Emmy had been siting up upon the cot, looking at Linda with a mixture of curiosity and bafflement in her eyes.

Linda began the tale like most people would. "Well for starters my mother was a very beautiful woman and she was also Intelligent. My father was a very rude man to anyone who was different then him but when he saw my mother she was the image of the perfect woman in his mind. They got married and had my dear older brother Percy Franklin Fusionist. Percy was like any other boy, curious, awkward and disgusting. When I was born our parents began realizing changes in my brother. Number one, he killed little animals like birds, squirrels and even sometimes puppys and begin rearanging there instestines. This continued throughout highschool." Linda paused for a moment and then took a deep breath.

"I never really liked spending time with my brother because of the things he did at home to poor helpless animals but no one at school knew what he did so he was popular. I was just 'The Doctors' little sister. When we went into colleage is when Fusionist began finding out about mutants and there abilities. He started to stalk some mutants and jot down there abilities and patterns. He dissapeared for a while and I really didnt care what had happened to him, 4 years later I get a call from him telling me to meet him at an adress to show me something. What he showed me was what made me go into the buisness Im in now."

((tag Daria. You make her emphasize how horrible it was and then say how she met Jade, helping her escape and get on her feet. and how she introduced her and her husband. You can add that she babysat Emmy, RUby and Sapphire once. But thats only if you want ot.

Daria squirmed. "This is insane."

"I haven't gotten to the good part." Linda said dryly. She looked at the wide eyes of the girls she spoke to, focusing on Emerald. "When I saw what he had done I was mortified. He had several mutants in an abandoned factory. they were caged....bruised, cut...some were missing limbs. There were these huge hulking masses of men walking around, not mutants but..almost... I later foung out he had tried to make his own mutants and succeeded only in creating large, brute idiots that fumbled obediantly to his every command." she rolled her eyes.

Swallowing hard she continued. "Percy told me that he was trying to figure out what cause the mutations, that mutants, if the power could be harvested, would make an amazing weapon...and...house pet. He asked me to work with him, by then I was 18 and headed to college, I needed a job. But my intentions were never to actually assist him in his work. I actually feigned idiocy so that he got fed up with me and assigned me to something more simple...cleaning and feeding the mutants.

"Not that they got fed often anyways but it was busy work and it kept me out of his hair while still providing someone to whom he could boast about his work. Up close with the mutants was so much better. I was almost immediately inclined to free them, but I knew I needed a plan and a lucky break.


"So I held off. One of the mutants in the cage, Emerald, was your mother, Jade. She was absolutely beautiful and you look so much like her it's almost ghostly. We got along very well actually and soon we hatched a plan to get her and the other mutants out. I was to gain my brother's trust. I flattered him and his work made him feel like a genius, pretended I shared his passion when every minute I grew more disgusted with his monomaniacy. But soon he thought he had taught me the basics of his work, when indeed I knew far more. He entrusted me with a key to the cages and to the lab. He slept in the factory, In a place above that was sanctioned for him.

A year had passed and between my work with him and my time at the university I had learned many a thing. Including how to fight. I kept his guards at bay long enough for Jade to escape. By then it was much too late for the other mutants." she trailed off.

Daria's eyes were still fixed. "Then what happened? Where did you go?"

A collegue of mine was the only one who knew about my brother and together we were planning an organization that would combat creeps like Percy. He and I took Jade to a secluded place and out of state and set up a little home there while we formed a plan. The house we lived in was small and so of course romance was bound to happen. I was too traumatized to do much in that respect but Jade and your father, Emerald, they got along very well. Well enough to get married."

"That was Emerald's father?"

"Yep, he helped me start the organization and stayed with me until it got settled on a military base. He didn't stick around to see it spread as a bunch of branches, he wanted to get jade away so they could live in peacce. But he left behind tons of gadegets and ideas for our high tech equiptment...all the stuff we taught you Daria."

"Oh yeah, Jamal told me Ruby told him that her dad used to build alot of little robots..."

"Yes,... we never had a toaster in that house that didn't get up and run away when you tried to use it." Linda laughed. "So he took Jade and you to a private place. We kept in touch, I came to visit. I babysat one time, I don't think you remember." Linda smiled sadly.

"Well...at least all of the creepy staring has been explained." Daria joked.

