“Natalia, I hope you know that I love you very much,” he said softly. She brushed a tear from her eye and nodded.
“I love you too, Father.”

It took the Howard-Saber party just under 2 hours to reach their jumping off point for Canada. Having settled the Professor into a motel to continue recuperating, Trish drove the truck back to Watertown to drop it off at the rental agency. This done, she took a taxi back to the motel and let herself in with the key. She found Julian sitting up in the bed watching the television with a look of horror on his face.

“What’s wrong Father?” she asked, her voice heavy with concern.

“My God… what have I done?” he pointed to the screen with tears in his eyes.

Trish looked at the television and saw the images of The SIX’s battle with an unidentified group of superhuman terrorists and was shaken to her soul.

“This isn’t your fault Daddy! These people are the epitome of all that is evil and corrupt. They took the magnificent gift that you gave them and twisted it to their own purposes.” She switched off the TV and immediately went to her father’s side.

“Father… Julian,” she began to soothe him, “Greg and I know that you did all that you could, but wallowing in misplaced blame is not going to solve our problems. We, all of us, have to use the element of surprise to remove these fiends from the equation. We need you… I need you to be strong. Please Daddy, be strong for me, just once more?” Trish pleaded.

“Dear Tricia,” Julian wiped his eyes, “I will atone for what I’ve done and make my peace with the world. I refuse that my work be judged by this… travesty and misuse of power!”

“Come on then Father… we’ll take you home now.”

The offices of Nathanial Ravensclaw were in utter chaos when he and his daughter arrived. His head of security was waiting to report to him as they stepped off the elevator.

“Sir, we’ve had a major breach, come with me please.” He led them to the private lift to floor 113.

“What’s happened? Our guests…” Nathanial began.

“Are missing sir,” the chief finished for him. “We don’t know how… all of our systems still show them in their rooms, but…”

“But what Henderson?” Nathanial’s voice became dangerously quiet.

“The oriental woman and the old man are gone…” Henderson swallowed convulsively, “…and there’s a large hole in the wall by the elevator shafts and… well they’re gone,” he finished apprehensively.

“Did you find any bodies in the shafts?” Nathanial continued.
“No Sir, but a fire alarm did go off earlier today. I assume they could have escaped in the crowds…” the man was truly scared now.

“I’ll say this only once Henderson… find them! I don’t care how you do it, call in anyone you need, but FIND THEM!” Nathanial bellowed. “Remember, it will be your head if you don’t.”

“Yes Sir… we’ve covered all airports, rail stations and bus terminals and we’re combing the boroughs now… we’ll get them…” Henderson replied shakily.

“I want the woman disarmed but alive. The old man would be a bonus, but he’s served his purpose so is expendable. The woman is to be kept alive… understood?” Nathanial slowly smoothed his hair back.

“Yes Sir!” Henderson ran off… in a hurry to be anywhere but where he currently was.

“Natalia Dear… I have a little job for you,” he smiled coolly.

St. John looked up at his visitor from his armchair by the fire.

“Natalia Sweetheart, what a pleasant surprise. To what do I owe this unexpected visit?” the old man smiled welcomingly.

Natalia crossed the room in a split second and hauled the elderly man out of his seat.

“Your recommendation of that Japanese woman has cost us a very valuable asset. You have become a drain on The Council and I’m here to correct that,” she hissed through clenched teeth.

“Natalia… wait… I,” were Lindquist’s last words as she casually snapped his neck and let the corpse fall back into the chair.

She glanced around and then tossed the room at hyper speed until she found what she wanted. Satisfied, Natalia left the manor on the Mediterranean without even a backward glance at the spreading flames or the pile of corpses she left in her wake.

Back on Island SIX, David gathered the rest of his team to tend to wounded bodies and spirits. They had been asked, politely of course, to leave Washington and the rescue efforts. Sensing the mood of the gathered crowd, David had Sarida transport them back to their island. When everyone looked to be settled as comfortably as possible, David went into his quarters, placed his head in his hands and cried. Sarida hesitated outside his door for a moment, then came to a decision… she went in to try to comfort the man who had led his team to their first ever defeat.

Once across the St. Lawrence River, Greg and Trish bought heavy winter gear for the Professor, reasoning that it would be best to fly him back to Franklin Island. They landed in the back yard of the AERI two and a half hours later and hustled the older man into the spare bedroom to rest.

