tugging at the doubt as to whether or not he and Tyso should have relieved Tricia of duty sooner. "It's just we've had a tough day and we've been worried sick. If we'd known you'd had everything under control..."
"You'd have come barging in all the sooner," Stephen laughed, "and don't try to deny it!"
"All the same, Stephen, you had no right to do..."
Carol interrupted, "There is also section 48, the permission of any Galactic Ambassador to the Trig for a closed or protective world may replace that of the resident representatives in such cases that the traveler is a member of the Federation Police Forces and feels that informing residential representatives is a security risk. And Captain Conway, while overzealous, did come to me with excellent reasons that doing so would be a security risk, so I gave them permission."
"You!" John's mouth hung open in astonishment. He couldn't chew out Carol, not in front of the others, it would be as bad if he were to do so to Elizabeth.
"Ugh, what hit me?" Mike groaned, regaining consciousness.
"Nothing, for once," Stephen teased.
"He needs to go to his cabin to rest," TIM added. "Otherwise, he is all right."
"Come on, John," Tyso decided to get some of the heat off Carol and Stephen. "Let's help Mike to his cabin."
The two moved to pick Mike up, but he nixed the idea. "I'm all right."
Mike sat up and tried to rise, but his knees buckled and he had to grab the medicouch for support.
John pulled Mike up, "Come on, we'll help you."
Tyso helped Mike on the other side, and the three left the room. Andrew, who had been skulking quietly in a corner, followed cautiously after them.
"Hello, Kenny, long time, no see," Stephen turned to look at his younger friend.
Kenny glared past Stephen at Carol. "You haven't seen Tricia since before Stephen and Tyso graduated from the academy."
"Well, someone had to shut John up, he was being unreasonable-- and if he thought he'd lost to Stephen... well, it wouldn't be pretty."
The group cracked up laughing.
"Not very ambassador-like of you, Carol," Kenny teased. "We're supposed to tell the truth. Except for white lies of course."
"That *was* a white lie, it kept John from going after Stephen for things that weren't his fault."
"Welcome home," Stephen added.
* * *
"You all right?" Tyso inquired as he and John settled Mike into bed. "Sensory depravation does strange things to telepathic minds."
"I think so, but I had the worst dream in that thing."
Tyso frowned. "What sort of dream?"
"The lab, Andrew, Hsui Tai... I...."
"I wonder if the robot link worked in reverse." Tyso's voice was ponderous.
"Robot link?"
"There was a robot we found that looked like you," John soothed. "It caught Andrew in a headlock and kissed Hsui Tai on the lips. It's not your fault, though."
"That clone was jury rigged. Your emotional responses to its situations were filtered through a personality parameter program, a generic one designed for a Sap, and enhanced by Anthony. He ain't a nice guy and that's putting it nicely. It could have been worse if Stephen had done it himself, though." Tyso explained.
"Are they OK?"
"Andrew seems fine, if a little wary," John replied.
"And Hsui Tai?"
"Get some rest," John running a hand from Mike's forehead and along his hair to his pillow. "You've had a tough day."
Mike jerked away. "Just tell me, John."
"I can't recall ever seeing her so upset."
Andrew appeared in the doorway.
"Could you two excuse us, please?" Mike inquired.
John and Tyso exchanged glances and then left the room.
"You gonna come in?"
Andrew shrugged tentatively.
"It's all right, Andrew, I won't hurt you."
Andrew took a few steps into the room and shut the door.
"Um," Mike and Andrew said at once.
Mike laughed. "We've got to quit doing that. Go ahead."
"Stephen says that robot was based on your emotional response..."
"Partly, but it was also based on Sap behavior patterns. I would *never* act like that."
"I know but.... do you hate me, Mike?"
There were two ways to answer that. One was easier.
"You don't know?" Mike smiled. "Andrew, that's how Saps treat their little brothers; inexplicable of them, I know, but..."
Andrew wrapped his arms around Mike tentatively. Sensing both need and discomfort, Mike pulled Andrew into a tight hug. "It's all right."
Andrew pulled away. "You, um, need anything."
Mike felt equally awkward, but was equally reluctant to show it. "Some soup would be nice, thanks. That and if you could somehow get Hsui Tai to come talk to me, I'd really appreciate it."
"I'll try."
* * *
Elizabeth knocked on Hsui Tai's door.
"Go away!"
"Hsui Tai, it's Elizabeth. Are you sure you don't want to talk?"
The door opened slowly, revealing one brown eye and a shock of black hair. Once Hsui Tai assured herself that neither Mike nor John were around, she opened it all the way, and then gestured for Elizabeth to come in. The elder woman entered and shut the door behind her. Hsui Tai flopped down on her bed.
"What's wrong?" Elizabeth inquired gently.
Hsui Tai sighed and shook her head.
"What don't you understand, Hsui Tai?"
Hsui Tai sat up. "I *hated* it when that robot kissed me, and then having it storm into my room like that...."
Elizabeth was confused, but steadfast. "That was perfectly understandable, but it's not Mike's fault. Why are you upset with him? I know that robot looked like him, but you have to try to remember that Mike was not directly responsible for its actions."
