xXx

Victor hadn't expected much difficulty, at least no more than usual.  The Chef was vulnerable on his left side, if he concentrated on hitting that he'd have a chance at dismantling his mechanical right arm, the one that held weapons ranging from butcher knives to egg beaters.

What he hadn't counted on was the Chef's hatred for Anita, how it added strength to his already obscene power.  Victor would never forget the moment, how it seemed to go in slow motion - Anita's slim body snatched up, then flung like a rag doll at the wall.  The sickening 'crunch' of bone against metal and the way she lay there, limp and unmoving.

He heard a blood-curdling scream.  It took a minute to realize it was his own and the rest followed as a furious blur - him against the Chef.  When it was done, the Chef was minus one mechanical arm, the rest of him pinned beneath his own canning machine, immobile until the other agents came to drag him away.

Victor was long gone before then.  With Anita cradled in his arms, he raced back to the base where on the third floor the medics waited, having been alerted by Anita's status button on her belt, which sent preliminary diagnostics on any injury suffered by an agent.  It was glowing with a fire red light, which only made Victor fly faster, murmuring words of comfort to Anita's unconscious form.

"We're almost there," he said hoarsely. "Hang on, Anita.  Soon ..."

There was blood dripping from her ears, which he forced himself to believe wasn't so bad.  Nothing a little medication and rest couldn't fix. She had to be okay ... she just had to be.

The medical staff surrounded Anita immediately, going to work in seconds.  Victor stood back, helpless, his heart in his throat as they checked her ears, her eyes before inserting batches of various tubes. One of the staff took out an electric razor and Anita's long, beautiful hair began to drift to the floor in thick bunches, even as they rolled her into base's operating theater, two stainless steel doors slamming shut behind them.

Victor stared at the doors for a long time, his world tilting in surreal directions.  Slowly, he sank to his haunches, breathing hard.  He stared at a thick lock of strawberry blond hair at his feet, running his finger along the curl before picking it up gingerly. 

Taking a seat, he held the hair lock between his fingers, running a thumb over its silk, the clock ticking away a second at a time.

xXx

Victor had no idea how long he'd been sitting there before Changed Daily came upstairs to debrief him.

"I have a new name.  It's Joshua Strong," Changed Daily said.  He looked the way he sounded ... tired.  "Can you believe it?  The one day Anita isn't here to hear it."

"I'm sorry, Joshua," Victor replied numbly.  "I'll tell her about it when she's out of there."

"Right."  The boss took a seat next to Victor, his knee nervously bouncing.  "So, the Chef, eh?"

Victor stared into space.  "I should have kept Anita back.  He's been trying to kill her for months,  I didn't think he'd just slam her into a wall.  They're usually more creative than that."

"Brute force is the last resort of the desperate.  And you certainly can't blame yourself for any of this.  It's one of the hazards of the job.  Besides, I heard that you didn't let the Chef off that easily.  Took five agents to scrape him off his own grill."

"He should be dead," Victor hissed.  "If I didn't have to get Anita here ..."

Joshua Strong looked at him with concern.  "Now, now.  We are in the justice business, not the revenge game.  You need to keep that in mind."

Victor didn't reply.  The lead surgeon came out of the theatre, his scrubs still stained with blood.  He motioned over Joshua and they stood whispering for a few minutes before the boss came back to sit beside Victor, his face turned an awful, ashen shade.

"All right, then," Joshua said, his voice shaking.  "Anita is, well, out of surgery.  And she's alive. Which are both good things."

Victor clutched the lock of hair harder in his hand.  "But?"

"Well .... "  He rubbed his knees and cracked his knuckles.  "She's had a bit of head trauma and, well, you know ..."

"Please spit it out."

"She's not awake.  Not yet.  Maybe not for a while but that doesn't mean that she never will.  I mean, the doctors don't think she'll ever wake up, but we don't know. Stranger things have happened and ..."

