She was supposed to meet with Nathan Bates this morning, owner of Science Frontiers, ruler of the free city of Los Angeles, and her boss.  He was not one to tolerate lateness.  He would never say anything, of course, just fix her with one of those gazes that told her she had just tested the limits of his patience.

The doors that protected his office slid open with a mechanical "swoosh"  and she stepped into his office.  Three Science Frontiers security personnel stood in the room, their guns drawn and pointed at the occupant of the chair that was sitting right in front of Nathan's desk.  Nathan sat behind his desk, his expression grim.

Julie's heart began to hammer in her chest and she swallowed down the lump of fear in her throat.  She began to step forward but stopped as he waved her back.

"Don't.  It's not safe."

The woman in the chair turned to look her.  It was Diana.

She was dressed in a plain red Visitor uniform and sat placidly in her seat.    As they locked gazes Julie realized it was not Diana.  Sure, she was identical in almost every way but the eyes were different somehow.  The more she studied her she saw some subtle differences;  her cheek bones were thinner and she seemed a little more petite.

"What's going on?" Julie asked.

"This... person has escaped from Diana's mothership.  Diana is on her way here now to retrieve her."

The woman gave Julie a little grin at Nathan's comment and then turned back to face her captor.

The doors behind her opened again.  Half a dozen Visitor shock troopers stormed into the room with the real Diana following behind, the look on her face intent.

"We'll handle this, I want your people out of here," she barked.

Nathan nodded to his security, and they filed out of the room, replaced by the Visitor troops.

Diana was looking smug as usual.  She crossed her arms and approached the captor.  The mirror images appraised each other, then Diana smiled.

"I told you, you can't get away.  Wherever you go, I'll find you."

"Is that so?  I didn't think you cared."

Diana smacked her hard across the face, but the woman only smiled in response.

"Maybe the Leader's wrong, maybe you aren't worth keeping any longer.  You've become a risk that I cannot allow to jeopardize our plans here."

"Does that mean you're going to kill me?"

She leaned up.  "Take her to the shuttle."

The guards replaced her, one on either side of the chair.

"Okay, I'm going."

She made a motion like she was going to stand, but instead reached down, grabbed the legs of the chair, and swung it up.   It crashed into the one guard, and she slammed the shattered remains into the other guard, sending them both toppling to the ground.

Julie knew this was going to get ugly.  Nathan stood still, not knowing where to move.

The dark haired woman jumped over his desk, bearing him down with her as the troopers fired.  The glass behind them shattered and came crashing to the ground.

They were both out of sight behind the desk.  The troops had stopped firing, not sure what to do, when the desk seemed to lift up and come flying across the room, slamming into the 4 remaining guards.

Nathan's desk was not an item that could be just tossed around by anyone.  Her mind, for some reason, flashed to Elizabeth, and her new found ability to manipulate objects without even laying a hand on them.

Diana seemed to be in shock.  She heaved a few breaths and then ran out the door.

"Don't let her go!"  the other woman yelled.  She jumped over the fallen troops and chased after her.

Nathan was already calling his henchman, Mr. Chang.

Julie ran out the door after her.  A few feet up the hallway she could see the woman had already ran into Mr. Chang, who stood in her path with his revolver drawn.

The confrontation didn't last long.  With a kick she knocked the gun out of his hand and then delivered an opened handed thrust to his temple with the palm of her hand, knocking him unconscious.

She continued on her pursuit, and Julie followed at a distance.

The elevator was travelling to the roof, probably with Diana in it.  She slammed open the door to the stairwell and began running up the stairs, two at a time.   At the top of the stairs she slammed open the door to the roof.   The ramp to the Visitor shuttle was already closing.  Two guards had been left behind to deal with Diana's pursuer.

When Julie had reached the roof the two guards lied dead, their necks snapped.

The woman who looked like Diana stood in the heavy rain that was pouring down, looking up at the Mothership, not even seeming to notice Julie's presence.

Obviously, this was not a woman with whom to trifle.  When she threw a blue eyed glance in Julie's direction, Julie put her hands up in a non threatening gesture.

