A new project I wanted to start. It won't leave my head so I'm going to force it out. This is sort of a twist on the "Rebirth" episode. Enjoy.

Also please take the time to answer my poll. You can choose up to five choices and I really need some other people's opinions. Thank you

Disclaimer: I do not own Dex Hamilton: Alien Entomologist, but I do own this story.

Project Z

Jenny 10 POV

"Alright. Tung, I need you on animal feeding. The Arthur beetle isn't eating so if you could try and fix that that would be great. I will work on the security system device around sector 2 which leaves...Jenny." Dex ceased his cataloguing of today's household chores to look over at me. "Feel brave enough to retrieve this week's supplies in town?" The Aussie questioned me.

"Yeah, sure." I replied with a weak smile. It's not like I was scared. Well, I was, but who wouldn't be? Our neighbourhood had become less neighbour and more hood. Gangs ruled the roads and if you weren't careful, well, let's not get into that. I'm glad I was chosen to get this week's shipment. To be honest, I feel like the bravest person on my team.

The team at Hamilton Habitat consists of three entomologists. There is of course, Dex. The strong willed leader with an Australian accent who would rather die than harm an insect. Tung, the frog boy and tracker, comes from a planet where eating flies is celebrated, and the reason his nose still smells regardless of the odour released from his socks is a mystery to everyone. And then of course, there's me. Jenny 10. The last of the Jenny cloning program to be created before the project shut down and gifted with super intelligence. Together we have been rescuing alien insects from the harm of human civilisation, while the government has allowed human society to crumble at the hands of criminals.

Dex appeared to be thinking his next question over before he looked at me. "Need to bring a weapon?" A shake of my head was his response, but he grabbed my hand and placed a bulgy purple shot gun inside. I looked up at him sadly but then slipped the pistol into my holster.

"I won't be long." I smiled reassuringly up at him as he walked me to the north entrance. The door whooshed open to reveal a grey smog filled atmosphere, burnt trees standing cold in the weather and the same grey building repeated again and again down the street on the other island.

"Just hurry back." He glared at me as though he wanted me to make him promise.

"I will." I took a step outside the door. The natural Earth felt damp and squished under the pressure of my boot.

"Just don't bring home any crap, ok?" Dex yelled from the door as I walked away. I could only smile at his fatherly attitude as I began my journey.

The habitat is built on the safest area possible in this town. A large island just off the coast of the city separates us from any danger. To get to the island, one must endure an hour long boat ride on rocky waters in a small wooden paddle boat. This would probably be the highlight of my trip. I was getting better at steering it and I wanted more practice. I climbed in the boat, rested my small knapsack full of emergency supplies in the opposite seat and sat comfortably on the wooden plank. I grasped the wooden poles of the oars and began stoking them through the water.

After an hour long trip and humming the same tune over and over again in rhythm with the oars, I had finally made it to the border line of the city. My arms felt sore, but at least they weren't as sore as they had been the first time I rowed.

I invent things for my team. Mainly to help us catch insects but it is also very benefitting to invent something to help us survive. For instance, to see through this thick fog, my design of 'clear goggles' remove the fog from in front of me so I can have a clear path to walk on. Once you pass the fog barrier that surrounds the town, you no longer need the goggles, which is handy.

Fifteen minutes of solid walking and I had finally broken the barrier. I removed the goggles from my eyes and shook the hair from my face. The town hasn't changed much. The occasional blaring of a police siren can be heard in the distance and black crows sit still on the thin branches of the dead trees waiting for you to drop dead. I pull the piece of paper out from my pocket and read the address that was to be my destination, however, when I looked up at my nearest building, no numbers appeared on the broken cement surface.

"Just great," I mumbled as I let my hands fall to my sides. "How am I supposed to find it now?"

My head swivelled from left to right, until something around the corner to my left caught my attention. There was a man, no two men at the end of the alley. The appeared to be scuffing their feet on the hard concrete, probably putting out their cigarette butts in order to light a new one. I rolled my eyes in disgust and disappointment but the hair on my neck stood on end when I heard a scream.

I squinted down the alley further. They weren't scuffing their feet on the floor. They were kicking someone!

