“How long have you been awake?” groaned Ferris as he sat up in bed wearily.

“Not long. Maybe an hour,” Terri replied. She was already up reading on her tablet.

“I didn’t hear you come to bed either. It must’ve been late.”

“Yeah, I guess I’m just having trouble sleeping. Don’t ask why. I don’t know. But I try to stay up late in the hope I exhaust myself to sleep and then it doesn’t work.”

“Oh hon, how long’s this been going on for?”

“About a week,” she said, knocking off the week before that from her answer.

“Yikes, do you want to see a doc?”

“No, no. I’ll be fine, honestly. I think it’s just work. All the changes going on,” she lied.

“Hmm, maybe. There’s been quite a bit of change hasn’t there. Some good, eh?” he said grinning and wiggling his eyebrows up and down referring to his move on loan from Canada to The Enhanced Beings Collective.

She laughed. “If you say so,” she teased.

“What’s happening in the world? Anything newsworthy things to report?”

“Well the usual doom and gloom. Floods in Asia, rising energy prices and Danish royalty scandals..."

"What's that one there on the screen?"

"Um, it's a report on the Chicago Times. Says that every single women who attended the Bull’s game at Wrigley Field have reported being eight weeks pregnant, all since being at the game.”

“What?” Ferris said in disbelief, sitting up.

“Yeah. The game was ten days ago, and since then, women have been checking in to local healthcare providers when they realised they were pregnant. It said the youngest is fifteen and the eldest sixty four. It’s so weird.”

“It’s very weird,” he agreed. “Imagine that was us! You waking up and being eight weeks pregnant,” he laughed.

“Oh God, no thanks!” she said also laughing.

“Really? I thought you wanted kids as well. Do you not now?”

“No, no. Of course I want kids one day. But I meant ‘no thanks’ to just waking up pregnant having missed two months of it. Besides, there’d be no guarantee it would be yours in that case. This seems like some Virgin Mary magic, don’t you think? That old lady, and the kid. Imagine not even having had sex and still being pregnant. What on earth would you even be giving birth too?”

Ferris looked confused. “Imag-imagine not having sex…?” he said quietly in mock disbelief. “Nope, I can’t imagine it!” He playfully pounced on his wife who dropped the tablet giggling.

***

Terri left the apartment later than she had planned thanks to Ferris’ amorous antics, not that she was complaining. It took her mind off things, at least for a while. But the guilt soon crept back in as she headed for The Facility.

“Afternoon Terri, thanks for coming in,” said The Secretary warmly.

“Ma’am, how are you?”

“You know me, trying to do my thing. Feel like I’m not really doing a good job of it though.”

“I’m sure that’s not the case.”

“Well... I had to suspend Dylan and Brad, and ‘ground’ Tobias last week.”

“Ouch, ok but that sounds like they’re the ones not doing a good job. What happened?”

“I’ll tell you another time. But I also had to take Brad off the next G7 duty, so I’d like you to step up for America next time.”

“Wow, Ma’am! Me? Well yeah, of course I will. Shit, thanks for the chance, Ma’am.”

“No, thank you. I just need to give him a time out, especially with Amber taking more of an active involvement in my leadership.”

“Well I appreciate you thinking of me.”

“Here’s the G7 signaller. Keep it on you just in case.” Terri took it and put it on her wrist. “There’s another thing. A bit weird, but it’s in your neck of the woods. I thought you’d look into it for me.”

“Let me guess. Does it have anything to do with baseball and babies?”

“Yeah, actually… So you heard? Well, the FBI are on it now but a mass impregnation of women at a baseball game? IT can only be something in our expertise.”

“Do we know anyone on our radar that can perform such a feat?”

“We now have an idea. A note was sent into the Chicago Times Announcements Department the day after. Read this,” The Secretary said, passing it over.

“‘Our congratulations to the women of Wrigley Fields who are part of something so great. United in Motherhood. Together on this journey, for seven months to come. Beginnings can start at the most unlikeliest of times and in the most unlikeliest of ways. Reality should not be taken for granted, take this as your warning. Everyone should expect the unexpected. At least with me around now. Kind regards, Daddy’…?” she screwed her face up when she finished. “This is the lamest ever cyphered message, right? Starting each sentence with a letter, literally spelling it out for us.”

