Super: Avalon: Book 5 of the Super: Series

By Palladian

Awaking in an island paradise, Lex comes to grips with the tenuous situation she and her friends are in - on the run, and branded as terrorists due to the actions her friends had to take to free her from being tortured in a government lab. As she recovers from her injuries, she helps some of the other former prisoners her friends freed get on their feet, as well. Getting to know them and their talents, Lex and her friends come up with some ideas to put themselves beyond the reach of the government searching for them forever. Now they only hope they can carry out their plans before they're recaptured...

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 15, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543957518

Book preview

Date of first publication: 12/15/2018

Amazing cover art created by the talented Snowzapped: http://snowzapped.deviantart.com/

Fabulous editing provided by K. Morgan Jones: [e-mail]

ISBN:       9781543957518

Dedications

Always and forever I dedicate this work to my husband.  Thank you for always being on my side; it means much more to me that you can ever know.

Also, I want to thank all of my friends, near and far.  Thanks for your support as I made my way through this series, and through all of the other things in my life.  It’s all of you who taught me what it’s like to be treated like a person who matters, and I will never forget your kindness.

Finally, to all of you abuse survivors out there – there is a life beyond what you have gone through, or what you’re going through now.  I believe in you, and I know you can build a better life for yourself in the future.

Table of Contents

Dedications

Super: Story to Date

Chapter 78: Paradise

Chapter 79: Discoveries

Chapter 80: Business

Chapter 81: Introductions

Chapter 82: Transcontinental

Chapter 83: Incorporation

Chapter 84: Reconstruction

Chapter 85: Anew

Chapter 86: Functional

Chapter 87: Speculation

Chapter 88: Imagination

Chapter 89: Initiation

Chapter 90: Journey

Chapter 91: Voyage

Chapter 92: Build

Chapter 93: Skeleton

Chapter 94: Undercover

Chapter 95: Leaps

Chapter 96: Bounds

Chapter 97: Avalon

Super: Story to Date

Note: I recommend you read Books 1 through 4 of this series before you read this one, in order for this story to make more sense.  You can read (most of) the story online on Wattpad here: https://www.wattpad.com/9430224-super-author%27s-notes

Lex McKilliam is recruited to work for a secretive agency called MSI, headquartered in Washington, DC.  She quickly realizes that her coworkers all have extraordinary capabilities, and works to improve her own martial arts skills in response.  Casey, who’s far larger and stronger than the average person, befriends Lex, and they train and spar together.  Lex also works with Riss, who mentally communicates with computers.  Lex also manages to strike up a friendship with Serena, who can immediately transport herself and others she’s touching anywhere, all around the world.

Finding the amount of on-call time and medical testing required odd, Lex nonetheless applies herself when she and her team are assigned to emergency calls.  On one of these, she becomes friendly with some Alpha Team members: Kate (who can partially shapeshift to use the powers of animals she’s observed) and Victor (an inventor and master repairman).

As time goes on, Lex is called to the chase when Kate and Victor violate their strict contracts by running away, but upon finding out that all of them have been the subject of dangerous, unauthorized human experimentation, she vows to escape with Riss and Casey.  The group manages to fake their own deaths and run, but Lex becomes gravely ill afterwards.

When she wakes, she finds that she now has the power to persuade or compel people with her voice, as well as the need to rebuild herself after a month in a coma.  The team later rescues Lou, Casey’s boyfriend, after he gets captured by the labs they escaped from, and they help many other people escape as well.

Afterwards, they head west to try to find a good place to settle.  Lex comes up with the idea of working as a touring band as cover for scouting out a permanent home.  As they tour they become more popular, attracting unwanted attention and eventually having to fight people sent from the labs after a show, but manage to escape identification.

Realizing they need to leave the country, they plan a farewell concert a few weeks later, leave false clues as to their whereabouts, and successfully make it to Europe. While touring with the band, they are approached by a mysterious man, Rolf (who they later find can transform into a wolf), who extends an offer to join the European Special Forces, which are filled with people like them.  After accepting and integrating into the team, they discover an assassination threat directed at Lex, and manage to thwart and catch the would-be culprit, Derek, a man who can control projectiles in the air, and who’d been sent by MSI to silence her and others.  They heal him, and somehow become friends.