“Hestia? Can you bring the AERI up to full operational status please Dear?” Trish requested.

“Immediately Mother… it’s so good to have you home. Is that Grandfather you brought with you, can I meet him?” she asked excitedly.

“Not tonight Darling, he really needs his rest, and we really need him healthy. I take it you’ve monitored the events of the day? Well, your Grandfather is partially responsible for them and has had a severe shock… we almost lost him on the way and I want his vital signs monitored 24/7… understand?” Trish explained.

“Yes Mother…” Hestia responded. “Beginning monitoring… his vital signs are stable and he’s sleeping,” she reported.

“Good Girl, I knew we could count on you… any other news to report?” she asked.

“No Mother… things have been quiet. Just routine traffic from Betina… I like her…” she smiled. “How’s Daddy?”

“I’ll let you ask him yourself Dear One… see you later.” Trish triggered the transformation and soon Greg stood ready to greet his daughter. Hestia ran into his arms and hugged him fiercely, and astoundingly, he could feel it.

“Hey Pumpkin, ease off the old man…” he grinned. “Where’d you pick up that trick?”

“From your old Star Trek vids Daddy. They had a holographic character that could touch things using force fields and I talked to the Prof and Sol and we worked out a system… you like?” she beamed.

“Another genius in the family… yes… I like Sweetie!” Greg assured his daughter. “Anything to eat in this dump? I’m running low on fuel.”

Hestia dimpled.

“Dinner’s ready if you are Daddy, then a shower and straight to bed,” she ordered, “it sounds like you were busy today.”

“Nah, your Mom’s the bruiser,” he laughed. “I’m just the thinker of this operation. I’ll tell you all about it over that dinner that you’re about to serve me.”

“…no way! She really cut open her arm and his chest to transfuse nanomechs directly into his system? Way to go Mom!” Hestia cheered.

“You should have seen her ‘scalpel’… a full length Katana… I swear to the Goddess!” Greg mimed a sword.

“No way! Really?” Hes squealed in delight.

“Really and truly. Well Dearest Girl, I have to sleep now because it’s going to be a very busy day tomorrow. We have to save the world… again…” his eyes crinkled as he smiled at his daughter, happy to at last be home once again.

“Aw! Not again! We always hafta do that…,” she giggled, playing along with the inside joke. Greg chuckled and hugged his daughter before trudging off to the shower and then to his bed.

Greg awoke later that day to the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen. He decided it was a safe sound and continued his leisurely wake-up routine.

Greg beckoned to Trish.

she returned the compliment.

Greg acknowledged guiltily.

she smiled.

He smirked,

she snickered.

They dressed quickly and walked to the kitchen where Hestia was regaling Julian with stories of her parents’ adventures up to the point of his rescue. Helping themselves to coffee, they joined the duo at the table.

“Morning Kiddo, Professor… how’re you feeling this morning Julian?” Greg asked solicitously.

“Better than I really have any right to feel after a major myocardial infarction, thanks to your quick intervention. Hestia tells me that most of the major damage has been repaired by the… what did you call them Dear?” Julian smiled over his coffee cup.

“The bugs, Grandfather,” Hestia supplied.

“Yes, the bugs… charming nickname. Anyway, I really wanted to thank you for my two rescues yesterday and I’m also anxious to greet my old friend Solomon, however, your daughter is as stubborn as her mother, it seems,” he mock frowned at Hestia.

“I said I was sorry Grandfather, but the standing orders override my desires to the contrary…” she began to apologize.

“Julian is pulling your leg, Pumpkin. He’s not really upset with you and he, of all people, should recognise the need for security, right Julian?” Greg said.

“Oh absolutely Gregory, nevertheless, I am curious to see what kind of trouble those two have been getting into…” Julian began.

“You mean those eight, don’t you Grandfather? Nine if you include me,” Hestia corrected him innocently. Greg nearly choked on his coffee.

“Eight? What’s been going on here while Trish and I have been gone?” Greg spluttered. Hestia looked abashed.

“Um… well we received those Crays and wired them into the system and Solomon and Prof and I discussed it and decided there was enough storage capacity and processing time and … well…” the hologram looked chagrinned.