Emerald listened very carefully to Linda's story. She never quite knew that she looked so much like her mother, she knew about the hair but everything else she thought was just the way she was built. But from what Linda was saying, she was the spitting image of her mom, except for her bright blue eyes of course, those were from her dad. "Wow...now I understand things a bit more." Emerald responded, tail wagging slightly.

"Well Emerald you have to remember Fusionist didnt like your mother to much." Linda stated with a small laugh, "He always said that he hated her eyes. He hated that look in her eyes when she denied him of what he wanted. She Declined the positionbeing an assitant like me. Of course she would be a lower ranking but he would still have his chance of doing what he wished to her afterwords. She would have had better living quaters but she told him she would rather die an experiment than live as a slave."

That sounds like her." Emerald responded, tial wagging back and forth.

Linda smiled slightly at Emmy, looking at her and Daria. "Let me tell you girls something, learn how to cook or you will end up ordering pizza everynight untill your best friend teaches you and you nearly kill her with by microwaving a aluminum can."

Emerald's mouth dropped open. "My mom did that didnt she?" Emerald asked with a sigh.

"yes and that is one thing that I will never forget. One near death experience i will never forget."

Emerald paused and looked at Linda, "Linda did you guys look for me and my sisters when we were taken or did you just give up?" Emerald asked.

((

Raphael drew slow labored breaths, the extra weight on his frame was definately, and twisted his head between the two other mutants with him. "I've been shot before..." He said, though before it was a single bullet through his arm. And he was pumped with adrenaline at the time, and almost did not even feel it. Which boiled back to why he offered to be a shield now, he was still tired and not entirely sure he could walk away.

He turned his gaze back to Tristan. "I don't much like that sorta idea... don't get me wrong, itsa good idea... But... I don't wanna leave you behind..." He forced himself into a stand and braced himself against the wall. He certainly would not remain standing otherwise. He looked over to Kilala and lifted an arm that literally held an extra weight to it. "I can't walk away without help, that much... that much I know...." he sighed softly. He wanted to help, he wanted to stay by Tristan's side and take the soldiers down.

"We move together.... okay?" He stated, watching Tristan. "You shoot 'em... keep us covered... Setsuna and I will 'run'... but you're coming with us, no bein' a martyr..." He continued to say, he did not think he could continue if another died because of him. "Good? good."

He finished his short speech just as a gun barrel peeked around the corner of the hall. "time to go..."

"I have a plan...just...well, follow," she said quickly as she too saw the gun barrel coming around the corner. Kilala quickly took the gun owner's wrist and bent it backwards, making the soldier lose his gun and taking the weapon for herself. She immediately created a forcefield the width in the hallway, causing a few of the soldiers to become trapped inside and the bullets begin to slow as well. The other men stopped firing, confused about what was happening to their teammates. Kilala turned to Tristan and Raphael as they rose to help. "The shield won't hold them long...along with the bullets." Tristan and herself could now shoot around the field at the soldiers who weren't stuck in the field before they fired again. "Raphael, keep an eye on the few in the shield. They'll be out soon." She looked back to Tristan as she turned the corner so they could finish the job. "Try not to miss."

Linda thought for a minute before she spoke. "Dealing with Fusionist and having him as my brother jeopardized my career nad the future of the organization. I had to be very careful in following him, I had to be very sneaky basically, and never could I let on that I knew as much about him as I did.

"But yes, we did look for you. And Daria was sent on several missions that involved finding you and information about you."

Daria nodded. Thoughts and memories were coming back to her. She had seen video footage of one of the girls.

"They never let me know too much about what I was doing." she admitted. "But I remember some things."

Linda offered an apologetic look. "We never did get to you in time. But that just means you managed to get out before we caught up to you."

"Yea ten years later." Emerald said in a low growl. She wasnt trying to growl at Linda or at Daria but it was just she just mad that Fusionist could cover up his tracks that well. She was mad the fact she couldnt find a way to make contact with Daria so she and Ruby would have gotten out sooner.

Emerald blamed herself for everything that happened to her and her family. A few days before fusionist took them away Fusionist called the house, the little six year old Emerald answered the phone and told him that she would give her mother the message he told her but she had forgotten to. Emerald had so much guilt that it was surprising she could even breathe without feeling it every day.

"Linda The time that you babysat us....i think I remember." Emerald smiled lightly, "It was the day that Ruby wouldnt come out from behind my moms sundress to greet you untill I came outside."

