Once again…I own nothing! Sorry this is late, but my muse is getting tired of this story and wants to do something else...but, I am determined to finish this! I promise you, it will be finished!

As the Black Whip tightened her grip around Catwoman's throat, she felt a grasp on her shoulder and heard the Green Hornet say behind her, "Let her go, Black Whip…she's not worth it!"

"Do you know how much trouble she has caused me?" growled out the Black Whip as she released her grip on Catwoman's throat, but kept her pinned to the floor with her boot.

"I can just imagine," drawled out the Green Hornet sarcastically as he watched the Queen of Gotham's Underworld as she desperately took in air into her lungs, "the question is what are we going to do…besides killing her…in order to make certain she keeps her big mouth shut about both of us!"

"Oh, I've got an idea about that!" yelled a feminine voice from the doorway; they looked up and watched as Kato, a hooded priest, and an old woman in widow's weeds came into the room.

As the Green Hornet threw his partner a curious look, Kato answered his boss's unasked question, "She's your godmother, and the Black Whip's aunt."

Startled, the Green Hornet stared at her in amazement, and was about to say something when the old lady waved him away with the file in her hand, "We'll talk later when we have a bit more privacy!" She turned her attention to the fallen criminal, and waved the file in front of Catwoman's face, "Oh, Catwoman…would you like to take a guess what is in this?" she asked sarcastically.

Catwoman frowned in confusion as she answered, "No, I have no idea...what is on it?"

"Your medical file from The Wayne Medical Clinic for the Unfortunate and Repeat Offenders," she cackled out triumphantly, "Kato retrieved it for me before we came here!" She laughed even more when she noticed Catwoman's face became as pale as a ghost, "The last few pages were quite interesting…tell me, when are you going to tell Batman that he is going to be a father?"

As the heroes stared at the old lady in shock, Catwoman softly replied, "I wasn't going to tell him."

Still snickering, the old lady commanded, "Black Whip, please let her up…Hornet Ranger, please get a chair for the mother-to-be!" Underneath her veil, Maria Del La Vega smiled victoriously, "We have a lot to talk about…and very little time to do it!"

Meanwhile in the Batcave…the father-to-be is slightly upset…

Robin winced as his mentor slammed the door of the tow truck hard, "You know," he said with a nervous chuckle as he got out of the passenger side, "it was real nice of Al to let us borrow his tow truck in order to get the Batmobile back home."

Batman didn't respond to this comment, he merely paced back and forth with his hands behind his back and a furious scowl on his face. Robin slowly came up to him, "Batman," he said softly, "I don't think Catwoman has any…interest…in the Green Hornet other than for some type of profit; besides, weren't you the one who taught me not to jump to conclusions until all the facts were in?"

Batman stopped pacing at his words; he leaned on the Bat-Computer and sighed, "You're right, old chum," he said reluctantly, "I believe I am just…"

"Jealous?" interrupted Robin as he placed a hand on Batman's shoulder.

Batman smirked at him as he said, "Yes, jealous…an emotion that has no place in a crime fighter." He turned his full attention to his partner, "I believe a cold shower will cool off my temper before we have to go to Gotham Hall, Robin."

Robin smiled at him as he told him, "You go ahead and take your time, Batman; I'll just wait here," he said calmly.

Batman slapped his partner and raced upstairs, as soon as he was gone…Robin's smile turned into a very serious frown. He sat down at a nearby desk, and muttered to himself, "Legendary blood that runs thru his veins, that's what Catwoman said back at the Iceberg…if Batman wasn't so jealous, he would realize that Catwoman considered the Green Hornet as some type of prized cat-nip, not as boyfriend material!"

He let out a deep, weary sigh as he folded his arms and leaned back in the chair as he continued to talk to himself, "We should have gone to rescue him from her with his assistants and godmother, instead of chasing them all over Gotham! But, good grief….what did Catwoman mean about the Green Hornet's blood?! Even the Green Hornet's godmother mentioned it!" He continued muttering to himself, as he tried desperately to figure out what they meant about the Green Hornet's blood.

Meanwhile…back at the Gotham Yarn Factory…

Catwoman scowled from the chair she was tied too; "All right, all right!" she shouted in frustration as she glared at both the Black Whip and the old woman, "I'll keep my mouth shut about Batgirl…Black Whip…whatever you call yourself!" She then turned her attention to the Green Hornet and Kato, "As well as the Lone Ranger, or Green Hornet…whatever you call yourself! On the condition that all of you don't tell anyone that I am pregnant with Batman's baby! But…I do have one more condition…"

"And what would that be Catwoman?" the Green Hornet asked sternly as he folded his arms across his chest.