Victor's vision went black for a moment but he forced himself to his feet. "I want to see her. Now."

"Victor..."

"I said now," Victor growled between grit teeth. He strode to the steel doors and shoved them open, revealing exhausted and sad medics.  "Where is she?"

A sympathetic-looking nurse took his arm and led him to the curtained off section past the operating area.  Pulling the curtain back, she stood aside to let him in and Victor nearly cried out at the sight of Anita - covered in tubes, her head swathed in thick bandages.  The horrible sound of artificial breathing filled the air as behind her, a machine beeped with every heartbeat.

The nurse patted him on the shoulder and closed the curtain as Victor sank into a chair by Anita's bedside.  For the first time, he was afraid to touch her, terrified that he'd disturb some fragile piece of machinery that was being used to keep her alive.  He saw her fingers resting against the bed rails, free from the tubes and he gently squeezed them, horrified at how cold and still they were.

"Anita," he whispered. "It's me, Victor.  I'm here, okay?  I know you're going to get better.  You're stronger than anyone I know.  They don't understand how strong you are.  But I do.  I know you're going to make it back."  He drew her fingers up and kissed them lightly.  "You wouldn't leave your partner behind, right?  Okay?"

There was nothing but silence from Anita but Victor imagined her fingers might have squeezed back, just the tiniest bit.  

Victor bowed his head and let the tears fall.  Anita would understand.  She wouldn't mock him for crying.  Let the rest of U.Z.Z. think what they wanted, Anita was his partner - his life - she was all that mattered.  

She wouldn't leave him like this.  She couldn't - he wouldn't let her.  He'd have to just keep fighting, keep fighting for them both.  And when she woke up he'd ... he'd make sure no one would hurt her again.  Even if he to take care of them in ways that his bosses might not approve of.

To hell with them. To hell with T.H.E.M.

He cradled Anita's hand against his cheek.  "You don't have to be afraid, I promise you. I'm never - never - going to let them do this to you or anyone else again.  I swear it, Anita, on my soul.   I swear it."

xXx


Prof. Professor sat nervously in the meeting room, alone, the two chairs across from him conspicuous in their emptiness.  Changed Daily entered, sighing at Victor's absence, shaking his head the same way he'd been shaking it for the past three weeks.

"This is highly irregular," he complained before clicking on his name code generator. "Wonderful. I'm Winky Poindexter today.  Isn't that just the cherry atop the misery sundae?"

Prof. Professor couldn't find it in himself to laugh.  "I'm worried about Victor, Winky. He's been operating outside of standard procedures ever since Anita's, er, accident.  I've been hearing worrisome things from our undercover agents."

"Such as?"

"The wanton and careless destruction of Dr. Doctor's bases, even ones not in use.  Extremely rough handling of her minions, use of force beyond what is necessary ..."

Winky held up his hand.  "Yes, yes.  I've heard this story before.  It happens to agents who lose their partners, especially when it's one you are particularly close to." He glanced at the portrait of Lucy Woo adorning his mantle.  "You lose your temper more easily, kick a few bums a little more than they need to be kicked and ..."

"I heard he's maimed one of them," Prof. Professor interjected quietly.  "As well as refusing surrenders nor recognizing them as unarmed.  This isn't just roughhousing - I think the boy has lost a good portion of his senses."

Winky paled.  "Oh.  Yes, that might be out of the ordinary behavior."

"We need to reign him in, Winky," the Professor said, hopping out of his chair.  "Remember the last agent who started taking matters into their own hands and where that lead us.  The best of intentions and the road they pave, let us not forget."

Winky sagged a little, rubbing his suddenly aching forehead.  "I suppose we can assign him somewhere less ... accessible."

"The remoter the better," the Professor suggested.  He clicked on his computer, bringing up an atlas of the world.  "North Pole?"

"Let's not go overboard.  We can save that as a last resort.  Here ... South America.  Peru has some nice unexplored areas.  We can send him fishing there."  Winky sighed. "I honestly don't like doing this.  It seems a bit unfair. Victor has always been a good agent."

