It was just past two when Star made her way out to the patio where Crista and Kole were still sitting and chatting. “Decided not to run for cover after all?” she greeted them as she made her way over to where they each sat near each other a few feet from the edge of the pool.

“I live in a war zone” Kole offered, “at least this one has prettier people” he smirked.

“He’s my ride” Crista added her own explanation.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear you claiming you actually wanted to go home” Kole stated wryly.

“Don’t think I’ve ever voiced that desire even once in my life” Crista replied thoughtfully.

Star just allowed a tiny smile as she moved to bend over and hold her hand out to where Kole was sitting on the concrete near Crista. “Keys” was Star’s simple directive.

As she bent down to address him, his eyes immediately moved to where her breasts nearly spilled out of the bustier she had worn under the jacket that had been tightly buttoned previously, during the hearing. “What now?” he stated distractedly as her nipples were very nearly visible from that new position.

“Keys” Star chuckled, easily noting his eyes on her chest, “your car keys? We get Chinese every weekend, and it’s me and Sky’s turn to pick it up. Your car’s the easiest to take.”

“Cars? Keys?” he shook his head, distractedly eyeing her chest still.

Star allowed an actual laugh then as she simply moved to help herself to the pocket of his rather tight pants where she knew he kept said keys. “My goodness Kole, it’s only been like six days... since that combination anyway” she added wryly as she claimed the keys and finally stood upright again.

As he was only slightly less distracted once she removed her hand from his pants and stood up again, Kole finally spoke, “wait. I’m letting you drive my car?”

“Not like I haven’t been behind your steering wheel before” she smirked, still amused by his earlier distraction.

“Yeah and I seem to recall you facing the wrong way at the time” he returned her smirk.

“Depends on your viewpoint” she teased as she made her way back into the house with another small laugh.

After hearing she and Sky leave, Kole and Crista glanced at each other as if having the same thought. “Should we get the mads, or just try something on our own?” Kole asked with a thoughtful tone.

“As much as I’m not looking forward to speaking to them much, now. It’d probably be safer if we were near people with some kind of medical training before we start bleeding from our brains, again” she added more quietly.

Kole just sighed in agreement before the two pushed themselves up from their seats, claimed their bags, and steeled themselves to go face the ‘mads;’ which was their nickname for the ‘mad’ scientists that Sky and Star called parents.

Upon finding Brie and Connor in the living room, pretending they had some hope of enjoying what was left of their Friday off, Kole and Crista both looked at them warily as the adults turned their attention from the TV to the two teens who had now appeared from the dining room.

“Hi” Kole managed awkwardly.

“Hi” Crista echoed the greeting, trying to manage a smile, though it was just as awkward.

“They took your car?” Connor raised a brow.

“Apparently easier than moving it and yours both?” Kole shrugged.

“And you two didn’t go with them?” Brie put in, though her voice was a bit cool as she was still adjusting to the facts she now knew about exactly how close both of them were to both of her children.

“We texted them what to get us at the Chinese place” Kole offered with another shrug.

Connor simply shook his head as he set the remote aside, “and what can we do for you two?” he made himself ask.

“Well” Crista began, warily looking to Kole who simply looked down, “Sky and Star aren’t here, and you wanted to see what we could do without them, right?” she asked nervously, though her words did chip away at Brie’s hardened expression enough to allow some of her shallowly buried curiosity to peer through.

“You’re volunteering to be our... test subjects?” Connor asked warily.

Kole replied then, “as long as it doesn’t involve being locked in a lab that ends with us having to go back and live the last three years of our lives over again.”

Connor just scoffed, “we’ll try to avoid that.”

“Appreciate it” Kole returned.

“Yeah, I really don’t wanna be eleven again” Crista added worriedly.

“I second that” Kole put in, “times a thousand” he added with another uncomfortable sigh.

Connor and Brie both shook their heads then. Though Connor spoke first once more, “so, you two wanna use your minds to do your makeup this time or...?”

Kole just scoffed, “well how do you scientist types usually test for psychic abilities?”

“You’ve watched a lot of TV and movies, haven’t you?” Connor replied.

“Well I can do that in my room, away from my parents. So, yeah” Kole admitted.

Connor scowled slightly, then turned back to Brie, “guess telekinesis is the easiest to test for right. Or at least the one with the most obvious results, right?”

“Now you’ve been watching a lot of TV” she scoffed in response.

“That’s moving stuff with your mind, right?” Crista piped up.

“Right” Connor agreed, though before he could elaborate, the remote floated up from the side of the couch to pause mid-air in front of him. He and Brie both were thrown as their eyes locked on the floating remote.

Crista then giggled, “that’d be really useful when my parents or sister turn on crappy reality shows.”