"That Batgirl," she turned her attention back to the Black Whip, "or, as your calling yourself now, the Black Whip, no longer works in Gotham City with the Caped Crusaders!"

The Black Whip narrowed her eyes in fury as she responded to her foe's demand, "I much as I hate agreeing to your demand Catwoman…I will…this will be the last day that I will work in Gotham City as Batgirl or the Black Whip! In fact, Batgirl will be no more unless another woman decides she wants to become a bat...as for myself, I have recently discovered that I am a fox, not a bat!"

"And it's about damm time you realized that!" shouted the old widow to her, "For the past year, how many times have I as well as the rest of the family have been telling you that you're a fox, not a bat?!" Before the Black Whip could responded to her sarcastic question, she turned her attention to Catwoman, "And just out of curiosity…what are you planning to do with the baby?!"

Catwoman shrugged despite the ropes and answered, "I already have another woman lined up to take my place as Catwoman until I give birth, and after that…I was planning to give the kid up for adoption outside of Gotham."

The old lady sighed deeply as she tapped her cane thoughtfully, finally she said, "When the child is born, take the baby to Los Angeles; my niece, the Black Whip, will find you quite easily and then take the child…"

"What?!" shouted out the Black Whip in shock, "Why…ow!" She glared furiously at her aunt as she rubbed her arm from where her aunt hit her with the top of her cane.

She continued as if he never interrupted her or that she hit him with her cane, "As I was saying, I need to make a few calls…but, I believe I can give the child to a very, loving family that is far away from Gotham City."

Catwoman stared at her for a moment, "You're serious?!" she asked in amazement, "You'll do that…despite what I was planning for your godson and niece?!"

"Oh, I am completely serious," stated the old woman calmly as she leaned heavily on her cane.

Catwoman stared her again, finally she stated just as calmly as the elderly lady, "You're giving me one more reason to keep my mouth shut, am I right?"

Even beneath the heavy, dark, veil…Catwoman could feel the cold smile that spread across the old lady's face, "Exactly," confirmed the old widow, "Do we have a deal?"

A few moments later…

As the Green Hornet walked out with his rescuers, he shook his head in amazement and exclaimed, "I still can't believe you got her to agree to this deal! And why pray tell did you agree to find her baby a good home?!"

His godmother huffed as she stopped for a moment, leaning heavily on her cane, she responded calmly, "To answer your question, I have a hunch about Batman's family tree; and if he is related to the family I think he is related too..."

"How do you know who Batman really is? And just whom do think he is related too?" interrupted the Black Whip with curiosity.

Before she could respond to the question, it was at this time that the Green Hornet noticed the damage to the Black Beauty and in outrage shouted out, "What the hell happened to my car?!"

Kato pointed at the old lady, and yelled out sarcastically, "Ask your godmother, she was the one whom did the damage!"

At the same time…at the Batcave…

Robin, by this time, had stopped muttering to himself and was silent as the grave, when Batman came down the Bat-poles, "Ready, to go chum?" he asked as he walked toward him.

"Huh?" asked a startled Boy Wonder and he looked up to his partner.

"Are you ready to go to the dinner at Gotham Hall, Robin?" he repeated his question, "Are you all right, old chum?"

"Yeah," he muttered distractedly, "I just keep thinking about the Green Hornet and Catwoman, Batman…I don't think…"

"Let's not think about them, Robin," he said determinedly as well as a hint of jealously in his voice as he went to the Bat-Cycle, "Let's just go and enjoy the dinner that the American Old West Convention is doing for us, c'mon, old chum!"

Robin sighed wearily as he climbed into the Bat-Cycle's side car and buckled his seatbelt, "Batman…I know you don't want to hear this, but what Catwoman said about the Green Hornet's blood…"

"Robin," said Batman sternly, "I do not want to hear about Catwoman and the Green Hornet anymore tonight; if you want to discuss them with me, we will discuss them tomorrow."

"But, Batman…" protested Robin.

"Tomorrow, Robin!" he shouted out in frustration as he started the Bat-Cycle and drove it into the night.

As they drove toward Gotham, Robin's thought continued to swirl around Catwoman's words, 'legendary blood.'