"It's your job to make sure he stays one.  It's for his own good, at least until Anita ... " the Professor paused.  "Recovers.  Or, you know, doesn't."

Changed Daily glared at him.  "Stop saying that. She might recover.  I've seen stranger things in my time here.  We can't penalize Victor for his ... concern."

"Is that what they're calling it nowadays?"  The Professor shrugged.  "We can beat around the strudel all we want, Winky, but you know as well as I do that Victor is in love with Anita. I warned you against pairing them but what's done is done and U.Z.Z. policy clearly states ..."

"You don't need to quote U.Z.Z. policy to me," Changed Daily replied sharply. "Victor will be sent south, Anita will be cared for in the meantime and you can keep your sage wisdom to yourself."  He brushed some invisible lint away from his jacket with short, angry gestures.  "I like you, Professor.  Please allow me to continue to do so."

"No problem.  Now ... speaking of strudel, the canteen is having a special on desserts.  Shall we head down?"

xXx

Victor rode his skybike aimlessly over the Peruvian landscape.  He harbored no illusions why he was there, he'd been sent fishing just like other agents before him, ones that had come a little too close to the edge for comfort.  Those who'd started enjoying the harder aspects of their jobs, in spite of the regulations.

It surprised him how little he cared.  There was a certain freedom in not feeling anything anymore, he hadn't had a trace of guilt or fear, only rage, since the day Anita was condemned to that damned bed, kept alive by machines. 

Victor gunned the skybike into a higher gear, sidestepping one of the mountains of Peru's great ranges.  A thin bracelet circled his wrist, a lock of blond hair, braided and secured with a purple string - a reminder of the person he'd never leave behind no matter where he was.

He'd been doing clandestine undercover work, hanging out with some of the good Doctor's minor minions throughout the country, those she kept on the side, just in case.  In a way, he identified with them - they'd been sent fishing as well, except by T.H.E.M.  He listened to their stories, shared a few beers before taking them to the back and letting their pals find them later, a broken bone or three supplied free of charge.

He'd ditched his U.Z.Z. uniform weeks before, trading it for something less conspicuous - jeans and black t-shirt, a worn army jacket covering him at night or during cooler weather.  He kept the belt, worn backwards as not to attract suspicion and the bracelet, always the bracelet.  One of the goons had hooked his ugly finger around it once, asking what it was. Victor had answered with a kick to the gut, sending the idiot flying and stopping all other questions in their tracks.

His new 'friends' admired him more afterward.  They had a weird code of honor about things like that - unlike his bosses at U.Z.Z. who spoke about justice out of both sides of their mouths but when it came down to it, little had changed.  Anita was still dying, he was sent away and they no longer had to think about such minor inconveniences like two dedicated agents who'd traded their lives for U.Z.Z.'s ideals.

Out of sight, out of mind, right guys?  Landing the skybike on the outskirts of a dusty village, Victor pulled out a flask and swished a bit of scotch around his mouth before spitting it out into the bushes.  The sour smell of liquor on his breath created a sense of underestimation that Victor found useful, especially if there were any suspicious T.H.E.M. agents in the area. 

The local pub was usually where they could be found.  At least what might amount to a pub in this faraway place - a few stools and a table where beers and scotch were served, without ice or water.  Sometimes there were indigenous alcohols, made of local plants but Victor steered clear of those - he'd heard about their mind-altering after effects.  He wanted to stay sharp, if he could take a few enemy agents out of commission, that was all the high he needed.

"Hola, amigo.  What's up?"  A tall Scandinavian with a deep scar on his forehead greeted Victor from the other side of the table. "Good to see you."

Obviously not a native, Victor thought, nodding in response.  "Take a seat," he offered.  He ordered two drinks, a beer for himself to sip and a scotch for the other man.  "No offense, but I don't know if we've met before."