The friends determine the best way to combat MSI is to bring suit against them in the International Criminal Court, and do so at the same time Lex successfully leads a team to discover and apprehend a ring of bank burglars operating throughout Europe.  Following that, Rolf asks her to marry him, and Lex ends up having to elude his family, who all share Rolf’s gift, overnight in a wintry forest as part of meeting the parents.  After other difficulties, she and Rolf, along with Casey and Lou, marry and look forward to beginning their lives together.

Not long after the wedding, Lex and her friends learn that the US government took over the labs Lex and her friends escaped and launched a nearly fatal attack on Serena.  They nurse her back to health, and are then surprised when the US government demands they return to the country to track down others who’ve escaped the labs and that the government claims are committing crimes.

Lex and her friends try to resist, but are coerced into going by the threat of extradition.  Instead of bringing anyone in, however, they use their time in the US to warn the people that the government are after and give them time to flee.  After a number of such encounters, the government loses patience and determines they will capture Lex and her friends instead.  They all manage to escape except Lex, who is tortured in the labs for a few days until her friends come for her, evacuate the labs, and take the prisoners who are too ill along with them before they blow up the labs…

Chapter 78: Paradise

The sound accompanied her through the dark places.  A rushing swirl of breath followed by a low, booming retreat, and then back again, something she heard even when her consciousness hadn’t returned to her.  As she lay with her eyes closed, trying to piece together what had happened to her, Lex heard the sound and realized she’d heard it in the background for some time.

She opened her eyes to a room that she’d never seen before, one just large enough to fit the double bed she lay on, a nightstand by her elbow, the IV stand next to it, a chair in one corner, and enough room to walk around them all.  A moment later, she heard the sound again and recognized it as she looked out the screened-in doorway at the foot of the bed to see a few feet of lawn change to rocks that dropped off to show the sea.

Breathing in, she could feel the difference in the air from where she’d been.  Salt and freshness seemed to permeate everything, and although she could see some storm clouds in the distance, they looked to be retreating into the blue horizon.  The grass outside shone with what might have been the remnants of raindrops, but the ocean sparkled in the sun as the waves rolled into shore.

As she began to become aware of the rest of her body, Lex moved her right hand the slightest bit, feeling a dark bite of pain but nothing as much as she’d felt before Lily showed up with the group that had rescued her.  She moved her arm from the elbow, then, trying to bring her hand clear of the sheet.  When she had, she saw each fingertip wrapped in gauze, and the IV needle farther up her arm.  With tentative motions, she moved each of her fingers in turn.  Pleased to find that the motions didn’t bring up nauseating waves of pain, Lex looked out at the sea for a moment then, trying to gather the necessary courage to look at her other hand.  The calming sound and shine of the waves had helped, but as she turned her head back, movement caught her attention instead.

You’re awake!  Rolf came into the room bearing a tray, which he put down on the bedside table, then leaned across the bed, avoiding Lex’s arm, to kiss her.  How are you feeling?

All things considered, not too bad, she replied, leaning forward to rest her forehead on his.  Where are we?

We’re in about the last place anyone would think to look for us, he replied with a smile.

Lex looked at him for a moment then, letting it sink in that they’d gotten away, and that she’d ended up someplace beautiful with her husband.  She let out a long breath and returned his smile, and raised an eyebrow, still waiting for an answer.

Serena brought us to Easter Island, Rolf said after a moment, then leaned to kiss her on the cheek again.

Really? Lex said, unable to help raising her voice.  I’ve always wanted to visit here!

Rolf, who’d been about to answer, looked to the door instead.  As she followed his glance, Lex spotted Riss’ head just inside the door frame.

Welcome back, she said to Lex, then turned towards Rolf.  Do you want me to…

She trailed off with one eyebrow raised, to which Rolf nodded.  Yes, thanks, he replied.

Looking up at her husband as he gazed back at her, Lex watched him smile.  She’s going to get Lily, who’s going to explain everything we did while you rested.  In the meantime, Lily told me to tell you not to move that arm, as much as possible.