“Yeah, so lame, but we think it is deliberately so.”

“Mhhm. What do we do now?”

“Can you and Do’Lânqwa check Wrigley’s Field? Just try to work out how this was possible. Something not that strenuous for Do’Lânqwa, to ease himself back into work with.”

“Sure, if you think it’ll be worth checking out. I’ll go and catch up with him.”

***

“I guess a congratulations is in order to you, for making it on the G7 team,” Do’Lânqwa said, breaking the silence as they flew to Chicago.

Terri looked over, caught off guard. “How do you know about that? I only found out myself today.”

“Oh, well er… Ve-The Secretary, she told me. Only that she was putting you on the team.”

“Oh, did she now?” Terri teased.

“Yeah, but honestly, just what I told you. Nothing about why.”

“Wow, so what’s going on between you two then?” she asked.

“N-nothing. We just talk. I think we both see the same isolation, loneliness in each other, and we just talk.”

“Is that all you two do?” Terri pushed, smiling at Do’Lânqwa mischievously.

“I think what I wanted to talk about was less intrusive than what you want to talk about.”

“Ok, fair enough. I respect boundaries.”

“So, what did happen?” Do’Lânqwa asked. “For Brad to be taken off the G7?”

Terri swept her hair over her ear. “Oh, I don’t know. Something about a group of kids that Dylan and him rescued in Cuswijan. They seem dead set on putting a team of these angry enhanced foster kids together. To train them up to follow in our legacies, or something. Well anyway, it went sideways and as you probably already know… The Sec got pissed, and what with Amber breathing down her neck, she had to dish out some consequences.”

“Huh. Wow,” Do’Lânqwa said. After a pause, he said, “Do you think they’ll ask Ta’Balshén to be in this young group?”

Terri furrowed her brows a little. “Would you want him to be? Like training for fights?”

“Well I would primarily want him to have some friends who are like him to talk to. Wo’Trendsont is not exactly socially or developmentally on par with him at his age. And now Ta’Balshén can at least hold his own... I do not know. But I wonder if they will ask him...”

“I think if The Secretary will have her way, there won’t be a team.”

“Hmm, perhaps,” Do’Lânqwa considered.

“Maybe you can talk her round to the idea, you know… when you next meet up?” she laughed.

“Boundaries, Terri… Is that Chicago up ahead?” he asked, changing the subject.

***

“So the security team here have been working with the health authorities to put together data they’re getting from the women and where they were sat when they were here,” Terri explained to Do’Lânqwa, who was stood in his full suit. They were stood in the stands in line with the batter’s box overlooking the whole field. “Looks like the women in the VIP section weren’t actually affected.”

“Because he couldn’t get near enough to them?” Do’Lânqwa realised.

Terri shook her head in disbelief. “So he can literally do anything now? He’s just got to be near enough, is that what we’re saying now? None of the women reported being touched or any out of the usual non-consensual contact with someone they didn’t know...”

“Well, you remember in the cells at The Facility? Those guards were on the other side of the glass and they still became fatally ill.”

“Making people ill is one thing. Impregnating seventeen thousand women is something completely else. That’s one heck of a baby boom.”

“Sure. We can assume there are not many limits to Outbreak’s biological warfare capabilities.”

“I want to know why, though. That’s what I don’t get.”

“Well, now is your chance to ask,” mumbled The Astral Sheriff, readying himself. Terri turned behind her to see what The Sheriff had seen. “But do it from behind me, I am at least immune.”

Outbreak walked down the aisle parallel to them, holding out his empty palms to appear less threatening, but Terri activated her suit anyway.

“Cool shiny outfits... I can see the Krugreycium we stole has gone to good use,” he remarked gesturing at Terri.

“It’s a shame not everything that came from that trip has been of good use,” The Sheriff responded.

“Ow, be careful of my feelings please.”

“What are you doing here?” Terri asked. “How did you get in?”

“I’ve been around, waiting for you. I figured someone would be here after my cryptic message to the newspaper.”