"Strangers in a strange land together, my friend," the tall blond replied, taking the drink and saluting Victor with it.  "I've heard about you.  Nico still hasn't recovered from the run-in he had with you last week."

"I don't keep track of their names.  I'm sure Nico got no less than he deserved."  Victor sipped at the beer. 

The blond laughed.  "It's funny because it's true.  I'm Suter." He held out his hand which Victor shook reluctantly.  "You know, people are starting to wonder exactly who you are.  You're making quite a reputation for yourself."

Victor's fingers clenched more tightly around the beer bottle.  "Really?" he said, his voice masked with disinterest.  "That's not my intention.  I just don't like being messed with."

"So I understand.  Say ... my boss has been looking around for some new blood.  They want to spice things up a bit," Suter said, leaning in with a confidential gleam in his eye.  "The pay is good.  Real good."

With a shrug, Victor took another slug of beer.  "I work alone."

"She also says that you don't have to worry about the past ... she's willing to compromise.  If you are." Suter paused meaningfully. "Agent Volt."

Damn it.  Damn it to hell, Victor thought, reaching for his stun gun.  A strong hand stopped him.  Victor glanced around and saw the place was suddenly filled with T.H.E.M. agents, all of them armed and none of them looking amused.

"Don't be foolish, Volt," Suter continued.  "This is an honest offer.  You're free to accept it or turn it down as you will but you should at least listen."

Victor weighed the odds, then relaxed his guard.  If this were a trap it would have sprung already, if it weren't he might be able to gain some useful information or, at the very least, have a good laugh.  Maybe.

Suter turned all business. "Dr. Doctor knows why you've been sent here.  And she knows that they have no plans to bring you back into full commission nor are they making any real effort to cure your partner.  That's the way U.Z.Z. works, they chalk up agents like you to collateral damage and go on their merry way.  It's how they run their business."

"And T.H.E.M buys them flowers and candy?" Victor mocked.  "Please."

"We don't punish operatives for over enthusiasm," Suter countered. "If you're working for us, you'd be free. An independent entity, bound by a common cause - ambition.  And if you tell me you're too holy for self-interest, take a look at where you are right now and why.  I'm pretty sure Tiddly Wink Poofnose didn't tell you to go punching your way through the countryside."

Victor almost laughed.  "Be that as it may, Tiddly Wink Poofnose is still my boss. Why should I trade him in for a lousier model?"

"Because she can cure your partner," Suter replied, his lips curving into a shark's grin. "She's willing to do what they won't."

The world spun on its axis and Victor had to catch his breath.  "Liar," he growled, his hands curling into fists. "They'd never let Anita rot if there was any other way."

"If there was any other 'legal' way, yes, you're right.  But what my boss is offering you is something they don't want to deal with even if it's to save one of their own."  Suter leaned back in the rickety chair.  "Have you ever heard of nanotechnology, Volt?"

"Yes.  Something about tiny computers, injected in the body. I don't know," Victor said, his heart sinking.  He felt beaten all of a sudden, the will to fight drained completely away. "The world leader outlawed it years ago.  Felt it had too much potential for abuse."

"Yet it's still a powerful medicinal weapon against the kind of injuries your partner has suffered.  Imagine it, your pretty partner -- don't be offended, Volt, she is lovely -- waking up, alive and well, able to walk and see the world again. She'll have a smile on her face, spend her days laughing in the sunlight.  You can do this, just by doing what you're doing right now - working on the far edge of our dark world. Such a small price to pay for the well-being of someone you care for.  You do care for her, don't you, Volt?"

"Yes."  There was a desperate edge to Victor's voice he couldn't hide.  Anita ... whole again. Happy and safe and he could do this for her.  There was a tiny voice in his head, screaming at him not to do it, Anita's voice maybe, but he brutally tamped it down.  "How do I know you won't hurt her?  That this isn't just a plan to get rid of her."

