“Mmhmm. Naturally,” she replied, as though it weren't a big deal. “I'm an intelligent, beautiful young woman. I doubt any of you would understand, but when you've got as much going for you as I do, it just doesn't make sense to waste your coveted time and affection on mere boys. A person of my class and stature can only flourish in the company of mature, sensible adults.”

Victoria's three friends really would have liked to have been more annoyed at her arrogant posturing, but, well...she sort of earned it this time. Bringing a college guy to Harvest was an astonishing feat, any way you sliced it. Meanwhile, the undesirable was just confused. “What coll guy?”

“Not a call guy, a college guy,” replied Victoria, a bit offended.

“College is the school that comes after high school. A college guy is a guy who goes to college,” explained Lindsey, still in complete disbelief.

“In other words, she's bringing an older man!” concluded Alicia. “That's really incredible, Victoria, but will the school let you do it?”

Victoria sat up. Her hands answered before her mouth did, confidently sweeping her blonde hair over her shoulders. “Of course, they will. I'm a cheerleader. I can get away with anything.”

At that moment, one of the other cheerleaders cried: “Oh my god!”

They looked over at the source of the shout. It came from Samantha. She had been doing jumping jacks with Heather, but now they were pointing towards the door, mouths opened, eyes wide. A girl with pretty features and long, wavy brown hair was standing in the threshold, looking around.

“It's...it's Melissa C.!” exclaimed Samantha.

As part of Melissa C.'s systematic search for her target, she checked out the gym, and was surprised to find the cheerleaders holding practice there. She couldn't resist stopping to watch for a moment. The nostalgic feeling she got seemed a bit uncalled for; it had only been a couple months since she'd been here with them, after all. But with all that had happened, it felt like another life. This innocuous high school scene seemed so foreign to the person, or pseudo-person, she now found herself to be.

As soon as Samantha brought her to their attention, there was a stampede of sneakers on hardwood, and Melissa C. found herself surrounded by excited, astounded girls.

“I can't believe it! W-we thought you were dead!” exclaimed Nicole, hugging her tightly.

“Everybody did!” added Caitlin, grabbing a hug of her own. “When you and Jessica and the rest went missing in the woods, we all thought that was it! The school had a memorial service and everything!”

“The squad just hasn't been the same without you!” gushed Melissa J.

“What on earth happened to you guys?” asked Alicia, wiping away a tear of joy.

Her squadmates' names returned to Melissa C. with unexpected immediacy, without needing to pull up their TMI Index. She felt slightly giddy at how easily she was clicking back into place among her old friends. But the thoughts of her mission were not completely lost, and she still had enough sense to think of a cover story. “Well, uh...it's hard to say. We lost the trail and got totally turned around somehow.” She remembered the deceased as an acting motivation. Genuine emotion filled her, and she bit her lip. “I was...the only one who made it.”

Brittany covered her mouth. “Oh no.”

“The cops found me half dead, or maybe like seven-eighths dead,” Melissa C. continued. “They just let me out of the hospital today.”

Alicia's smile had waned during the story, but now she resurrected it. It was her turn to give Melissa C. a hug. “Well, we're happy to have you back. You're just in time for practice!”

Caitlin looked the prodigal cheerleader up and down, a bit wary. “M-maybe she should take it easy...She said she just got out of the hospital.”

Melissa C. grinned and shook her head. “Forget that, let's practice! I feel great!” This was absolutely true. She did feel great. It wouldn't hurt to put her mission on hold, not for just a little while. She'd been away from normalcy for a long time, and was now caught off guard by how readily it was extending a hand, welcoming her back.

“That's the spirit!” Alicia roused, pumping a fist in the air. “Come on, let's get you caught up! We've got a bunch of new routines!”

The circle of uniforms began to disperse, ushering Melissa C. over to the mat. As it did, she looked around and remembered more names. There's Lindsey, she hangs out with Alicia, doesn't she? There's Victoria, one of Melissa C.'s only fellow seniors...

Then, she froze. There was one girl whose name she didn't know. But she definitely recognized her.

Before she knew what she was doing, her hands were on the girl's throat. She forced her to the ground.

“Whoa! Whoa! Melissa C.!” exclaimed Alicia. The cyborg felt hands on her shoulders and arms, trying to pry her off.

She ignored them. The girl's throat felt soft under her hard, unyielding mechanical hands as she squirmed beneath her. Melissa C. squeezed. It was her! It was her! Why was she here? And...why was she in a cheerleading uniform? Was she trying to hide? Was this her cover?

Who cared? It didn't matter. When she did this, her mission was over. This chapter of her life was over. She'd get revenge for her friends right here, right now, and then she'd get back to her normal life.

“What the hell are you doing?! Get off her!” demanded Lindsey.

Melissa C. turned her head and barked at them. “She's not who you think she is! She's dangerous! Everybody get out of here, now! Get safe!”

Some of the girls were scared off by this wild yell, but some held fast. Chase was thoroughly alarmed for a different reason. She grabbed Melissa C.'s wrists and tried to pry them off her, but to her horror, she couldn't do it. It should have been child's play for her to break this girl's grip, but somehow, Melissa C. had immense, unnatural strength. She was stronger than Chase. Much stronger.

Caitlin and Lindsey exchanged a nervous look. Melissa C.'s comment had shaken them. Did she know about Chase's vicious past?

“M-Melissa C., stop!” Caitlin tried. “She's, she's not dangerous to anybody! Don't hurt her!”

Melissa C. didn't understand. “She's just a normal girl!” continued Lindsey. “She's our friend!”