OK, Lex agreed, nodding.  So, can we go and see the statues?

His smile got wider as he leaned down to kiss her on the cheek.  Yes, but we can’t all go at once.  There aren’t as many tourists in this season, so we need to do what we can not to be noticed.

She fidgeted in bed as she grinned back at him and looked out the window again, now anxious to be out exploring.  After a moment, however, she turned back to her husband and asked, So, what happened to that facility they were holding us at, and the people there?

Just awake and already asking for answers, Lex heard a voice at the door say, and turned to see Lily entering the room with Riss.  I know you must be feeling a little better, then.  Let me have a look at that hand.

Lily pulled back the covers and Lex realized for the first time why her shoulder had been feeling uncomfortable.  Her arm had been pulled out to its full extent and had been tied to the bed frame with a piece of sheet that it looked like someone had ripped up.  Sorry about that, Lily said, untying Lex’s arm with gentle motions.  We wanted to make sure you didn’t move your arm around in your sleep, so this seemed like the best way to do it.

Once Lily had Lex’s arm free, she sat with her back against the bed frame and drew Lex’s hand into her lap with care.  Lex could see that they’d tied her hand to something flat that supported all of her fingers.  All right, now it’s really important that you try not to move your fingers at all, Lily explained.  In particular, your first finger.

The doctor glanced at Lex again, but her gaze fell to Lex’s hand as she started to speak again.  When we got back here and I started treating you, I found that they’d done a number on your finger.  He did break all of the bones in it, badly enough that just shards were left in the middle.  We took an X-ray of your finger first, and I showed it to a colleague who does hands.  She paused for a moment to gaze at Lex, then continued, her voice grave.  She took one look at it and said that it would take months of surgery that may or may not be successful, and recommended what they usually do.  She said that as shattered as they left your finger, the usual course of action is amputation.

Lily paused for a moment to look at Lex, who sat listening to the doctor, still not quite feeling like she’d arrived back in her body and wondering how Lily had solved the problem, because although her finger shone a number of unpleasant colors, it remained attached.

So what did you do? she asked after a few silent seconds.

Sighing, Lily continued.  "Well, I did think of something, and I talked to Victor about it, since we’d discussed it before.  When we worked together on Art’s body, we came up with some other ideas for things, and one of those things was this gel.  It’s partially living and a good conductor, and it’s something that starts more liquid and hardens over time into something like a flexible plastic.  We thought, at the time we worked on it, that we might be able to use it in the future to make a new limb, like the ones we built for Art, link to a human and work like a normal limb.

In this case, we found somewhere I could operate on you, and then I cleaned out all the small bone fragments.  He injured your joints, but they didn’t seem so bad they couldn’t be healed, so I got Victor to custom make me some titanium implants to fill in for your finger bones.  I used the gel in your joints when I put the implants in, and what I’m hoping will happen is that the gel will anchor the implants to your joints, which it seems has already begun, and that after a while, the bone will grow back around the implants.  That remains to be seen, however, and is going to take time.

Pausing again, Lily studied Lex for a moment.  She smiled at the doctor as if to encourage her, and Lily sighed before going on.  This all might not work, though, because it’s untested, including the gel.  If anyone found out what I did, I might be arrested.  I took you away from the lab where they wanted to experiment on you and did it myself, instead.

Lex glanced over at Rolf and he met her gaze, his expression serious.  If the experiment involves a chance for me to keep my finger, then I’m satisfied, Lex said in a firm voice.  I’d rather you tried what you could to help me keep it than to just give up at the start.

Lily looked up at her, startled.  All right, then, she said after a long moment.  I’m going to need to work with you a few times every day in order to speed up the healing, make sure your body isn’t rejecting anything, and to make sure you’re not getting an infection.  I’ll let you know what’s going on the whole way through, and any decisions that need to be made are yours from here on out.

Lex nodded in agreement and Lily gave a weak smile before looking back down at Lex’s finger.  We’ll need to work together like that for the next couple of weeks or so.  I’ll work on healing the damage to your joints, stabilize the implants, and grow your bones back.  With any luck, in the next couple of weeks everything should be stable enough so that you can start moving around more, but until I give you the OK, I want you to stay in the house most of the time and sleep as much as you can.  The more you do, the faster you’ll heal up, all right?