“Spit it out Young Lady,” Greg ordered sternly.

“…werestoredtheotherAI’sfromtheirbackups… please don’t be mad Daddy…” Hestia finished in a rush. Julian held up his hand.

“Hang on for a moment Greg, how are they handling this turn of events, Hestia?”

“They’re fine mostly Grandfather, a little shocked and some minor confusion, but they were greatly cheered by the news of your safe return and they’re very anxious to speak with Mom… oh and you too Daddy,” she glanced at Greg and blushed.

“Well Greg, what do you think… should we go and meet the rest of the family?” Julian asked innocently. Greg scowled at him.

“You know Saber, it used to be peaceful and quiet around here. C’mon then… let’s go and see what’s been going on around here while I’ve been gone.”

Trish petitioned him.

he bargained with her.

“Julian, if you can wait another five minutes or so, Trish and I are going to change and clean up,” Greg informed him.

“Of course Greg, take your time,” he smiled indulgently.

Ten minutes later, Trish met Julian and Hestia in the basement and triggered the door lock. The granite chamber was curiously empty when they stepped inside. Julian looked about with interest, locating the interface terminals and holoprojectors. They waited until the door had closed behind them and Trish turned to Hestia and raised an eyebrow.

“OK Kiddo, what’s going on?”

“Well Mom, the entire gang wanted to be here but I made them wait so as not to overtax Grandfather,” her daughter replied.

“Good thinking Hes. Working along those lines, can you whistle up a chair for Grampa? This place is downright Spartan,” she observed, eyeing the space disdainfully.

“Oh, OK…” Hestia frowned for a moment and the room shimmered. Then, in place of the twenty by twenty rock chamber there appeared a wood panelled den with a view of the AERI’s yard and a merry fire crackling away in a stone fireplace.

“How’s this? Better?” Hestia asked. Julian sat down in a leather armchair with a satisfied sigh.

“Just perfect Little One. Now, where are my children?” he asked expectantly.

“One at a time or the whole horde Grandfather?” Hestia wondered.

“Just let them all come in Dear, I’ll have them behave.” Julian replied approvingly. Trish settled into another armchair and marvelled at the detail of the recreation. Solomon was the first to appear quickly followed by the rest of the Sabers in turn.

“Greetings Professor Saber, it is good to see you again and in good health,” the senior AI greeted him.

“It’s good to see you again, Old Man. You’ve been busy here by the looks of things,” Julian replied warmly.

“Nothing here would have been possible without the aid of Gregory Howard and Tricia. They rescued us, just as they have now rescued you,” Solomon informed the Professor.

“Indeed Professor. The manufactory was nearly demolished by the attack. If ‘Shadowknight’ hadn’t re-activated and repaired the systems in Switzerland, all of the backups might have degraded by now,” Prof added. Julian glanced over at his backup avatar and shuddered.

“Please switch to your alternate avatar Prof, as it’s a little disconcerting for me to be talking to myself. Yes, you’re quite correct. It seems we all owe a large debt of gratitude to the Howards… Hestia included,” Julian replied genuinely. Trish looked over at the backup avatar and noticed that it was now an older woman. Dan’s avatar stepped forward.

“This is all well and good Father, but what are we going to do about The SIX and their evil counterparts from a cave?” he demanded.

“I have a solution for the evil I unwillingly unleashed Dan, but unfortunately, The SIX will have to wait until we can get them here physically for re-bonding,” Julian addressed the AI comfortably. “In the meantime, we will all have to work together to provide Tricia and Gregory all the backup they require. As our only fully functional field unit, they have a supremely difficult task ahead of them. The evil that I created all of you to combat may have recently become cognisant of the fact that Greg is still alive after their attempt to eliminate him late last year. My escape will only serve to further inflame their rage and possibly put more innocent lives at stake,” Julian swept the room with his gaze. “Make no mistake my children, we are at war. A war I indirectly incited and one that I intend us to put an end to, for the betterment of the Earth and her peoples. I will be assigning each of you specific tasks after consulting with Shadowknight, Solomon and Dan. That’s all for now, I feel the need to sleep again. It is wonderful to see you all again. Tricia, if you would escort me back to my room?” Julian asked, suddenly overwhelmed by this exertion.

“Of course Father,” she replied.

To Be Continued