As she approached her she noticed a small trickle of red blood running from a cut by her temple.

"I don't want to hurt you... I just.... Diana will be back, You have to get out of here."

"I know."

"Who are you?"

She laughed out loud and looked back up at the threatening sky.  "That's a long story.  Where am I?"

"In Los Angeles."

She shook her head.  "It means nothing to me.  By 'in' I assume you mean your city.  What planet?"

Planet?  "Earth."

"I don't know where I am, that name I don't recognize."

"You're injured,"  Julie pointed out.

"Just a cut, from the glass."

"I can take care of that, I'm a doctor."

"I need to leave."

"We can leave together.  Your enemy is my enemy."

"Can I trust you, Dr. Parrish?"

She stepped back a little.  "How do you know my name?"

"I can read your mind... and it's on your coat," she said with a wry little smile.

Julie looked down at her lab coat and saw the name tag.  Was that a joke or can she read minds?

"You can trust me."

"Then let's leave."  She turned quickly on her heel and began to stalk towards the stairwell.

"What's your name?"

She stopped and turned towards her.  "Diana."

"I should've known," she mumbled as she followed her down the stairs.
 
 

"I have medical supplies in my lab, we can fix you up --"

"No time.  Do you have a vehicle?"

"Yes."

As they exited the stairwell they found themselves facing Nathan Bates, who looked a little less than pleased.
Julie froze, scanning for his henchmen.   Nathan saw her searching glances and just made a small sigh.

"Get her out of here.  I don't know who she is but I don't think we should let Diana get a hold of her."  He tossed her a set of keys.  "It's a company car, in the garage. Go."

Julie pulled her towards the door to the garage.

"You'll have to get down in the backseat, we need to get you out of that uniform as soon as possible."  She stopped when she opened the door to see a Visitor shuttlecraft parked outside the entrance to the garage, effectively blocking it off.  A squad of red and black clad troops were running towards the main entrance, leaving two standing guard over the shuttle.

None of them noticed the two women in standing the garage.

"Change of plans, Dr. Parrish.  We'll take the shuttle."

"We'll what!"

"Take the shuttle, we'll have to get those two away from it quietly."  She ducked behind a concrete
pillar.

"Call them over here.  Now," she added firmly.

It appeared this Diana was running the show.  She didn't know what she was planning but she knew she was probably right about the shuttle.  She waved frantically at the two guards to come over.  Only one did.

When he neared her she didn't give him a chance to speak.

"I think I know who you're looking for."

Diana slipped out from behind the pillar, grabbed him by the neck, and slammed his head into it.  They were partially out of the sight of the other guard, but when the trooper hit the ground a moan escaped from his lips.  This sent the other guard moving inside the garage, holding his rifle in a ready position.

She grabbed the fallen trooper's rifle and shot the approaching guard dead.  The path to the shuttle was clear.

"Let's go," she said motioning towards the shuttlecraft.

They scurried inside and closed the hatch behind them.  Diana sat at the pilot's station and took a moment to examine the controls in front of her.

"You do know how to fly this thing, don't you?" Julie asked.

"More or less."

Julie bit back a strangled laugh.  This whole thing felt like deja vu.  This was getting worse by the moment.  She didn't like this, she didn't like sitting in a Visitor shuttlecraft with an extremely wanted fugitive, not that she wasn't used to that.

Maybe it was the control freak in her, but she didn't like barrelling down a road without knowing where she was going.

The craft shuddered as the engines came to life. Diana turned in her seat to eyed her cooly.  The cut over her left eye was bleeding down the side of her face.

"Trust me."

Julie exhaled and nodded.  "Ok."  She was jerked backwards in her seat as they took off into the overcast skies of Los Angeles.

Once above the city they were treated to a magnificent view, the ocean glittering endlessly before them.

"Ok, what's the plan?"

"The plan is to let them know I stole this shuttle, get them to engage me, then dump this thing in the water out there."

"I don't like that plan."

"You can file a complaint against me later."

"You're not used to people questioning you, are you?  Just...who are you anyway?"