Linda smiled fondly at the memory, remembering how when Emerald came outside Ruby suddently emerged from behind her mother and gave a small wave to her before following after Emerald. That day was one of the most relaxing days she had since the begining of the organization. It was also the most entertaining, because watching a little 6 year old version of her friend attack crabs on the shore with a baseball bat made her laugh.

"Yes that was the time I babysat you." Linda smiled before her expression changed. "Emerald...would you and Ruby every like to go back home? To see if you two can unfreeze the island."

Emerald's eyes widened. "Really? You would do that?"

Linda patted Emerald's head gently like one would a dog. "Of Course, not only are you close to Daria but you are my close friends daughter. You have two huge things in your favor." Linda responded with a smile.

(((You are more than welcome to pick so random babysiting moments linda brings up.))

Skoliro strained only when he knew they hadn't noticed. Looking around the room he tried to pick up the sent of the man he had attacked earlier's blood. Raising he nose to the air he located the smell. Following it through a locked door, which he easily dehinged, he found the actual man, hooked up to an IV and a bunch of different tubes. Causally he strolled to the bed.

Ello.

The man looked up at him with fear in his eyes and tried to utter a scream. Skoliro just laughed.

So, you gona tell me where my locket is now? Or will I have to drain you dry this time.

The man shook his head and pointed to a wall of lockers. His hands moved to form the number 66643. Skoliro located the locker with his eyes. It was almost the very top. No matter. Taking off he flew to the top of the lockers and tore off the door. There it was, along with all of his clothes. Reaching out he grabbed the locket and draped it around his neck. In mid-air he pulled on his pants and took off the hospital gowned. That was much better.

Daria yawned. "Not to mention I want to see where you greew up. Well..at least where you started growing up." She turned on her stomach like a cat, fan waving in the air.

Linda smiled. "I know that position. IT's cat nap time."

"You should rest too." The doc said. "You're human, you know. Can't last as long as us."

"Is that so, Gramps?" Linda snickerd. The doc laughed.

"Actually I just think Daria should rest. I tried to get her to sit down after she got shot."

Linda laughed. "Yeah. No need to tell me how that turned out. I already know." She turned back to Emerald and smiled. "Your mother would be so proud if she could see you right now, Emerald. I'm sure Daria takes good care of you but...I don't think you need it all that much. Not with your mother's genes."

Emerald was beaming happily when Linda told her that her mother would be proud. She was happy to hear that, she always looked up to her mother and it would seem she was much like her. Emerald yawned sleepily, tail wagging back and forth.

"You have no idea how happy that makes me feel Linda." Emerald told the older woman, smiling. She sat up on all fours on the bed trotted around in circles three times before curling up in a small ball. She was still in her human form so it looked rather strange to see a 16 year old red head, curled up in a ball with her tail wrapped around her. But that was Emerald for ya.

"Nothing like a mission with fighting against a pyschotic maniac to wear a girl out." Emerald said, closing her eyes sleepily. She was still awake but just halfway.

Linda, of course, was used to it having been around Daria for so long. She took her position on another cot and talked to the Doc Proff.

Daria was fast asleep but without Mike to ease her mind and stay her night terrors her tail and ears twitched violently and she muttered in her slumber.

As usual Emerald managed to sleep morph into her wolf form. The wolf girl padded over to the cat woman in her usual sleep walking manner and nuzzled the side of her face with her muzzle. Emerald whined complacently as she laid next to Daria.

Daria was startled for a minute and opened her eyes slightly. Between the mass of fur in her eyes and Emerald's distinct scent, she was comforted enough.

She draped and arm and her tal gently over the wolf and snuggled closer.

"How sweet...wish I had a camera" Linda whispered sarcastically.
The Doc professor just laughed.

The wolf let out a whine of content as her friend wrapped her arm around her. As she dozed the wolf girl made a low growling noise in her sleep, scarping her paws across the bed. Now one thinks that after all of the horrible things seen by the wolf girl that it would be a dream about that.

Well Emerald had no such luck.

"Evil Squirrels stole my bacon." Emerald muttered in her sleep

"Daria told me that kid had a thing for squirrels." Linda laughed. "I was always wanting Daria to chase mice but she always went after birds."

"Birds? Did she ever catch them?" the doc asked.

Linda smirked. "She can teleport. What do you think?"