“You did that?” Connor asked her shakily.

“Pretty cool” Crista smiled as she finally let the remote drop back into his lap.

He and Brie both stared at it for another moment before he cleared his throat and made himself look back at the girl, “any nosebleed?”

“Kind of headachey” Crista admitted with a sigh, “but not too bad.”

“Nosebleed? Headache?” Brie asked worriedly.

Connor then looked back at her. “Kole got a nosebleed after using powers last weekend. And Crista apparently has a headache now.”

“Tiny headache” Crista quickly corrected.

“Working theory is that human brains accessing alien powers without the two original hybrids present seems to have an adverse effect on said brains.”

“Tiny adverse effect” Crista corrected again.

Brie shook her head as she looked back at Crista, “did you have any of these negative effects after the day at the clinic?”

“No, I was fine then. But that was Star who did that” she added more quietly.

“So it’s only when it’s one of you and when you’re not with Sky or Star?” Brie restated.

“Seems that way” Kole agreed. “But neither of us have actually tried to do something ourselves when we’re with them. So far we just know how it works when Crista or I try something when it’s just the two of us, or when one of them try something with just one of us.”

“So, we have a few more factors to test” Connor added.

“Well this is good though” Brie stated.

“It is?” Kole asked skeptically.

“In the big picture. Say if Star’s or Sky’s DNA spread further. At least now we know that even if that did happen, which it hopefully won’t; then whoever it spreads to would be less of any kind of... threat” she decided on, “compared to if they were just as powerful as Sky and Star.”

“Now who’s watching too much TV?” Kole replied with a touch of sarcasm.

Brie just looked down a bit guiltily, “we’re not saying we think you two are a threat, but we do have to think about others getting infected, and what that could mean if it did happen.”

“So there’s a fail-safe built into our kids’ DNA apparently” Connor stated thoughtfully.

Then Kole just had an even darker thought, “Yeah if Curt had used... another part... with Sky, he’d be infected too now” he stated as all of them paled, “and I definitely don’t think any of us wanna see that asshole with powers.”

Taking a breath to regain her composure after such a thought, Brie spoke again, “well, he at least couldn’t use any powers unless he was near the four of you. And we know that if it wasn’t Sky or Star he was near, it would hopefully make his brain explode if he tried to do too much.”

“Wait” Crista asked fearfully as she looked between them all, “are we saying that if Curt rapes one of us... again” she added softly, “and uses... more than his hand; that he would get this too? He’d be our soul-mate too?” she added with her face taking on an almost greenish hue at that thought.

“Gotta have a soul to be a soul-mate” Kole muttered.

“He really does need locked up... or worse” Crista mumbled as she took a sad seat on the recliner. “Not only would we have to deal with him doing that to us, but also deal with the fact that it would be like giving him nuclear launch codes, and actually finding ourselves caring about the prick who did that to us too?” she just shuddered.

“He really does need locked up... or worse” Connor agreed somberly, as they all grew rather silent then.

When Sky and Star returned with their late lunch/early dinner, they both had their hands a bit full. So Star called out from the front stoop, “can someone get the door?”

“Allow me” Kole stated as he was on the recliner closest to the front door. Instead of getting up though, he simply glanced toward the door as it unlatched and opened, causing each of those present to look a bit startled. “Hey, no nosebleed. All is right with the world” he told them flatly.

“Are we having a meeting? Did we miss a memo?” Star greeted as she and Sky stepped inside, only to jump again when Kole looked toward the door once more and caused it to shut behind them.

Sky and Star both narrowed their eyes slightly as they moved to deposit the bags containing their evening’s dinner onto the coffee table that their friends and family were all seated around, looking rather somber that afternoon.

Kole sighed, “we were just talking about the wonderful risks of these powers spreading. In particular, if Curt comes looking for revenge before his trial, if he even gets one.”

Sky and Star both looked a bit confused by that, “what would that have to do with our powers spreading?” Sky asked warily.

Connor sighed and made himself answer, “if he had put... himself... inside you instead of only his fingers; he’d have this now too” Connor then let out a heavy sigh as Sky and Star both paled, as though the thought had not occurred to them until then either, “and the same goes if he comes after any of you three either. If he does.. what he does... to any one of you... then he becomes like Kole and Crista here.”

“So, that’s a cheery thought, right?” Kole scoffed as Sky and Star seemed to have to mentally remind themselves to breathe then.

Sky then nearly whispered, “he really, really needs to be stopped before he can ever do that to any of us... or anyone else ever again.”

Before anyone could say more, the text message alert on all of their phones went off as they all looked at each other warily. With a deep breath, each of them checked their messages and then all sighed, not sure how they felt when they saw it confirmed that thanks to all of them, Curt would be going to trial after all.