She just smiled as she swung the shuttle in an arc over the city.  Something flashed in the corner of her eye and she saw three shuttles being deployed from the Mothership.

"Here they come.  There should be some parachutes stowed on this thing, go see if you can find them. I'll give our friends a little run around."

The communication channel in the shuttle crackled to life and a familiar voice came over the speaker.

"We can work something out, come back to the Mothership," the alien Diana said, her voice oozing charm and believability.

"Why should I? So you can put me in storage again? How long was I on ice anyway?"

"We've had you in suspended animation for two years.  You're lightyears from your home.  Any chance you have of getting back there will be through us."

"I'll take the risk.  Your people have an enemy in me now.  You do understand what that means, don't you?"

There was an icy silence.  "Yes, but not if I can help it."

"Then take your best shot."

"Is anyone there with you?"

"No."

"You won't survive on this world.  These people are barbaric and dangerous.  Just because they're humanoid --"

She cut off the transmission, her jaw clenched.

"Have you found those packs?"

"Just one."

"That will do, we'll go tandem."  Then more quietly, under her breath, she mumbled, "Two years."

Julie found herself huddled under a pier, wet and shivering as she waited for a contact to pick her up.  They had dumped the shuttle in the ocean, and managed to land in it themselves.  Luckily, they landed very close to shore and waded in.

It was raining again and she listened to the drops strike the wood above her.

Diana sat next to her, waiting, like a guard dog waiting to pounce on anything that moved.  Despite that though, she seemed remarkably calm, and her demeanor had a calming effect on Julie.

"I know you don't want to tell me much, but if you're not from...here, then that means that there are other humans on other worlds."

"Kind of...scary isn't it?  The implications anyway."

"And the Visitors haven't gone after your people?"

Diana chuckled.  "Oh no.  They aren't racist, just opportunists.  You're weaker than them, and they saw an opportunity."  She looked back out at the waves rolling in.

"Let me look at that cut."

Diana obediently turned her head so Julie could examine her.

"The bleeding's slowed down a little but you may need a couple stitches."

"Stitches? With a..a thread and needle?"  She sighed and looked down at the sand.  "Great."

Julie had hoped she would continue talking but she was back in her silent mode, completely stoic.

Footsteps approached and Diana trained the rifle she still had at the approaching sounds.

Someone ducked their head down to get under that portion of the pier.

"Julie?  You down here? What the hell's going on? Lizard's are swarming the whole damn city."  Ham Tyler stopped short when he saw her companion, and drew his sidearm.

"Tyler!  Whoa, relax!  Put it down."

As he got closer he saw the red blood over the woman's brow.  Something strange was going on here.

"Julie, I expect a really good explanation."

"Let's just get out of here first.  Take your coat off."

"What?"

"Take your coat off.  Come on."

With a grunt he did as ordered and removed his black leather coat, handing it to Julie.

"Here, put this on, it will cover up that uniform top."

Diana nodded and took the jacket.

They rode to Club Creole in Ham Tyler's van.  Everyone was being extremely quiet.  At one point Ham leaned over and whispered in Julie's ear.

"Are you sure she's not a lizard?" he hissed.

"Fairly.  I'll get a chance to look her over more once we get there."

"It's downright eerie how much she looks like her."

"I think it might be the other way around.  Diana was made to look like her for some reason."

"I don't like this, Julie.  It could be a trick."

"I know, I'll be careful."  Her mind kept tugging her back to the day when the war first started and she had sent that distress call out to anyone that might be listening on other worlds. She never believed that there was really anyone out there listening...but now she had to confront the reality that there were other people out there, even ones that looked like them.  It made a shiver run down her spine and she glanced back in the van at their passenger.

Diana appeared to be wrapped up in her own thoughts, whispering "Two years," over and over to herself.

Julie felt her stomach clench at the sight and turned back to look out the windshield.

Thankfully, Club Creole was practically deserted.  Elias and Willy were the only people there.  Elias sat behind the bar paging through a newspaper as Willie wiped down the bar.