This sank in slowly. Melissa C. let them haul her off, not because she believed her victim was innocent, but because she knew her squadmates believed it. If she killed her now, in front of all of them, they'd never forgive her. Even though she was doing this for revenge, when all was said and done she also wanted her life back. That would not be possible if they saw her as a murderer.

Chase coughed and stood up. Melissa C. seethed with anger just from looking at her. This girl was no friend of theirs. She checked Chase's TMI Index just to be completely certain this was the right person. Positive Target.

“This is Chase, Melissa C.,” explained Alicia in a delicate, gentle way, as though she was disarming a time bomb with her voice. “She's a new addition to the squad. We just added her a few weeks ago.”

“I don't know who you think she is,” said Lindsey carefully, not stopping to give Melissa C. the chance to volunteer this information, “but she's a really nice girl and she really loves cheerleading. She's good at it too!”

“There was this guy who was shooting at us and she stopped him,” added Tiffers, the worst storyteller of all time.

Hearing this praise heaped on such a subhuman monster infuriated Melissa C. She wanted to scream at her friends, tell them exactly what sort of person this so-called “Chase” was. But she knew it was no use. Instead, she feigned confusion, and put a hand to her head. “I'm, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me.”

Alicia placed a loving hand on her back. “You've been through a lot. We know that. It's no problem, right Chase?”

“Yeah, think no of it,” confirmed Chase, offering the girl a placating smile. It took everything Melissa C. had to return it.

Victoria stepped forward, rubbing her hands together. “Oh, well, either way, you don't have to worry about her one bit, Melissa C.! Chase was just leaving!”

“She was?” asked Chase.

“Oh my, yes,” Victoria replied with elegance. “We brought you on as a replacement for Melissa C., remember? Now that she's back, well, it pains me to say it, but I'm afraid we simply no longer require your services. Buh bye now.”

The cyborg was thrilled to hear this. Yes! Get rid of her! Don't let her endanger you anymore!

“I don't see why we need to do that, Victoria,” replied Alicia. “So we've got one extra cheerleader now, so what? They're both great! The more the merrier!”

“It's not like having another person is going to mess up any of our routines,” agreed Lindsey. “Being one person short is a big problem, but with one person extra, we can just tweak things a little.”

Now getting a feel for the grain of the conversation, Melissa C. reluctantly decided not to go against it. “Please don't kick her off the squad on my account. I'd feel terrible. She hasn't done anything wrong,” the girl insisted.

With the conflict defused, Alicia cheerfully began breaking down the day's practice regimen for the girls. “Holy crap,” Lindsey muttered to Chase, breaking rank. “What was THAT about?”

Caitlin nervously added: “It, it seemed like Melissa C. KNEW, Chase. About you! Do you know her? Have you two met anywhere?”

Chase had been puzzling over that very thing. “No think so,” she said, studying the brunette closely.

“Maybe you tried to eat her or something?” suggested Lindsey. “She definitely has some kind of beef with you.”

It was a sensible angle to approach the problem from. Unfortunately, Melissa C.'s identity was not quite as simple as remembering a person Chase had met, mostly because Chase wasn't thinking of her as a person when she met her. It was more like remembering what she'd had for dinner on a specific night two months ago. It was impossible. “No clue.”

“Melissa C., you were a flier before. Did you want to jump right back into that or do you need some time to get back into the groove?” invited Alicia. Melissa C.'s attack was already forgotten to her. Alicia was in full cheer captain mode now, radiating energy and positivity through her whole squad. There was no room in her heart for dwelling on the past.

Being a flier was the most challenging job on the squad. It had been a while since Melissa C. cheered, but Alicia's attitude was very encouraging. She couldn't hold back an eager grin. “Sure, I can do it!”

Alicia looked to Lindsey, who had been filling Melissa C.'s flying shoes during her absence. “Is that alright with you, Lindsey?”

Without hesitation, Lindsey answered with a smile. “Of course, it is! Happy to have you back, Melissa C.”

If there was anyone on the squad who had their doubts about this, perhaps thinking Melissa C. might be rusty after her long break, she wasted no time in proving them wrong. Her stunts and tumbles were spot on. She was always incredibly graceful and skilled, one of the pillars of the squad, and she was every bit the cheerleader now that she was before her disappearance. If anything, she had gotten even better, executing each move with almost machinelike precision, and an effortless accuracy that didn't slow down or tire. She didn't have her uniform with her, but once they got her into a spare they found in the locker room, she looked like she was more than ready to jump right back into her starring role on the squad.

“Wow!” remarked Caitlin, taking a breather on the sidelines. She wiped her forehead with a towel. “Melissa C. is just amazing!”

Alicia lowered her water bottle from her mouth with a gasp for air, and wiped some of the clear liquid off her lips with the back of her wrist. “She sure is!” This was the second breather for both of them, and Melissa C. still had yet to take single one. Alicia waited for the brown-haired girl to stick an impressive double full layout before calling: “Hey, Melissa C.! Take a break!”

The girl looked over at them. To their disbelief, she wasn't even sweating. She wasn't even panting. “Huh? That's okay. I don't need one.” She did a backwards handspring away from the conversation.

Even Chase was starting to get tired. She was no slouch in terms of technique, but she typically had everyone else on the squad beat regarding power and stamina. That was her strong suit. Seeing Melissa C. get right back to work without even missing a beat, when Chase was really feeling the burn, astonished her. The girl's firm, immovable grip on her throat came to mind without welcome. That persistent, unstoppable force was like nothing Chase had ever felt.

Whoever this Melissa C. was, she was strong. Chase had to respect that, but she also felt wary. She hoped their rough introduction was just a misunderstanding. This wasn't someone she wanted on her bad side.