I had no idea what to do. I had never been in a fight before and I definitely had no immediate plans. I glanced at the pistol that sat in my holster. Was I really going to shoot someone? I had practiced on mannequins and posters back at the habitat, but this was an actual human being. I cleared the thoughts from my head and just ran to the entrance of the alley when another scream left the victim's mouth.

I must've run with heavy footsteps, because as I approached and stopped at the entrance, the criminals turned around and faced me, sliding closer together in an attempt to hide their victim. I held the gun out in front of me with two shaking hands and tried to steady my breathing.

"Leave them alone." I whispered, but the funny thing about alleyways is that the walls can cause even the smallest of sounds to travel long distances.

"Or what?" One of the thugs took a step closer to me and my head raced with different ideas. I took in a sharp breath aimed the gun and fired.

The wall next to the men didn't crumble completely to the ground, but it did send off enough debris to cause them to shield their eyes.

"I don't miss twice." I murmured, a little louder so the echo could amplify it some more. "Now leave them alone." I didn't realise I was holding my breath, let alone such a big breath as I let it escape when the criminals ran to safety through a perpendicular alley. I still held the gun in front of me, ready and waiting in case they decided to return with weapons. I completely forgot about the men when the victim turned over in pain on the ground. I walked over to them, but not too close in case they thought I was the one who hit them, and the person propped themselves up painfully onto their elbows. I could tell it was a boy and there was something about the way the small glimmer of light caught his blue eyes that I found mesmerising.

He grasped his head in pain, and I lowered my weapon and carefully walked over to them, but ceased abruptly when they held out their hand in a stop signal. The boy was covered in dirt and scratches, and only breathed heavily instead of speaking, his eyes full of concern and fear.

"I'm not going to hurt you." I whispered, but his gaze only travelled from me to the gun that I still held in my right hand. I looked over at the wall on my left, the crater embedded in the cement continued to release smoke from the impact. I glanced back at him, and noticed that he was staring at the handiwork of the gun as well.

Carefully, I placed the gun on the cold ground and kicked it away, watching it slide along the floor until it stopped at the parallel wall. I held my hands up in defence, and this time I did realise I was holding my breath. Never had I been this courageous before. I was weaponless, in the city, and face to face with a beaten man who for all I knew could've been the criminal and I just shot at the good guys. I knew however that this man wasn't going to hurt me. The way he clutched almost every limb in pain as he attempted to stand was enough information to me.

I couldn't help myself. I ran to his side and threw his right arm over my shoulder. It was a trifle getting him up, he was a lot heavier than me, but he finally managed to stand. After a small quiver of unsteadiness, I held him up and we stood together. My eyes fell onto my gun, and I sighed in disappointment when we walked past it and out of the alleyway.

Well, I walked. The man I had just saved was limping violently so he leaned on me until we reached the exit of the alleyway where he sat down on the curb of the street for a rest.

"Do you have a name?" I questioned the stranger, but my only response was a shrug from underneath his torn, blood and mud stained white shirt.

"Where is your ID tag?" I continued to interrogate my new find. The boy shook his head, the brown hair encrusted with dried mud held it perfectly still. I gave myself a worried and quizzical look. No one ever goes anywhere without their ID tag.

"Do you have a home?" This was my final question. If this guy didn't live anywhere, I definitely had to do something about it. He stared up at me; blue eyes glazed over in tears that looked as though he was fighting to keep them from falling, and then dropped his head down to his brown shoes.

I had had enough. I stood up, adjusted my knapsack on my back and held out my hand to this stranger. He only looked from my face, down to my hand, and then back to my face in a befuddled look.

"Come on. I'll take you somewhere we can fix you and clean you up." Being the proud, silent person he was, the boy attempted to stand himself, and being the impatient person I was, I quickly grabbed his hand, placed his right arm over my shoulders and pulled him to a standing position.

We hobbled over to the coast where I had stationed the boat. It's funny; the boy never looked at me throughout our whole journey. I just assumed that he was embarrassed because a girl had saved his life. Personally I didn't care. I was glad I had saved someone's life and I am sure the team...

Oh no. The team.

I hadn't thought about them. Dex flipped the last time I bought a stray dog home, so what's he going to say about a stray human?