Julie walked in hastily with Diana and Ham.  Ham was walking behind them, watching their guest carefully, his hand on his pistol.

Willie dropped a glass at the sight.  The sound went practically unnoticed.

"No one sees a thing?  Got it?  Willie you got that?" Ham barked.  Willie just nodded.

They went through the secret entrance, Ham close behind.  Before he could enter Julie stopped him.

"Wait out here, okay?"

He seemed hesitant, but nodded in ascension.

"Ok, I'll be at the bar.  You armed?"

"Yea," she lied.  She just needed Ham relaxed enough to leave her alone with their guest.

The first thing she did was clean and stitch the laceration over Diana's eye.

"You're very good at that," Diana said quietly as Julie put a small bandage over the cut after she had put in a couple of stitches.

"Thanks.  Lots of experience.  How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling all right.  I would like to get out of these wet clothes, though."

Julie found them some dry clothes to change into.

In a black sweater and jeans, with her dark hair tousled she looked even less like her doppleganger.  In fact, the differences were more apparent than ever.  At first glance, no one would mistake her for the alien commander.

Julie made them coffee and they sat at the table.  A heavy silence sat over the room.

"You don't remember me, do you?" Diana asked suddenly.

"We've met before?"

"On the Mothership.  My detention cell was next to yours.  We were both being converted.  That was when they finally gave up on me and decided just to put me into suspended animation.  You used to recite poetry and bite your palms until they bled."

She felt that part of her body tingle in recognition and she rubbed her hands together subconsciously.

"I don't remember much of my time there."

"That's okay, neither do I.  They did a good job of keeping you tired or drugged up.  We talked briefly through the cell wall."  She took a sip of the coffee and the silence descended again.

"How do I now you're not just some nut who looks like Diana?" Julie asked.

Diana arched an eyebrow in her direction and gave her a little smirk.  "I think we both know that's not the case.  But you understand I may not be able to answer all your questions, after all, I don't know if I can trust you, either."

"Then I guess I'll tell you about me.  I'm Juliet Parrish, this is a hideout for the resistance --"

"Against the Visitors, I know.  I came to Science Frontiers to find you.  I got into the computer on the Mothership before I left.  Science Frontiers was the easiest place to escape to, no one would question Diana going there, and when I saw that you worked there I hoped that you would be able to help me.  You know, they still have you listed as an active resistance member.  Why is that they haven't arrested you yet?"

"I don't know.  What did you think I could be able to help you with?  I doubt it was just escape.  You seem to be able to handle yourself just fine."

"You're downright empathic, Dr. Parrish.  Yes, I thought you might be able to help me to end this war."

"End this war?" Maybe she was crazy.

Diana leaned back in her chair and appraised her cooly.  She sighed a little and leaned foreward.

"My name is Diana Atriedes, I'm from an empire that's a collection of unified worlds.  We've had very limited interaction with the...Visitors in the past.  We have, however, warned them several times that we would retaliate against them if they took any actions like they have here."

"Your government has warned them?"

"Yes."

"Is the empire you're talking about the Alliance the Visitors refer to?"

"Probably."

"You seem very important to them.  They kept you in suspension for two years and now they're tearing this city apart looking for you.  Why?"

"Because she is the perfect human, the super being."

Elizabeth's voice cut through room and they both turned to look at her.

Julie watched the blood literally drain from Diana's face.  She stared fixedly at Elizabeth.

"Oh my God," she breathed.  They stared at each other for a while until Julie interrupted.

"Would someone care to include me in this?"

Elizabeth began to shake her head, backing up slowly.  "No...no."  She turned and ran back up the steps.

Diana's breathing became ragged, almost like she was hyperventalating.  She leaned over the table and buried her head in her hands.

"They didn't....couldn't.  Oh my God."

Julie leaned over the table, eyes flashing dangerously.

"Start talking, fast."

"I think...I think...Does she have unusual abilities that you've noticed?"

"That's an understatement."

"Then I think you better do a genetic test."

"Why?"

"Because there's a damn good chance that girl is my daughter."
 

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