Frowning at the idea of spending multiple days in bed, Lex nodded again nonetheless, staring at her purple and green index finger.

Oh, I don’t think you’ll have much time to get bored, though, came a voice from the doorway, and Lex looked over to see Kate leaning against it, and Derek leaning over her shoulder to look in on Lex.  We’ve got a lot to talk about.

Later, Lily said, turning to look over her shoulder with a frown.  I need to give Lex another treatment now.

So, I’ll get everybody and come back in a half-hour?

Make that an hour, Lily replied, turning her attention back to Lex’s hand.

Do you need me out of here? Rolf asked, his brow furrowed.

Lily shook her head.  No, that’s fine if you want to stay.  Lex, there might be some pain or a feeling of heat or something like that.  It’s normal, but let me know if it gets to be too much, all right?

Nodding, Lex settled back, looping her arm into her husband’s and waited.  She closed her eyes and breathed out as the initial sensation of searing heat changed to an odd sensation, somewhere between feeling her hand had fallen asleep and a thousand needles prickling every bit of skin on her index finger.

It looks like everything’s still in place.  I can’t tell yet if it’s really taking, though, so you’re going to have to bear with this for a while, Lily murmured, and Lex hissed in a breath as the needling sensation bumped up.

Can you see like an x-ray, or something? she asked Lily, trying to focus on the sensation of her husband at her side instead of the feelings in her finger.

Lily didn’t answer right away.  No, nothing like that, she mumbled.  I can just sort of sense where everything is.  I can’t tell fine details, like an x-ray could, but I can tell the important stuff, like if one of the implants came unstuck or something.

Lex fell quiet and listened to the waves outside beating against the rocks on the shore, trying to ignore the shifting sensations of prickling needles and waves of heat.  She closed her eyes after a while, as the feelings got stronger while Lily continued.  Clenching her jaws, Lex tried to breathe deeply through the sensation of all of her finger joints vibrating at high speeds.

After what seemed a long time, the sensations faded away, and Lex panted as her locked-up muscles began to relax.  As her jaw unclenched, she opened her eyes to find Rolf glancing down at her, then moving to brush her hair from her eyes.

Lex, try to rest until everyone comes back.  Rolf, could you get her something to eat for when they do?  She’s going to need her strength.

He smiled at Lex before nodding and taking the tray he’d abandoned earlier out with him.

Why does it feel like that? Lex asked, trying not to yawn.

Lily frowned.  I’m trying to get your body to heal much faster than normal, and to do things it wouldn’t normally, like incorporate the gel with your joints and not have them become impeded, and to incorporate the implants.  It’s going to feel strange, I’m told, and may even be painful.  I can give you something beforehand to help with pain, if you think you’ll need it.

Lex shook her head.  No, I think I’ve had enough of that sort of thing for the moment.  Thank you, though.  After a pause, Lex asked something else that occurred to her, Lily, who else got hurt?

The doctor gazed at Lex for several moments, then turned and sighed, her posture straightening, as Rolf came back with a full tray.  I’ve got to get back to them, so I’ll let everyone else tell you about it.  Get some rest after you talk to everyone, because I’ll be back in a few hours.

Sitting up so that the headboard supported her back, Lex smiled as Rolf put the tray down again, then brought a glass of water and a bowl to her.

Are you thirsty?  Lily said that you should try to drink as much as you can.  The IV can only do so much, I guess.

Lex drank as he put the cup to her lips, and felt able to finish about half.  Good.  I made some oatmeal for you, but be careful as you eat.  You might still feel sick to your stomach, so if you do, let me know and we can stop for a while.

Just the smell caused Lex’s stomach to make a growling noise, and she could feel her cheeks heating up as Rolf smiled.  I’m just so glad you’re feeling better.