I shook the thought out of my head. That's when I noticed out of the corner of my eye, the boy was staring at me, but I stopped myself from staring back. Dex would have to help this guy. He is a person after all and I'm sure once we fix him he can find a home and start a fresh life.

The boat lapped gently in the water at the ocean's edge. I dropped his arm off my shoulders and walked towards the boat. He stood oddly on the beach watching me as I put my knapsack in the boat. I turned around to face him and held out my hand to help him in. He shook his head, reluctant to trust anyone. Gosh I felt so sorry for this guy. I can't even imagine the life he must've had before I helped him.

"I'm not going to hurt you." I repeated. "But I'm not going to leave until you come with me." I hoped the sly grin on my face was portrayed as playful, but the stranger only looked around, from left to right in swift movements of his head. I turned around and pointed to the habitat.

"That's where we're going." I turned back and found his mouth ajar, mesmerized by the size of the building. I felt proud that he was admiring the structure, after all, it was my design and I did build most of it. I pulled his arm over my shoulders, this time he was more co operative and we staggered down to the boat. I placed him in the opposite seat and I took my driving seat, grasping the wooden oars in my hands.

I started to paddle the boat. It's a lot harder when there are more people in it. After five minutes we had moved a very small distance, and that is when the boy stood up and made a gesture to me to swap seats.

"No I got it. You're in no shape to be doing...anything." Unfortunately he wouldn't take no for an answer and continued to come across to my seat. I didn't want to argue either. My shoulders had been so sore from carrying this guy and rowing was just going to make it worse. We switched seats, and he grasped the poles of the oars in his hands.

Remember how I told you the boat ride was an hour long? Well, not when this guy is driving. The speed he brought the boat up to was phenomenal and I watched the foam build up in the water which for once, did not come from the ocean itself. We arrived in fifteen minutes, and I could only stare. Realising the strength that this guy had, I suddenly became nervous as I realised what this boy could've done to me in the alley, injured or not. I realised I was still staring at him when he dropped his head in an embarrassed attitude. I shook the thoughts from my head, pulled my knapsack on and stood up in the boat.

"Great job." I congratulated him, but he looked at me with a confused expression as though he had never heard those words before. I reached out my hand and he finally accepted it. We struggled to get out of the boat considering its constant movements, but eventually we were on the habitat's island and heading for the north entrance.

"Dex?" I questioned through my wrist com, and almost instantly the picture of my boss appeared with a worried look.

"Jenny, is everything alright? Are you hurt? We're coming to get you." He was about to sign off before I stopped him.

"No Dex, I'm fine. Can you meet me at the north entrance please?" Dex stopped getting ready and leaned closer into the screen.

"Are you back already? That's impossible. You haven't even been gone for two hours."

"Yeah." I started. "That's what I need to talk to you about. North entrance please." And with that, he signed off. I turned to the boy, and noticed that he had been staring at me, and that's when I realised I had forgotten to introduce myself, even though he couldn't say it back.

"I'm Jenny, by the way. Jenny 10." I smiled gently towards him, but his gaze fell on to my wrist com. "Oh this. These are our wrist coms. They keep all the members at the habitat in touch. I made them." His eyes shot to mine in shock, and I almost felt proud that he found it so interesting.

Perfect timing is always a good thing to have. When you really need something, perfect timing can be a fortunate solution. Just as I reached the door, it opened to reveal Dex, a concerned look on his face. My eyes darted to the boy who was leaning on me and it was then that I realised the stranger had fainted. I struggled with his weight, which Dex noticed, so he grabbed the boy and flung him over his shoulder unconscious. Perfect timing.

"So, who's this?" He asked casually with an unimpressed expression.

"I found him." I whimpered almost in fear.

"What did I tell you about bringing home crap?" Dex asked as he adjusted to man on his left shoulder.

"I couldn't leave him there." I began. "He was being beaten by these guys and he has no name, home or ID tag." Dex pondered the situation before stepping aside so I could enter.

"Well, I would've done the same thing in your situation." I smiled brightly at my boss. He was such a father figure. "Let's get inside and fix him up. Find out where he belongs."

I nodded happily and we both walked down the corridor to the medical centre.