Suter laughed, not unkindly.  "Please don't take this the wrong way, but as of this moment, Anita Knight no longer exists.  We're offering to bring her back at our own expense, if you'd join us.  If we didn't want to deal with her, we'd leave things as they are."  He leaned in, that same wily expression on his face.  "We're taking a gamble, yes, but we're hoping that she might leave the secret agent business to enjoy a normal life.  Not uncommon after a life-threatening injury, you know."

Victor brightened at his words, carried away by the pretty picture Suter painted with his words.  "She could be happy," he breathed.  "Couldn't she?"

Suter nodded and waved forward the server who was waiting with two glasses and bottle of expensive champagne, so very out of place in the Peruvian highlands.  "So what do you say, Volt? You, riding around the world free as a bird, Anita Knight as healthy as ever, both of you far away from those fools at U.Z.Z. who care about nothing but their own agenda ... what more could you ask for?"

The familiar feeling of doubt came roaring back to Victor full force, but it was overshadowed by a breathtaking hope.  Anita ... his beautiful Anita ... well again.  She wouldn't have to know either, he could stay on the underside of this business and as much as he'd miss her, it was a sacrifice he'd make, if only they could fix her. 

He'd give anything - his life, his soul - for her. What was joining T.H.E.M. compared to that?

Suter poured two glasses of champagne, handing one to Victor.  "Do we have a deal?"

Victor stared at the glass in his hand.  Saw Anita's reflection looking back at him in waves of gold and nodded.  "We have a deal."

"Then welcome to T.H.E.M., Victor Volt."

xXx

The nurse attending to Anita Knight looked at her watch yet again.  Thirty minutes until the most boring shift in the world ended and she could go home for the weekend. 

She had no idea why they still kept this one hooked up.  It was obvious she wasn't coming back and six months on a ventilator should have proved that beyond a doubt. 

Sighing, the nurse automatically tucked the blanket a little higher around Anita's waist. Not that the poor thing felt the cold - she probably had the dreams of the dead by now. 

Poor girl.

The nurse was about to start writing out her shift report when she noticed something odd about the agent's eyes.  They were ... twitching.

Her breath caught and she leaned in close.  "Agent Knight?" she whispered.  "Can you hear me?" As if in response, Anita's eyes flew open, startling the nurse backwards, making her drop her clipboard.  "Doctor!" the nurse cried, running out into the hall.  "Come quickly!  Hurry!"

A rush of medical personnel pushed their way into the room.  There were a frantic few seconds as they measured responses, an ugly moment when the ventilator was removed and Anita gasped for breath on her own, like a fish thrown back into the water after too many moments on dry land. 

Her voice was ragged but she wouldn't be silenced, not even by the admonitions of the doctors.  "Victor?" she gasped.

The head doctor turned to the nurse.  "Get Prof. Professor down here, now."

Tears slipped down Anita's cheeks as she closed her eyes.  "Where's Victor?"

"You need to save your voice, Anita.  You've been here a while," the doctor said. "Please ..."

"How long?"

"A while.  Now calm down, that's a good girl."

"I'm not your good girl.  Victor!  I want Victor."

Prof. Professor was ushered into the room.  His first order was to clear everyone out, even the doctors.  The nurse looked at him in askance, but he shoo'd her away.  "And close the door," he commanded.  "Don't come in until I say so." 

She did as he ordered, but kept one ear to the wall, listening to a muffled conversation that ended in Anita's hoarse sobs.  "I don't believe you.  He would never do that!  Never! You're lying.  Victor!"

The nurse backed away from the door, her lip trembling.

Poor, poor thing.

xXx

Victor's first meeting with Dr. Doctor was disconcerting, to say the least.  She sat on her spider throne, examining him not unlike a predator staring at a particularly tasty piece of prey.  He tried to stay cool and unruffled but years of training combined with a unadulterated hatred made him jittery.