She took the mouthful he offered her, but Lex felt her stomach drop as she saw the look on Rolf’s face harden, almost able to see how his thoughts turned to the idea that maybe that might never have happened.  As she sort of chewed the oatmeal, appreciating how the maple syrup flavor had made her taste buds zing, Lex leaned on Rolf’s shoulder.

Thank you for coming to rescue me.

He shook his head as he brought up another spoonful to her lips.  There was never a question about it.  We weren’t going to leave you with them.

After she swallowed the next mouthful, Lex asked, So who got hurt?  Did anyone get killed?

Her last sentence trailed off, Lex unable to make it sound just above a whisper.  Rolf put another bite to her lips as he replied.  Well, a lot of people got bumps, bruises, and a few cuts, but since we had Casey and Lou to the front, we didn’t have too many gunshot wounds.  Kate got shot along her waist, but it went straight through, so she just tied it up and kept going.  Two of my cousins got shot, as well.

Lex watched Rolf as he paused, taking up another spoonful of oatmeal and moving it to her mouth.  I think you remember Carla, he said, then continued after Lex nodded.  She got shot in the forepaw.  It chipped the bone, from what Lily could see, so we had her transform.  Fortunately, although it cracked the bone further, it didn’t break outright.  Lily did some surgery to take the bone chips out, and is working with her now to build the bone back up.  She’s at home now, but Serena and Lily will be visiting every few days for the next couple of weeks, from what she said.

Nodding and working on her last bite of oatmeal, Lex finished chewing and swallowed, then asked, What happened to your other cousin?

Rolf looked away before he answered.  Richard got shot in the chest.  It didn’t hit his heart or anything, but it lodged in his lung.  He managed to switch back, but Lily had to find someplace to operate on him, fast.  Taking a deep breath, he added, She found someplace safe for him to stay, and he’s going to come out of intensive care soon.  He’s expected to make it.

Lex let out a grateful sigh before she took another bite of her breakfast, then felt her mood drop as she thought about the people who’d gotten hurt trying to help her out.  Rolf touched her chin a moment later, causing her to look back up at him.

He made sure to tell Lily, though, that he would do it again.  For people like us, there’s nothing worse than kidnapping a mate, and he wanted her to let me know that he felt proud that he could help bring you back.

Blinking back tears, Lex paused before responding as she heard something at the doorway.  Kate and Derek had come back, this time with Victor.  Kate took a spot at the end of the bed near Lex’s feet, while Victor and Derek sat on either edge of the far corner.

So glad you’re back with us, Kate said as she put a hand Lex’s ankle.  Everyone else should be here soon.  How are you feeling?

Lex smiled, still blinking more than normal.  Considering everything, pretty well.  I’m just so amazed that you guys figured out where they were holding me.

We weren’t going to leave you there, that’s for sure, Lex heard, turning to see Lou coming into the room, followed by Casey.  You didn’t abandon me to the labs.

Yeah, but it wasn’t as heavily guarded, Lex replied, watching the two as they each picked a spot to sit on the floor.

It didn’t matter, Rolf said at her side, moving to link his arm with Lex’s again.  There was no way we weren’t coming back for you.

But how did you do it?  Start at the beginning, where I got caught, Lex said, turning to give Casey an apologetic glance.

Well, everyone freaked out, that’s for sure, starting with me, Casey said with a frown.  Lou took her hand and pulled her nearer, which softened her expression.

No one wanted to believe it, but the trains separated, and you weren’t there, Kate picked up, glancing at Casey and Lou before giving Rolf a quick look.  We didn’t know what to do, but we had to get out of there first, before we could make any other plans.  We got off the train and called Serena, and figured a place where we could meet.

Thank you for taking charge then.  I wasn’t quite myself, Rolf said in a quiet voice, to which Kate nodded.

You don’t need to thank me, I just did what needed to be done.  Kate shot Rolf a smile before continuing.  Anyway, we all made it back to the house in Brussels, and then we started planning.

She broke off as Riss came into the room, but Lex’s found her attention captured by Art, who stood at the door frame, looking at her.

Come on in, Art, Lex urged him.  As he did, she smiled and said, Thank you for taking care of me that day.

I was glad to, Lex, he replied, but she thought she could still see guilt in his eyes, and she sighed.