Shortly thereafter, in Barbara Gordon's apartment…

Maria Del La Vega sighed despairingly as Alfred hurried into the kitchen; she knew he wasn't happy keeping secrets from Bruce Wayne or Dick Grayson, but quite frankly…she couldn't see any other way in keeping everyone involved safe with their secrets in tact. She collapsed onto the couch, and as she used the remote control to turn on the TV, she muttered, "I am far too old to deal with these types of messes!" She heard the secret door in Barbara's bedroom open, and a jumble of voices coming out of the room.

As her niece as well as Kato came into the room, she asked, "Where's the young Ranger?"

Before Kato could reply, Barbara answered, "Downstairs reading a long over-due letter," she sat down beside her aunt and asked, "Why do you have the TV on, Aunt Maria? I am quite certain we will have enough conversation over dinner without the television on."

"I am just waiting for a certain plan to backfire spectacularly!" she exclaimed, and then gestured to Kato, whom was headed for the kitchen, to sit down beside Barbara, "Sit down, young man! Alfred will get dinner ready, in the meantime, you can help Barbara and I come up with another rescue plan!"

"Rescue plan?" asked Barbara Gordon and Kato in unison as he sat down beside the young woman.

Maria Del La Vega leaned back into the couch, closed her eyes, and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Let me tell you of Juan Del La Vega's last plan as Zorro, that I know will fail, because he didn't include a back-up plan!" she shouted out the last few words furiously, and then preceded to tell them the idea that her nephew had come up with.

At the same time…downstairs…in Barbara Gordon's secret hideout…

Britt Reid leaned against the Black Beauty as he slowly opened up the aged letter, it read:

My Dearest Grandson,

By the time you read this I will be with my beloved wife and the rest of my family; and if I know that damm jackass of a son of mine, he wouldn't have told one earthly thing about our great heritage…what it means to be a Reid! Our heritage begins, right before the Civil War…

He's eyes widen in exhilaration as he read his grandfather's brief overview of Captain Daniel Reid's and John Reid's lives before and during the Civil War; of the massacre at Bryant's Gap and the beginning of the Lone Ranger's career as a masked crime fighter; when the Lone Ranger found his nephew Daniel Reid II, his great-grandfather; the death of his grandfather's twin brother, John Henry Reid in the trenches of WWI….

My brother was planning on becoming the Lone Ranger after the war, and with his fiancée, Maria Del La Vega, as the Black Whip, they would have once again brought justice into the West once again…

He's grandfather's lost hope that his son would take his brother's place; finally, the last time his grandfather held him as a mere babe…

The moment you touched our ancestor's amulet, I could see you as a grown man, dressed in green and wearing a mask with a hornet on it! Though I didn't know what you called yourself or why you were dressed up like that instead of using our ancestor's uniform…I did know that you had the same fire…the same passion for justice as I… my brother…as my father…as our ancestors did so long ago in what is now known as the Wild West!

I told your father, and like he usually does when it comes to our family…he stuck his head and ass in the sand! That damm foolish boy of mine, if he had a fraction of…

Britt smirked slightly, and his brow rose in awe over his grandfather's creative cursing, he let out a long whistle, "Old man," he muttered, "I wish I could have known you, if only to learn more curses when you were swearing!" He read further:

I am getting off target, but your father…well…enough about him; the point I am trying to make Britt is that I don't know what you will call yourself, I do know that you will take up our ancestor's mantle as the Lone Ranger even if its under another name. And I am proud of you for doing so, very proud!

Maria as well as Juan Del La Vega will help you learn both sides of your heritage; and I am quite certain that our ancestor's ghost that is attached to the amulet, the one that I had instructed Juan to give you, will help you as well… Don't end up like our ancestor when it comes to matrimony and children! You're the last Reid unless your father decided to re-marry and reproduce; our line needs to continue…far into the future…to continue to bring justice to those who cry out for it! In the words of our ancestor…Heigh-Ho, Silver…Heigh-Ho, Silver, away!

Love, your grandfather,

Daniel Mathew Reid III

P.S.

The enemies of the Lone Ranger, they filled their children with hate over him and Tonto thru the years. Whatever you do…don't show that amulet off in public! Don't go swimming where everyone can see it, get a doctor you can trust that can keep a firm mouth shut about it, and keep it hidden under your shirt! If you want to know the reason for my warning; get Maria to tell you about Tonto's descendents, and the great tragedy that befell them in 1927.