“It wasn’t difficult. But still, I want to know why? Why this and why here?” Terri asked.

“Well it’s a fun story. When they came up with the idea, they remembered you lived in Chicago and I felt because you… hang on... You’re not-”

“-What idea?” Terri interrupted quickly. “Is this The Purists giving you this shit to do?”

“They wanted more Pures, or something. Just to ‘increase the numbers’ they said. I don’t know… The boss went on a bit. Said they wanted a quick way to increase the population and ‘address the balance’.” He raised his eyebrows and shrugged as if he didn’t really care for it.

“And you, you just did it? Made seventeen thousand women pregnant? You know you don’t have to do what they say? You have choices,” Terri said.

“Well if you care to remember, you had me locked up but they set me free. It matters not to me what I do. I’m just repaying the favour.”

“If your life matters to you, you would stop doing grunt work for The Purists. Do not think for one minute they would not have killed you, or will not kill you at a drop of hat if it was not for what you can do,” The Sheriff argued.

“I better make sure I keep my hat on then.”

“You don’t get it. That many babies all at once will just…” Terri trailed off, giving up. From Outbreak’s unbothered expression, she knew she wasn’t going to alter his moral compass any time soon.

“Look, relax. The majority or if not all of those babies probably won’t make it to full term anyway. They’re literally immaculately conceived. That’s not something that is remotely biologically possible for you humans. The Purists wanted pregnancies, they got them. But they’re not going to really materialise. And you can thank me for that,” Outbreak said, with a wink.

“Excuse me if I don’t rush to show you my appreciation,” Terri scoffed. “But when The Purists find out in seven months’ time, you’re going to be more hunted than we are.”

“Terri, I don’t even know if in seven months’ time I’ll still be around.”

“We will catch up with you before then,” she warned.

“I know. I can see your Sheriff has it in him to do something. So is that what we'll do now? Are we.. are we going to fight today?”

“I want to.”

“I can tell. But deep down we know it’s not going to be today. I’m unarmed and your eye lasers are just too much for me. And plus I’m not wearing the right shoes for it.” He lifted up one of his feet, balancing on one leg to show his shoe off. “These mini ropes are a really weird feature,” he remarked pointing at his laces. “I’m going to back up now. Any sudden movements and I’ll give Terri something awful. There’s just so much choice on this earth to make people ill with.” He smiled like a kid in a candy store, backing away as he did.

“Well that was enlightening,” Terri said to The Sheriff as they watched Outbreak disappear.

“No, it was infuriating. We had him in our grasps,” he seethed. “And he just walked away from us. Too much chat, not enough action.”

“You heard him. He wasn’t in the right footwear,” she said laughing at the ridiculousness. “Plus I'm not ready for something awful. We’ll get him again. We just have to be smarter about it. Humans are completely vulnerable to him. We can’t just fight him, it means getting too close.”

“So me and maybe the triplets then?”

“Very likely, I’m afraid,” admitted Terri.

“I am not. I am rather looking forward to it.”

“I’m sure the triplets would be too when they return from Mars,” she said as the two of them walked down the steps towards the pitch.

“They’re finished up there though, aren’t they? They’re on their way back?”

“Yup, very soon I think.”

“Good. Er…before we go, Terri. What was Outbreak on about? He felt something and then realised you were not something...? Do you know what he was talking about?”

“No, sorry… I don’t.”

“Ok. Well come on Terri, that was a lie… You know I know that, right?” he said. Terri did her best to look at him innocently. “Ah hell,” he muttered.

“What? What is it?”

“Notification through my HUD. Earth’s satellites have picked up an incoming,” The Sheriff said, his tone switching to gravely serious.

“Oh shit, you’re not wrong,” Terri said. She looked up to the sky and saw a colossal ring of cloud splayed out. Her phone buzzed. “It’s a wireless emergency alert. People to get indoors or underground to safety.”

“I best be off then,” The Astral Sheriff announced, activating the jets on his suit and blasting off up into the sky.

Terri ran back to her jet.

Whatever was coming was going to need all hands on deck. As she did though, a slight wave of satisfaction came over her as she realised that she made the right choice in the end.

She didn’t want to bring a baby into a world this vulnerable.