Is your shoulder fixed?

Oh, yes, he said, stretching the neck of his t-shirt to pull it down his shoulder so she could see.  Victor fixed me up right away.  We planned out the tear, anyway, just so the people searching would see what I look like underneath.

How did that even happen, anyway? Lex asked, glancing around at the group and finding herself caught by Riss’ gentle smile.

You threw your phone away when you got caught, didn’t you? Riss asked, and Lex dropped her eyes to her lap.

Yes, well, I didn’t want them to be able to track you, she said after a few moments.  I figured I did the right thing, because the minute they had a good hold on me, they shot me full of drugs.  I didn’t even wake up until after I got to whatever hole in the ground they put me in.

Riss let out a breath of laughter.  Hole is right.  We could track you at first, but then your signal disappeared.  You didn’t forget you were wearing a tracker, right?

Lex shook her head, her hand lifting off the bed to comb through the hair near her neck on the right side where she’d stuck all of her trackers, but as she saw the bandages on her fingers, she put her hand back down.

Right, I guess not.  Anyway, after everyone freaked out for a while longer, we heard from someone you wouldn’t expect.  Riss fixed her with a raised eyebrow for a moment, then shook her head.  I didn’t expect it, either.  We got a call from Lakshmi on one of the old phones.  Not that we still had them on at that point, but I continued tracking connections to those numbers, in case anyone called that might have some information.  She was the one who told us you were being held underground, which explained why we couldn’t get your signal.  Didn’t think about that when we were planning.

Riss’ expression changed to one of disapproval, and Lex couldn’t help but smile as she realized Riss seemed to be trying to frown at herself.  That’s the thing about planning, you can try, but you can never think of everything.  What did you guys do then?

They had me go back out to the site where the trains split apart, Serena said, and Lex glanced up in surprise, knowing that her friend hadn’t been there a second ago.  Your new phone still had a charge and hadn’t been turned off, even though the screen had cracked, so Riss was able to track it.  She figured they’d be doing the same thing.

Serena smiled as she leaned over and patted Lex’s leg.  When I came back and told everyone about the search going on out there, looking for your phone, Riss and Rolf came up with the idea for using Art’s body as bait.

Lex saw Riss shoot a glance at Serena with a raised eyebrow, but Art spoke next.  I volunteered, because I can broadcast a signal anywhere.  We were hoping they’d bring me to you, but if they didn’t, I planned to break into their network and find you.  They seem to have everything on camera, so that should have worked, if the first idea failed.

Nodding, Lex added, And we got lucky, because they brought you right to me.

As soon as I saw you, I called back to everyone else and confirmed the location, Art said, nodding as well.  I’d recorded how we got into the facility, so I sent that information, too.  Everyone else started up the rest of the plan then.

Riss shifted in her seat before she spoke.  I coordinated with the team in Brussels, and Rolf recruited people from his pack.  We set up a time for everyone to assemble, and Serena transported everyone to a staging area just outside the facility where they held you.  Once we’d gotten everyone there, we started moving in.

Rolf changed his grip on her arm as he picked the story up.  As you could see when we got out of there, the place was back in the woods, so I got some volunteers to go on a scouting group up to the loading dock, and anyone they found, Serena took somewhere else.  Riss took care of the cameras, and then we all moved in.

Lou and I took the front and tried to get to anyone with guns first, Casey continued.  Once we got in, we found out they were holding the rest of the prisoners in a different place than they had you, so we split up.  As soon as we heard the alarm go off, we knew they got you, so we got on to the next parts of the plan.

Lex considered for a moment as she looked down at her bandaged hands.  So how many people did we find there?  As many as the lab where they held Lou?

Lou shot her a look then, but shook his head.  No, there weren’t anywhere near as many.  A few dozen, I think.

What happened to them all?

Some of them asked to be dropped off in various places, Serena answered.  Obviously, we hadn’t planned for it, so I couldn’t do much to help them, but most of them seemed thrilled just to be out of there.  Some had relatives, and one even had an apartment and boyfriend still waiting for her.  Some weren’t in good enough shape to let go, though.