Britt Reid slowly re-folded the letter as he stared off into space; unconsciously he pulled out the amulet underneath his shirt and started to play with it. He stood there for quite some time, until he heard Barbara Gordon call out to him, "Mr. Reid, dinner is on the table and I am afraid we have, potentially, a new problem to deal with!"

"What problem?!" he asked as placed the letter quickly in the Black Beauty's glove compartment and raced up the stairs, "And please, call me Britt!"

Meanwhile in Gotham Hall…the Jacob W. O'Neil Cocktail Room

As Batman met with the leaders of the American Old West Association whom came to greet as well as to congratulate him, Robin wander around the exhibits that surround the room; as he gazed at Buffalo Bill's saddle and Winchester rifle his mind continued to mull over what Catwoman said at the Iceberg. 'Legendary blood that runs thru his veins,' he mused within his mind as he went to the next exhibit, 'What could it mean?' He gazed at the water colored painting of Zorro and the Black Whip, 'Well, they are certainly legendary even today! But, I got a feeling that Catwoman didn't mean them!'

He went to the next exhibit, which interesting enough was a charcoal drawing of the Lone Ranger and Tonto; as he gazed at the drawing, he frowned and his eyes narrowed as he concentrated on the masked face of the Lone Ranger, "Funny," he muttered to himself, "Why does this picture of the Lone Ranger seem familiar?"

"Robin!" Batman called out from the other end of the room, "We are going to the dining room, now!"

"I'll be there in a bit Batman," he answered distractedly as he moved closer to the picture.

Batman sighed in frustration, and said to the ladies and gentlemen gathered around him, "Teenagers, hopefully he will follow us soon into the dining room."

Mr. Travis, the leader of the association laughed as he gestured to his companions as well as Batman to follow him into the dining room, "It doesn't get better as they get older, Batman…trust me…I went thru it with my children! Now, shall we go and partake with this wonderful feast I have arranged with Cavaen-Dishes!"

Shortly, thereafter…in Barbara Gordon's apartment…

Kato warily took a bite of the Mexican casserole that Barbara scooped onto his plate, as the spices hit his tongue; he looked at her in amazement, "This is good!"

Maria Del La Vega smirked as she told him, "An old family recipe," as she ate her own bite, "though I have to admit I would have never have thought of using sausage, Alfred."

Alfred gave her a small, sad smile as he told her, "There was no chicken in Ms. Barbara's kitchen, Madame, so I had to substitute."

Realizing he was still upset over keeping the secret about the baby, she leaned over to him and whispered, "We'll talk later, when we have a bit more privacy."

"Aunt Mary," Britt Reid started to say as he took his own bite while keeping a wary eye on the television that was showing live coverage from Gotham Hall.

"Aunt Maria," she interrupted him as she stressed the proper pronunciation of her name.

"Aunt Maria," he corrected himself, "Grandfather in his letter warned me about keeping the amulet hidden…"

She grunted in agreement as she took a sip of water, and then realized she nearly forgotten what she took from Catwoman's hideout, "Oh!" she exclaimed as she sat down her glass, and took her handbag from the floor, "Thank you for reminding me, Britt!" She opened the handbag and took out a book, as she slammed it on the table, she asked, "Barbara, get me that serving dish that you use for Christmas pudding; lighter fluid; and a match!"

Everyone stared at the book she slammed on the table, it was entitled: 'Legends of the Old West.'

Instead of following her aunt's orders, Barbara Gordon frowned as she picked up the book and said, "Aunt Maria, this is one of the books Catwoman checked out of the library!"

"So?" she asked sarcastically.

"You can't burn it, it belongs to the library!" she protested to her aunt as she placed the book back onto the table, immediately Britt Reid picked it up and swiftly browsed thru it.

"Again, so?" she repeated as she jabbed her finger at the book, "You wouldn't believe the trouble that book caused in the twenties!"

"This is the book that Catwoman taunted me with," mused Britt Reid as he found the section of the Lone Ranger within the book and quickly read thru it, "In fact, that's how she figured out I was the Lone Ranger's heir."

"And that is why your grandfather told you to hide the amulet," she crisply informed him, "Now; that it's around your neck…it won't come off until you die!"

"What a cheerful thought," he muttered sarcastically as he continued to browse, "Uhmm…Grandpa, mentioned a great tragedy that befell Tonto's descendents in his letter; the reason wouldn't be due to the fact that the author of this book practically gave the public the address of those descendents out to the general public?"