"I know. I did not realize at first, but I do now, I think. I was angry, but now.... Now I wish it was really Mike that kissed me, but not *that* way. I don't understand it at all."
"You two are pretty close, it's possible that you're forming..."
"But I don't want to feel this way! I think. Maybe I do.... I'm confused. And to have it come in without knocking... Mike wouldn't do that."
The last statement was so definitive that Elizabeth only felt the need to address the nebulous ones. "Do you not want to feel that way because you think John won't approve, or because you're afraid that Mike will reject you, or is it something else?"
Hsui Tai shrugged. There had been advantages to living in a monastery. Then again, if she weren't taken away from there....
"I think you should talk to Mike about this," Elizabeth suggested gently.
Hsui Tai sighed, nodded, and started to leave the room.
Elizabeth rose to follow her. "Oh, and leave the door to his cabin open, all right?"
Hsui Tai laughed as they entered the lounge.
"Now that's more like it," John smiled.
Andrew emerged from the other wing. "TIM, could I have some soup for Mike, please?"
Soup appeared on a tray on TIM's platform.
"I'll take it to him," Hsui Tai replied, sweeping up the bowl and spoon and taking it into the boys' wing.
Andrew's mouth dropped open. He turned to Liz. "What did you *say* to her?"
"That's private," Elizabeth replied.
Andrew started to head in the general direction of the boys' cabins, but Kenny whisked something out from under one of the couches.
"I almost forgot, Carol and I brought these back from the Trig with us. This is for you," Kenny handed Andrew a neatly folded square of silver material, and then a helmet.
Andrew's face lit up. "My own AE suit." He started bouncing up and down. "I get to go into space!"
Kenny laughed, "I like this kid!"
John pulled Andrew down next to him. "Calm down, there's plenty of time. I want to hear all about how you found us. You're getting to be quite the hero, you know."
Andrew rolled his eyes. Sometimes John took this guardianship thing a little too seriously.
"Uh-oh, John's rubbed off on 'im all ready!" Tyso teased.
* * *
Mike nearly fainted when Hsui Tai appeared bearing a tray of soup in his doorway. She placed the tray in his lap and hesitated, unsure what to say, or even how to begin.
Mike's thoughts came out in a jumble of words. "I wish I could have stopped it, Hsui Tai. I would *never* force myself on you like that. I'd never hurt you. I'll...." Mike paused, unsure if he should go on, but it felt like it was too late to turn back now. "I'll go back to hiding my feelings if that's what you want. Our friendship is too important to ruin over stuff like this."
"That's it."
"That's what? What'd I do now?"
Hsui Tai took his hand and sat down beside him. Mike's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
Hsui Tai sighed. "When that... thing first kissed me I was angry, frightened, but after awhile I began to wish it was you, but under..." she paused, searching for the words, "better circumstances. And that scared me; we're best friends and I don't want to lose that."
Mike wiped away a tear from her face. "Me neither." He set the food tray on the floor and pulled her into a warm hug. "Sometimes, friendships become something... more, better, but sometimes they just.... Look, we can't try to forget this, it's likely to make things worse... explosive."
Hsui Tai nodded.
"I guess we'll just have to take things slower than molasses on a cold day..."
"Running uphill in January."
Mike laughed, letting her go.
"You should..." Hsui Tai began as Mike lifted the tray and dug into his soup.
He paused. "I'm sorry, I'm rather hungry. You were saying?"
"That you should eat that before it gets cold; mind reader."
"Who me?" Mike laughed and dug in.
* * *
John walked back into the lounge. "Well, they're not fighting."
"Hey, you make me stay here so I can't eavesdrop, and then you go to eavesdrop under pretense of using the loo?" Andrew complained.
"No, I just happened to overhear while traveling between here and there, because the door was open, that's all. I do *not* eavesdrop."
"Yeah, right, and you and Elizabeth just *happened* to show up at the same restaurant when I finally got a date with Mandi... Mandi..."
"Huelings," Tyso prompted.
"How come you remember her surname and I don't?" Stephen whined.
"Because you were talking about her for *weeks* before you finally got around to asking her out," Mike replied from the doorway, supported by Hsui Tai.
Andrew shot up and went to Mike's other side, and helped maneuver him to a couch.
Stephen grabbed the soup tray in front of them out of the air. "Before someone breaks something."
"She's not as untrained as all that, you know," John replied.
"Training does not replace natural aptitude," Stephen replied.
"I seem to remember you breaking a mug on your first go," Kenny interjected.
"Did not."
"Mike you should be in bed," John scolded.
"You think I'm gonna sleep when everybody's here? You've got to be kidding."
John rolled his eyes.
Stephen decided to change the subject before John tried to ream Mike. "I was not talking about Mandi for weeks. It was two or three days."
Mike and Tyso simultaneously shook their heads.
"Try two or three *months*," Tyso ribbed.
Stephen whacked him on the arm. All the Tomorrow People burst out laughing. They stayed up well into the night, reminiscing.
THE END