She looked over at Derek, who seemed reluctant to speak, but did after a pause of a few seconds.  Dr. Lily and I have been trying to help the ten we had to bring along with us.  Some of them are so sick, though, that I don’t know if even she can save them.  We’re going to keep trying, though.

After a moment of silence, Riss added, There is one more, too.  One who wasn’t sick, but wanted to come with us because he needs our help.

Lex tried to prod Riss with raised eyebrows and a nod to continue, but Riss just shook her head.  You’ll just have to meet him when he gets here.  I think he’ll have to explain it to all of us, but suffice it to say that he comes with accessories.

When Serena started to grumble about the impossibility of her bringing that much lead along, Riss just shook her head.  Let’s explain later, there are some more important things we need to talk about now.

As she said that, Riss turned her laptop around to face Lex and Rolf, so that they could see the newscast running.  Lex raised an eyebrow as she focused on a picture of smoke coming from an opening burst wide, but rimmed in twisted metal.

…terrorists attacked this government facility.  They released the prisoners being held there, and killed one of the men overseeing their care, Dr. Donald Filson.

Lex recoiled as they showed a picture of the doctor she’d called Mengele on the screen, the one who’d tortured her at the labs, and she felt surprised at how fast the feeling of hot nausea and shooting pain came upon her.

That’s enough, Rolf’s voice called out at her side, his tone sharp and strong.

Riss murmured an apology in response, turning the laptop back in her direction.  I’m sorry, I didn’t realize they’d show a picture.  The summarized version is that they’re calling us terrorists now, as you heard.  They don’t know anyone who helped us, thank goodness, but they’ve named all of us criminals officially, and they’re spreading our pictures around the world.

Turning her laptop back around, Riss shuffled through a set of wanted posters of them, this time with updated photos.  Lex felt chilled to realize that the photo of her seemed to have been taken while she’d been at the lab; she could see the edge of her hospital gown in the picture.

All right, so we’re wanted in the United States.  Do they have any idea where we are?

No one has any idea where we are, as far as we’ve been able to tell, Serena said, shooting a glance at Riss.  The people that own this place owe me a favor, so we can stay here with no problem for the next few weeks.  They won’t tell anyone, and as long as too many of us aren’t seen out, or seen out together, no one else should ask questions, either.

I’m assuming they’ll expect us to go back to Europe, Lex said as she nodded at Serena, but then shot Riss a look.

The captain said that they’ve already given extradition paperwork to the EU leadership, if we should show up there, Riss replied, to which Lex sighed, but nodded.

Just for those of us who’d been in the US, or did they include anyone else?

Everyone except for Art, Riss said, with an eyebrow raised.  I’m not sure if they left him out by mistake, or they just weren’t sure if they should include him.  Pretty hard to catch someone who can change their appearance just by redesigning their face or putting another body on.

As Lex watched, Riss gave Art a sideways look and a sharp smile, to which he tilted his head towards her with an answering smile.

So not Serena, or Mr. Chen, Lex said, looking thoughtful after Riss nodded to her statement.  That’s useful.  We need to start thinking about consolidating our position.  Since Serena’s been managing the house in Europe, we should talk about selling before the Americans try to move on us by shutting our money down.

She hunched her shoulders as she observed the quick looks exchanged around the room, but felt heartened by the increased pressure as Rolf caressed her forearm.  We’ve given that some thought already, Riss replied, shooting Rolf a glance.  I’ll explain to you what I told everyone else so far.  When we started getting ready to go over to America for this set of missions, I know we talked about thinking about anything that might go wrong.  So, one of the things I did before we left was to try to obscure that our money is ours, and to put it somewhere not easily traceable.  Taking notes from the masters of hiding money, I created a shell company and then put together Swiss numbered accounts for the company, and that’s where our money is today.  It would be difficult to trace the money to us, since I took care to leave lots of proof that the original company founders were, demonstrably, not us.

Lex glanced around the room, and grinned as she spotted Casey and Lou grinning at one another.  What’s the name of the shell company? she asked.

Riss shot her a glance along with a raised eyebrow, but answered, Avalon, Incorporated.

I like it, Lex replied