It's for Anita, he reminded himself.  Victor met Dr. Doctor's stare head on.  "Is there anything in particular you need?  I've been under the impression I'd be staying in Peru indefinitely."  This was the truth, he'd been resigned to a life of freelancing, as far away from the action as possible.  Or maybe this had just been his fondest hope.  Either way, the prospects of him lying low no longer seemed probable as she had called him back up to Europe only a few weeks after the deal had been struck.

"What?  Can't I take a look at my favorite Expendable?  By the way, I love the new uniform.  It's quite stylish, don't you think?"

Victor shrugged.  If truth be told, he hated the stark black Lycra suit with the lightning bolt streaking down the chest more than he'd hated anything he'd ever worn before and that included Prof. Professor's more ridiculous disguises.  "Yeah, it's a runway hit," Victor replied coldly.  "So what is it?"

"Is that how you speak to your employer?  To the woman who brought back your beloved Anita? You're very rude, Victor Volt."

Anita, brought back over a month ago and he still hadn't caught sight of her, not even through the various satellite channels.  But he'd heard from enough sources that she'd been recuperating inside the U.Z.Z. base and that would have to be enough even if he'd give his right arm just to catch a glimpse of her.

Hard to believe, but it was all due to this creepy evil witch.  Victor bit his lip and changed his tone as best he could.  "I'm sorry.  Tell me what you need and I'll do my best to take care of it for you."

"That's better," Dr. Doctor cooed.  She smiled at him, showing rows of rotted teeth.  "You know the technology I used to revive Anita Knight is very interesting. Tiny computers injected into the bloodstream, repairing ... controlling.  In fact, the nanos have complete power over the subjects they are used on. The power of life - and death.  Why with just a flick of a switch, I can turn her right back into a vegetable.  Not that I'd ever do that, of course."

Victor felt the ground shift beneath him.  By God, she had to be lying.  Because if she wasn't ...

"Please tell me how I can serve you," Victor said evenly, even though his head was spinning. He couldn't have been this stupid - please, please God, say I haven't been so stupid as to expose Anita to something that could take her life away again, he thought.  Not to mention what a hell that would make his life ... one false move ... one failure to appease this creature's whims and that could be it. 

For both of them. 

"Dearest Victor, what I need you to do is to direct a little operation I'm planning.  Nothing fancy, you just need to keep track of your former co-workers and warn us as to their usual moves. Try as we might, they always seem to  .... disrupting ... things.  You know how much I hate disruptions in the middle of my brilliant plans."  Her voice turned honey-sweet. "You can handle that, can't you?"

So this what this was all about.  Suter had lied, he wasn't going to be an independent entity - he was going to be a weapon - *the* weapon - in Dr. Doctor's arsenal with Anita's life as the carrot on her long, evil stick.  How could he have been so gullible?

Frantically, Victor considered. "I suppose I can try and predict their movements.  But they change their tactics frequently."  He took a deep breath.  "I'll do my best."

"I'm sure you won't let me down," Dr. Doctor said, her expression unreadable.  She tapped the arm of her throne with an impatient gesture.  "Begin Plan Z!"

xXx

Plan Z.  Great, he thought sarcastically, taking the handles of his black and gold T.H.E.M. bike and roaring into the sky, toward the programed coordinates.  The cold wind did little to clear Victor's head.  If Dr. Doctor was serious, that the nanotechnology used to bring Anita back from the dead could also kill her ... then he'd made the biggest mistake of his life. 

He'd have to figure out how to wrest that control away from her.  In the meantime, he was forced to do as she asked, to the best of his ability.  Angering her now would be dangerous.

Turning down the engines to cut noise, Victor glided toward the meeting area, wincing to see U.Z.Z. agents already arriving in formation.  With a heavy heart, he picked up his communicator. "Sixteen at five o'clock," he radioed in.  "They don't seem to be hiding their presence.  Over and out."

He'd barely shut off the communicator when a voice behind him called out. "Are you going to tell her I'm here too?"

