"I still think you should have alerted us."

Ace pulled his hands off the transformer with a sigh. He turned around and nearly bumped into Lady Illusion. She was closer than he expected, standing there with her arms folded and frowning at him.

"You're in the power-up zone," he said, pointing at the tape on the ground.

Lady Illusion's glare did not falter.

"Okay, okay... I know you were there to help, I'm sorry. But Fear wasn't going to blast me. He was just... posturing. I've fought him for long enough, I know what he's doing."

"It sounds like he caught you off guard. I know Fear too, and the only reason he wouldn't have followed through is because he didn't want to; what you did had nothing to do with it. Of course, I didn't know for sure, because I was distracted by that pink stuff..."

"Cotton candy?"

Lady Illusion waved a hand dismissively. "Whatever. I should have come to your aid."

Ace sighed. "I know what I'm doing..." He stomped across to the sofa and flopped into it. It creaked in protest. "I think we did break this..."

Lady Illusion sat beside him. "Ace, I'm not a lightning knight. I am not under your command and you do not out-rank me..."

"I have no intention of ordering you about."

"That's not what I meant." She took his hand. "We're a team because we want to be. And I want to protect you as much as you want to protect me."

Ace stared at the floor. "I, I get it ... but it wasn't just you. Mark was there too. After what happened at the computer shack, I feel like I need to keep him out of danger."

"So next time call if you need help. It'll do no good if you get yourself blasted back to the game. Then who'll look out for him?"

Ace smiled faintly. "You know, it was much easier when we just threw energy and insults at each other. I can't counter you when you talk sense."

"Well," Lady Illusion smirked. "Ace Lightning defeated by a few sensible words. If only Fear knew. But I can think of a few other ways I can subdue you..."

"Yeah? Like what?"

Lady Illusion moved closer so that they were nose to nose. She placed a hand on Ace's chest. "Well, there was something else I saw on the television..."

Mark skidded hard into the driveway. He'd ridden hard, and was sweating under his thick jacket, despite the chill in the air. He parked the bike next to his front door and then glanced at his watch. Six forty-five. He let out a sigh. Whilst his parents weren't too strict if he was five or ten minutes late, in light of recent events he wasn't taking any chances.

Mark pushed open the front door.

"I can't believe you, Simon!"

His mother's voice was like a stab of ice. They were fighting again. Mark froze.

"After everything that's happened you let our boy just wander out..."

"He's too old to wander out!" Simon's voice now. "He's a teenager, we've let him out later..."

"Something like this hasn't happened before. We agreed, we'd have a talk with him first and reset the boundaries…"

"What would you have me do, Fiona? Maybe lock him up and throw away the key? Might be appropriate given the circumstances... how can you be stupid enough to just walk into a bloody crime scene anyway..."

The sound of a school bag being very deliberately dropped silenced both of them. Mark had come into the dining room and was just staring at both his parents. All he had to do was get through a few more hours of this day, but now this seemed like an impossible task.

"Mark..." Fiona was standing next to the dining table. She look flustered, but on seeing her son, she relaxed. "You're home, I was worried."

Simon was seated at the table, but he was now looking at his plate and avoiding Mark's gaze.

Fiona glanced between both of them. "It's okay, sweetie. We were just talking. Dinner's almost ready..."

He couldn't do this. "I'm not hungry." He grabbed his bag, heading for the stairwell.

"Mark..." Simon's voice was strained, but there was still a note of warning in it.

"Don't worry, dad. I wasn't stupid enough to stumble into a second crime scene..."

"Mark!" This time it was his mother who reprimanded him. Simon had put his face into one hand.

Mark stomped up the stairs, his school bag slammed into the walls at least twice in his hurry but he reached the safety of his bedroom. He slammed the door behind him and leaned against it heavily. He paused, listening for any sound of pursuit. But all he heard were the somewhat fainter sounds of his parents starting the argument again. At least here he couldn't make out their words. Mark dropped his bag to the ground and drew in a breath, then he pounded a fist into the door behind him. This didn't attract his parents attention either.

"Argh..." Random Virus blinked the haze of unconsciousness away. He glanced about the junkyard warily as his senses returned to him. There was no sign of Kilobyte. The cyborg hooked the length of steel that was pinning his left arm and tossed it away. He flexed his one good hand. "Well... at least it didn't slice it off," he muttered. He righted himself and again surveyed the junkyard. It remained silent.

"Sparx?" Random called. He couldn't see her anywhere.

There was a mound of junk heaped in one corner of the junkyard, where Kilobyte had thrown it. From beneath this came a very un-Sparx-like wail.

Random jerked fully upright as the sound pierced the night air. "Sparx?! Zoar, she's hurt..."

Random rolled over to the pile and began to rip away a piece of sheet iron. "Hang on, Sparx. I'll have this off in a minute!" The iron sailed across the yard, followed by an old tyre. Random worked furiously.

"Damn it, Kilobyte!" Sparx's voice came from beneath the rubble, followed by what almost sounded like a stifled sob.

Random hooked his claw and his left hand under the last piece of rubbish - an entire, somewhat flattened, car hulk. He hurled it over his head with a grunt. It flipped twice sideways and smashed into the junkyard wall.

Sparx was on the ground, on her knees. She looked upset, but otherwise her power levels appeared fine; she wasn't even flickering. The Lightning Flash, however, which had been right beneath the stack of garbage Random had just removed, was a crumpled mess. It let out a few sparks of electricity.