Maria Del La Vega sighed sadly, as she answered, "Yes, and I am not telling you that particular tale just yet because quite frankly it's too gruesome of a tale to tell at the dinner table!"

"How gruesome?" Kato hesitantly asked.

"Sufficient to say," Maria Del La Vega softly replied, "There were only four survivors…toddlers really…" Tears came to her eyes as she choked out, "We had to separate them…in order to keep them safe…they and their children know nothing about Tonto or what he had done with the Lone Ranger!" She sniffed as she wiped the tears from her eyes, and looked over at her godson, "That is one of the many reasons I am so furious at that damm jackass, Henry Reid! He knew exactly what happened…how it upset your grandfather at denying those children their heritage…and he did the same thing to you!"

Britt looked at her in a mixture of sadness as well as reassurance as he placed the book back onto the table; as soon as he did, Kato quickly picked up the book and promptly went thru it. "I know," he told her dejectedly, "And I wish to highest reaches of heaven that he didn't do what he did!"

"Hey!" shouted out Kato as he interrupted the morbid conversation, "Did you know this guy wrote down how you can tell a masked man was a descendent of Zorro even when said masked man doesn't advertise it?!"

"What?!" cried out Barbara as she grabbed the book out of his hands.

Maria Del La Vega rolled her eyes at her niece's behavior and exclaimed, "And that is another reason to burn that blasted book!"

Back at Gotham Hall…

Robin frown thoughtfully as he gently traced the face of the Lone Ranger thru the glass that covered the charcoal drawing, unconsciously his mind flashed back to their first encounter at the Pinkston Stamp Factory…

Flashback…

The Green Hornet as he glanced over his shoulder, and then stared directly into the eyes of the Caped Crusaders, "It seems while you were explaining about that device we were trapped in Batman, you allowed our captors to escape," he flatly told them.

"Not so smart, for smart crime fighters," added Kato as he and the Green Hornet left the room.

End Flashback…

Robin blinked as the answer he sought gradually came to him; he closely looked at the Lone Ranger's face, particularly his jaw line and cheek bones; within his mind…he matched it to the Green Hornet's face…his jaw line and cheek bones. "Holy jeepers!" he exclaimed in astonishment as well as denial, "He can't be …I mean…Zorro did say the Lone Ranger's heir was in the city!"

"That's right, little Birdie-Ranger, the Lone Ranger's heir is in the city," said a menacing voice behind him.

Gulping in fear, Robin turned around and came face to face with Hishdneveac whom was holding a 64 Colt within his hand.

Gulping again, Robin slowly raised his hands and muttered softly under his breath, "We should have listened to Zorro."

Back in Barbara Gordon's apartment…

Barbara scowled as she read out loud, "Masked vigilantes whom are descendents of Zorro as well as the Black Whip are quite easy to find if you know what to look for; besides their obvious skills with any type of blade and whip; all of the descendents have a passionate nature, particularly with their tempers." She slammed the book down in disgust, "I do not have a bad temper!"

Maria Del La Vega rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Yes, you do…the entire family is made up passionate as well as temperamental personalities! Now…would you please get what I told you to get, young lady!" Rolling her eyes in irritation, Barbara went to her cupboard and then set down the silver Christmas pudding dish onto the table; as her aunt placed the book on it; she continued her lecture, "That's why Juan forgot making a back-up plan, he is absolutely furious with your father, Britt."

Britt Reid shook his head sadly as he watched his godmother pour lighter fluid on the book, "I know," he muttered as he lamented on what his father had denied him, "I know…Grandpa devoted nearly an entire page of cursing his name."

Maria snorted in disgust as she took the matchbook that her niece handed to her, "You're father always did have a talent in making your grandfather invent new and inventive curse words!"

As she placed the lighted the match onto the book, her niece muttered in incomprehension, "I can't believe I am allowing you to do this to a library book and a rare book at that!"

As everyone watched the book burn, Maria wearily explained, "The reason the book is so rare is due to the fact that your grandfather, Barbara; your grandfather, Britt, myself, and a few of our allies of that time burned every copy we could find when we realized how dangerous it was…Tonto's family is just one example; the only other good thing that came from that tragedy is that it convinced the author as well as the publisher to stop printing the damm thing and to give us the original copies!"

Britt was about to ask more about the terrible tragedy that fell upon Tonto's descendents, when Alfred cleared his throat and said as he pointed at the TV screen, "I believe the moment as final arrive, ladies as well as gentlemen."

Upon the screen, Batman was starting his acceptance of the Silver Horse Award, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am much honored to receive this award and I feel very humble that you believe me to be the heir of the Lone Ranger…but I can state quite confidently to you that I am not his heir, ladies and gentlemen."

"I dispute that statement, Ranger!" exclaimed Hishdneveac as he held the Boy Wonder hostage and the rest of his men strolled into the room with guns blazing, "Sam! Activate the Anti-Electric Receiver!"

"Right, Boss!" shouted out one to the men as he pulled a remote controller out of his vest pocket.

Around the dining room within Barbara's apartment, eyes were wide with a mixture of astonishment and fear.

Gotham Hall, within a hidden alcove that overlooked the dining room…

"Oh, no!" moaned out Zorro softly as closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Maybe it won't work, Papa," said his son hopefully.

As soon as the henchman pressed the button, the electricity within the building went out. Once again, Zorro moaned out softly and quietly commanded as he gestured to his son to follow him, "There goes any chance at using the robots! Let's us retreat to the van, and contact home base for back-up at rescuing the civilians, Robin, and that dim-wit Bat from Cavendish!"

"You do know what you're going to get when we contact base," teased the young man as they snuck out.

"I know, I know," growled out Zorro in frustration, "The Old Fox telling me…"

Barbara Gordon's Apartment…

As soon as the signal went out, Maria Del La Vega thru her napkin on the table in disgust, "I told him! I told that hard-headed, nephew of mine! A Fox must always have a back-up plan, otherwise if a Fox doesn't have one…everything goes to hell in a hand basket!" She shook her finger and gave a stern look at Barbara, Britt Reid, as well as Kato, "You three learn from this mistake, always have a back-up plan!"

"Kato, and I are not foxes Aunt Mary," said Britt has helped Barbara from her chair.

"Aunt Maria!" she reminded him as Alfred helped her from the chair and handed her cane, "Its Aunt Maria! And you're my godson with a crime fighting partner…you have both proven yourselves as sly as any fox!" Taking a deep breath to calm down, she ordered, "You three go on downstairs get dressed and wait for Zorro's call…I'll be down there very shortly. Barbara, I want you to dress in your Batgirl uniform and this will be the very last time, won't it young lady?!"

"Yes," answered Barbara in confusion, "But, why do you want me to be Batgirl when you went to so much…no!" Her eyes widen as she realized what her great-aunt was going to do, "Aunt Maria, you can't! You're too old to become the Black Whip once again!"

"I can, and I will!" she stated firmly to her niece, "It's bad enough that Catwoman knows that Batgirl and the Black Whip are one and the same…we don't need Gotham…hell the entire world to know it! And as for being old, I've got something that an Amazon shaman gave to me that will take care of that little problem for a short amount of time!"

All three crime fighters were about to question her on that statement simultaneously, when she shooed them toward the secret door, "Go on, I'll be there in a moment," she told them; as soon as they were out of sight, she wearily as she leaned upon her cane and turned her attention to Alfred, "There is a secret compartment of my suitcase that contains a Black Whip uniform, can you please get it for me?"

"Of course, Madame," he said as he looked at her in curiosity, "But, I must say Ms. Gordon does have a point…"

"About my age?" she asked sarcastically as she reached for her handbag and took out a vial containing a clear liquid, "Well, that shaman I commented on was part of the tribe that I saved their land from developers years ago…just when I began my retirement…that tribe has protected a particular legendary fountain for generations."

Alfred was absolutely flabbergasted, "You mean…" he drawled out in astonishment.

She smirked as took the top off the vial, "Not enough to do anything permanent to me," she commented as she gently swished the water in vial, "Just enough to last a few days… that should be long enough to go on one final mission and to teach these youngsters how we did it in the old days!"

"I-I see," he stuttered out in amazement, "I shall just go get your uniform, Madame."

"You do that," she muttered, as soon as he left her sight; she sighed sadly and said out loud, "John Henry Reid, this was not the Reid that I dreamed I would fight beside when I said yes to your proposal!" Sighing again, she said, "Ah, well…bottoms up!" As soon as she drunk the liquid, she gasped out, "N-not b-bad f-or…" She couldn't finish her sentence as she fell down, unconscious, onto the floor.