Well, this chapter obviously wasn't up as soon as I said it would be. But thanks to any consistent readers who have waited patiently for this update. I have offered an explaination in this chapter for some of Summer's OOCness. None of the reviews I've recieved have pointed any out, but I felt that the Summer I was portraying differed from the one in the movie. I have also introduced the main antagonist of this fic in this chapter.

'The Ballad of Reading Gaol' belongs to Oscar Wilde

I resolved to avoid any sign of Summer or Dylan today at school. There wasn't anything else I could do really. I could not tell any official about what I thought was happening, not without revealing what I was, and that was a risk I wasn't willing to take.

Fortunately there was no sign of either of them when I arrived at school that morning. I breathed a bit easier at the thought of not having to deal with them today. Eric met me in front of the main building on campus, as he always did. I smiled at him, but my smile was soon wiped of my face when I saw the way Eric was looking at me. He seemed wary, not at all like his usual self.

"Are you okay?" I asked, looking at him in concern.

"I'm fine. It's you I'm worried about." He said in a hushed voice as we walked toward our class.

"Me? Why on Earth are you worried me?" I feigned confusion, thinking for the first time that I should have been more careful around my friends then I had been. Eric was more observant then Connie, it wasn't unlikely that he would noticed if I let anything about my secret slip.

"You really worried us when you stormed off yesterday." He said simply. I released the breath I didn't even know I was holding. I felt a bit guilty for not trusting him; had I really grown so paranoid that I didn't trust my own best friend?

"Oh that- I'm fine. I was just feeling ill." It wasn't a lie, not entirely at least. The thought of being discovered always made my stomach churn.

"It's not just yesterday." Eric admitted, holding the classroom door open for me. "You been acting strange for a while now. What happened with Summer was hardly the most unusual thing you've done." I was a bit insulted by this- it's not as if I didn't try to act normal. I almost pointed out that Eric had a few little quirks of his own, but was interrupted by the morning bell.

"What was that about anyway? And don't you dare say that Summer makes you feel sick- that's a response I'd expect from Connie, not from you."

"It's really not that important, now please, let it go," I hissed as the rest of our class slowly filed in. Eric frowned but kept his mouth shut, turning to the front to watch our teacher scribble notes down on the SMART board.

"You aren't actually going to do this?" Dylan asked Summer as they drove to school in his run down truck. He was worried about her. They all were, but Dylan was admittedly more worried than the others. Summer couldn't blame them; she was worried about herself too.

"I am," she said calmly. "Unless you have a good reason as to why I shouldn't?" Summer winced as waves of frustration rolled off him; she hated it when he got upset.

"A good reason? Oh okay," he said, pretending to think about it. "I think I've found one. Is "you sound insane and are acting like some sort of stalker" a good enough reason?" Summer tried not to wince at the sound of the word insane.

"Nope," she tried to make her tone teasing, as if this were all a joke. "You're just going to have to trust me," she added hastily, seeing Dylan's knuckles go white as he clenched his fists around the steering wheel. "I know what I'm doing." Dylan didn't respond. Summer sighed in frustration. If only she could explain why it was so important that they get Evelyn onto their team as quickly a possible… but she couldn't. He wouldn't let her.

For weeks now she had been receiving impulses from a very disturbed individual. His (the individual was obviously a male) presence had been subtle at first, but as the weeks wore on it grew considerably stronger, and creepier. He was obsessed with a teenage girl- a scary enough thought on it's own, but far worse when coupled with the fact that Summer knew the girl he was obsessed with. She had tried to tell them that Evelyn was in danger, but discovered that part of her didn't want to warn them. Of course she knew that she should, and that it was very important that she did so, but part of her simply refused to.

It didn't take long to realize that the man she was receiving impulses from was purposefully influencing her emotions. That was the scariest thing about this whole situation. If she couldn't stop the man from using her own powers against her how could she expect to protect other people?

'But I found a way around his manipulation," she said to herself, slightly smug. The man's biggest concern was that Evelyn be accepted into the Zenith team (the reason why he wanted this was hidden from her). Summer was certain that his influence over her would cease once the task was completed. Then she could tell the rest of the team about the danger Evelyn was in. If they thought that she was going insane in the process, then so be it.

"'Yet each man kills the thing he loves/by each let this be heard/ Some do it with a bitter look/ Some with a flattering word/ The coward does it with a kiss/ the brave man with the sword!'" Hyde set the volumes of poems down on the small mahogany table that was stationed next to his chair. A brilliant man, that Oscar Wilde. Hyde found himself always agreeing with every word that had flowed from that magnificent man's pen. After all, who knew better then he that doing what was best for those you loved would temporarily pain them?

Take Evelyn for example. His creation deserved to show off her abilities, to learn to use them with the deadly force that he intended. Of course her father's insistence that she was a monster-words the man had never spoken, but Hyde was sure that it was what he felt- had penetrated deeply into her psyche, and people contending that she was other wise would be an unfamiliar-perhaps even painful- concept to her. The Zenith team would hopefully be able to temper her attitude into one he could work with.

If only that Summer girl could work faster. If only his control over her powers were more complete. But Hyde couldn't rush her, that was what allowed her to discover his influence in the first place. No, he would be patient-for now at least. The less he was personally involved with this the better.

"Dr. Hyde." The voice entering from the entry way had a brisk, no nonsense quality to it. He looked up to see his secretary- Janet? Marleen? Didn't matter.- standing in the door way.

"What is it?"

"The embryos are ready sir."

"I see," Hyde sighed and hefted himself out of his arm chair. "I'll be right there. thank you for letting me know." The secretary gave him a brief nod as a welcome and stalked out tof the room, her skirt swishing around her knees as she went. Hyde cast a finale look of longing at the Oscar Wilde collection before following- his breaks never did last long enough.

Constructive Criticism is appreciated, especially where characyers are concerned. Please review, and hopefully the next update won't take as long.