Random let out a pent up breath. "Sparx! I thought he'd hurt you..."

"He did!" Sparx snapped. "Right here!" She thumped her fist into her chest. She sniffed and stood to her feet. "I can't fly without her, you know."

"I know. But it's not the end of the world."

"Can you fix her?" Sparx asked.

Random eyed the mangled machine and winced. "Er..."

"Oh, man!"

"It's not that bad," Random shrugged.

Sparx scowled at him. Then something over his shoulder caught her eye. "So, that's not that bad either?"

"What?"

Sparx pointed, and Random turned around to see that his shack had been flattened by some part of the flurry of destruction Kilobyte had caused.

Random stared at it for a moment and then his shoulders slumped. "Perfect."

"It's probably easier to fix than the 'Flash..."

"It took me a week to build it in the first place," Random grumbled.

Sparx frowned and walked over to the shack. "I mean... you might be able to..." She reached out a hand and touched one of the walls that still stood. At which it creaked, groaned, and then slumped even further to the side. "Oops..." She drew her hand back.

"This is ridiculous..."

"Sorry," Sparx winced. "I... look, if you want, you can come back to the Thunder Tower. I mean, I've got to walk anyway."

Random let out a sigh and just looked at his shack.

"I know you don't like leaving this place, and I know you're scared you're going to hurt someone... but that thing is completely trashed and like you said I think it's going to snow, and..."

"I was going to say..." Random said quietly. "That it's ridiculous to sit around in a junkyard in a paper-thin shack where I run the risk of being caught out alone by Kilobyte and have him talk me into something I'll regret because I can't tell right from wrong."

"What?"

"Sparx, I'm almost certain the only reason I didn't agree to Kilobyte's proposal was because you were here to talk sense into me."

Sparx thought about that for a moment. "Hey, you're the one who said not to run."

"Not particularly good advice, but seems it worked out..."

Sparx sighed. "Look, you can't have it both ways. Either you're going to be alone, or you're going to run the risk of hurting someone. But hey, I've always found that if you don't take risks you just get nowhere... or, in your case, almost get recruited by Kilobyte... sorry."

"Don't be. You're right. And I'm sick of being alone."

"Wait, so you're actually going to come?"

Random didn't look at her, instead staring at his crumpled shack. "I'm dangerous either way, I may as well try and do some good before I inevitably mess things up. But you have to promise me one thing."

"Sure..."

"You need to help me see things straight... and if that doesn't work, you have to send me back to the sixth dimension without hesitation."

"But it's just a game."

"Doesn't matter. If I can't get this right even with help then there's no place for me but there. At least if I destroy anything there, it won't be real."

Sparx thought for a minute. "Yeah, okay, I promise. But I'm pretty confident you'll be fine." She smiled. "I'm... I'm glad you're coming back. This place is kind of..." She twirled a hand in the air, and then looked at Random a little sheepishly.

"You can say it..."

"Pathetic, dreary, untidy... smells a bit funny too..."

"That's just oil..." Random had a faint smile as he replied.

"I can get Ace to come back for the Lightning Flash; he won't mind. But we're both going to have to walk... roll... "

Random rolled to her side. "Well... I guess I'll have to escort you then." He held out his arm.

"Pfft." Sparx snorted. "I suppose I could let you. Never know, we might pass some stairs and I'd have to make sure you don't fall down them."

"I can still navigate stairs."

"Okay: one condition though. When we get back to the Thunder Tower, if Ace and Lady Illusion cause any trouble with any housemate-type arguments... you've got to be on my side."

"Sounds fair enough."

With that Sparx took Random's arm and they headed down the darkened streets towards the Thunder Tower.

Kilobyte stroked the vibrating mass of fur he held in his arms as he stepped through the door of Rick's Computer Shack. He was certain the mortals had gone through everything they wanted to and would now leave the place alone. It wasn't as if they were a threat to him, but it did suit him to remain concealed for the time being.

There was still police tape crossed across the inner doorway, but this fluttered to the floor as Kilobyte stepped through it. The place was still cluttered, although it was obvious most everything had been riffled through. In his arms, the cat shifted and let out a low rumble.

"Easy, precious," Kilobyte said softly. "I'm right here..." He stepped into the back room and placed the cat in one corner on the floor. He stroked its head and accepted a rub before leaving it there. By this time, it was the size of a medium dog. It grumbled again, deep in its throat, and began to furiously lick its shifting fur.

Kilobyte turned his attention to the late programmer's rig. "To think, this was all it took? Such power..."

The cat meowed in reply, though it sounded more like a growl.

"Yes..." said Kilobyte absentmindedly. "It will not be easy. I will get no help from the Lightning Knights, and that means we must fight them. Fear... he may help with some incentive. But I need something more, something more powerful that will tip the balance. I need greater control."

Kilobyte looked down at the rig spread out before him. His eyes roved over it, taking in every detail in the dim light. He paused as he saw the silver sphere on his right. It was small, easily able to fit in a mortal man's hand. Kilobyte reached out and lifted the metal ball from its cradle and turned it over in his fingers. He held it up before him. "Yes..."

Behind him two glowing eyes winked in the darkness. They seemed to float some four feet above the floor, and were spaced almost ten inches apart. A rumble like a spluttering motor bike engine filled the room.

Kilobyte smiled, his face reflecting off that silver sphere. "Why stop at killing the creator?"

THE END