Victor's heart skipped a beat.  Horrified, he turned the bike around.  "Anita."

Her strawberry blond hair was still shorter than it had been and there was a dimple on her lip from the ventilator that hadn't gone away yet, but she was still his beautiful, perfect Anita, alive and well, her cheeks crimson from the cold. 

Victor's breath caught in his throat.  If he'd ever thought he'd loved her, that emotion was nothing compared to what he was feeling at that moment.

Her face was flushed with anger.  "When they told me that you had defected, I threw things at them.  I called them every name under the sun.  They were liars and wicked men to tell me such things. I accused them of trying to cover up your death, of all things.  And yet, it appears they were telling me the truth."  Her lip trembled, but her chin was held high.  "Unless there's something you want to tell me.  Is there?  Can you explain this?"

"No," Victor whispered, his voice thick with grief.  What could he say to her that wouldn't put her back in the very danger that he'd tried to save her from?  He nervously hoped that Dr. Doctor wasn't somehow spying on this conversation. "There's nothing to explain."

Anita's violet eyes narrowed.  "I think you're lying to me, Victor."  Tears slipped down her cheeks and she angrily wiped them away with the back of her hand.  "I never thought you could be so cruel.  I suppose I'm a fool.  To love someone who won't tell me the truth."

"Why do you think I'm lying?" he asked desperately. "I didn't want to work for U.Z.Z. anymore, that's all."  Victor paused, the totality of her words finally sinking in, his heart breaking.  Dear god, was she trying to kill him? "Wait ... did you say ... you love me?"

"Be careful, Victor," Anita warned, ignoring his question. "She's only going to use you. If there was ever a time you needed to follow your heart, it's now.  Until then, I can't be by your side.  You have to make your choice."  Her engine roared to life and in a blink of an eye, Anita was gone, flying back to join her comrades.  

Miserably, Victor hovered over the rendezvous, not caring that the U.Z.Z. agents were circling ever closer.  Let them shoot him down, he couldn't care less.  Anita ... she loved him ... and he couldn't ever go back to her, not unless he wanted her to simply die in his arms.  In the meantime, Dr. Doctor held all the cards and he would have to betray his friends as well as the woman he loved.

Victor stared at the bracelet on his wrist. 

He'd promised not to leave her behind, not to allow anyone to hurt her and here he was, doing both those things.  How could he have been so stupid? 

xXx

Plan Z failed, due in no small part to Victor's lackluster performance on the battlefield as did the multiple other plots that followed over the next few weeks.  Dr. Doctor seethed silently in her ship, staring at Victor who looked at the floor in reply, hoping against hope she'd just kill him get this charade over with.  Anita would be better off with him gone - the whole world would be as well.

The vicious slap to his face told him that he'd have no such luck. "You idiot!"

Cheek stinging, Victor slowly raised his eyes.  "You thought that a black suit and a few of your goons would make me more competent?  Sorry.  You should have viewed my U.Z.Z. records first."

"You were terrorizing South America a few months ago," she hissed. "Now you've reverted into a moronic boob?  I don't believe it.  It's that woman."  Dr. Doctor sat back, her spider-eyes narrow with fury.  "Remember what I told you, Volt.  I brought her back into this world, I can take her out of it again."

Victor didn't reply.  He bowed his again as she berated him loudly enough for the entire ship to hear.  The rant didn't register, all he could think about were Anita's last words to him ...

<i>She's only going to use you, Victor. If there was ever a time you needed to follow your heart, it's now.</i>

Follow his heart.  If he did that, he'd be with Anita right now, begging her forgiveness, explaining how desperate he'd been and telling her he'd love until the day he died.

Another sudden slap, this one hard enough to send him reeling to the floor.  "Are you listening to me, Volt?"

A taste of copper on his lips and Victor wiped at with his fingers. Shakily, he rose to his feet and bowed.  "If that will be all."

Like the center of a storm, Dr. