Romy noticed their audience; Elise was casually still watching them. Romy began to glare at CJ. "What!? I said I DON'T know her." CJ said, she noticed Will walking towards Elise and Kyle.

"Well, apparently your Ranger buddy does." Romy replied

[If he knows HER....why's she watchin' US?] CJ wondered.

Hudson showed up beside them, was nervous; he'd never been so close to Romy without his mascot costume.

"Um...hello ladies! I'm the T- TAPS yearbook editor and mascot, H-Hudson." he said nervously.

"Kinda stuttery for a mascot, don't you think?" Romy winked at him, and touched his chin, he flinched at her touch.

"Relax, I'm not gonna hurt you, Hudson." She said with a smile. "So, how can we help you, mascot?" she asked

"W-well we need to discuss the Junior Gala prep-preparations." He said

"Oh! Sure, the S3s said something about me talkin' to you. Let's go!" she looped her arm in his and pulled him away. "I recommend Kid Dee, for music. She's awesome!" she used her other hand to wave at CJ.

                                                               ~~~~

    Piper was in a meeting with Sebastian, Heidi, and Bryce at the cabin. She was wearing her Cheer leading uniform. She was there on behalf of her battalion of Informers, to remedy the Charles Situation.

"Could everyone stop worrying? I'm getting sweaty!" Heidi said, her husband took her hand.

"Sorry, we'll try. To be fair, I'm not WORRIED about Charles Mathis, but somethin' has to be done!" Bryce said

"Bryce is right, Valerie and the others have some ideas, but my Handler however, is.... wavering." Piper said, she pulled out her files. "Charles Robert Mathis: he's very private in his affairs but, he's never worked alone. He's a scientist and he's been seen with Abigail Forrest. He's experimenting on H-Us, with help from his assistants. We're still uncertain of what he does with the corpses. He's already chosen his successor, and he knows that CJ--"

Bryce stood to his feet. "He's NOT supposed to know who she is, or that she's even HERE!"

"Well thanks to these individuals," she held up images of Byron and Jillian. "He does now! What do you plan to do about this? You have the full cooperation of my team, whenever you decide; my Handler is awaiting my arrival to Elkenah. We'll be in touch. Happy early birthday, Talbot. Heidi, you should be on bed rest." She said, and went out the door.

"There's always extra room if you two need it." Sebastian said, and retired to his office.

"He feels like a failure, poor guy." Heidi said

Bryce put his arm around her. "You, okay?"

"No! What kind of world are we bringing our baby into?" She rested on his chest. "We need to see her, Bryce. It's been YEARS! W-We're family."

"No, we're gonna be fine. We'll find him, stop him, and save her! Chances are Malcolm still hasn't told her the truth yet." He said

He touched her chin. "If you want, you can invade my dreams again." He said, she smiled and kissed him.

They rested on the couch; it was a long drive from their place.

     The Every Dyne Diner was busy as usual; CJ and Will came in from the back. He agreed to drive her if she told him about Byron. Noelle never missed anything; she pointed at them. All employees waved at them, and saluted Will.

"H-Hey. What are you doin' here? Pam said that you were--"

"I don't care about that. need my paycheck, Noelle." CJ said, Noelle groaned and sighed

"She isn't here today. But, I can get it. Just... promise me that you won't come back 'til Pam says you can." she said, CJ nodded proudly

"You're technically rich, Ceej. So, what do ya need the Currency for anyway?" he asked

The waitress noticed Will and saluted him automatically. "I'll be right with you, Ranger. One moment."

"Don't worry--he's with me." The girl explained

"O-Oh." Noelle headed back into the office, leaving the two friends alone.

Will leaned toward CJ. "Ceej--"

She faced forward, to avoid his eyes. "Just because you followed me here, doesn't mean that I gotta talk to you."

"Don't be like that."

She purposely met his gaze. "Since when do you keep secrets? From me!?"

She sighed. "Forget it! Maybe I don't even wanna know." She shrugged and looked away. Just then Noelle reemerged from the back.

"Bad news, I can't open your file without the pass code. Pam's the only one who has it. She should be here later tonight though." She said

"That's cool, I'll just wait for her here."

"You sure?" She asked.

"Yep. I'll just be a little late getting home." She looked over at Will. "I'll be safe here, you should go."

"CJ, I don't--"

"Relax. But, I really need you to go."

"But--"

"Please leave, Major King." She said with annoyance. Will grunted from frustration and headed out the back door.

                                                                ~~~~

    Hours had passed, and it was finally dark. There were a number of things to do before lock up: every drawer had to be locked, chairs needed stacking, floors and counters had to be cleaned, windows and dishes washed, grocery inventory, and Currency counted.

Hours had passed, and CJ was enjoying her conversations with Doug. He was the last employee, chosen for lock up. Pam had already shown up, given money, and left him with the keys.

"So, your car accident was because of some guy?" he asked

"Yep." She said

He gave her a devious look. "Was he hot?"

She chuckled. "Does that matter?"

"Hon, we're both single." He touched her shoulder femininely. "So, yes--it matters."

"Good point. But to be honest, he was... BEAUTIFUL." She said

"Hm. Then, I need to meet him." he said as he cleaned his last counter

"Don't get your hopes up, he's a real jerk." She said

"Hm. So he's really beautiful then."

She chuckled amusingly and stacked her last chair. "Finally don. Let's get outta here."

"Yeah." They headed outside and he locked the doors. "Thanks for helpin' me."

"No problem. It was cool, plus I did get paid."

They both chuckled.

"Well, well lookie here, guys." a male voice said, CJ stood in front of her friend.

"You're tresspassin'--you should leave, now!" Doug said

"We don't listen to sissies like you." he expressed

"Run, on three." she whispered in his ear, they stared at each other, and she grasped his arm.

"Now!" she yelled

Together they ran for their lives. CJ could hear them in the distance; they were close by.

[Please DON'T be changers!] She thought, they were now on TAPS school grounds. They were out of air, so they stopped to rest.

"Let's. Hide. In. There." she said

"The school? CJ. It's. Lock--" They heard a popping sound, which caused Doug to fall to his knees. "Ah!" he yelled

CJ looked at her friend. She helped him up; she could smell the copper scent of his shoulder. "Get away from us!" She shouted as the boy fell unconscious.

"Three against one? That's not very fair." a voice said, CJ opened her eyes.

[It's her.] She thought.

"Go. Get outta here!" Elise said, CJ did just as instructed

                                                       ~~~~~

     CJ was dragging Doug toward the front of the building. She leaned him against a wall and started to yank on the closed door. She grunted from fear, desperation, and frustration. Her began to glow white and she pulled the doors right off of their hinges. She reacted and her eyes changed back to blue, as she quickly brought her friend inside.

The two were hiding away in her Art classroom; her friend had passed out from the loss of blood. She held him in her lap to pass the time, they under a teacher's desk. "Don't worry, you're gonna be okay. I...promise." She told him

She stayed perfectly still when she saw a flashlight. It was moving through the hallway until it stopped, and someone opened the door. The visitor entered the room and she closed her eyes from fear. Someone tapped her shoulder and she twitched.

A familiar male voice responded. "Hey."

CJ opened her eyes to see the boy staring at her. He was chewing what appeared to be a hamburger. [Why the hell is eating at a time like this?] She thought.

Peter held the food in his mouth and pulled Doug out of her lap. She stood to secure her friend, and

Elise walked into the room. "Oh, good. You found her, we should go now."

He took another bite of hos food, and tossed the boy over his shoulder with one hand. He noticed his now crimson fingers, and huffed with annoyance. "Perfect." He expressed and dropped his dinner into the trash bin. They all exited into the hall.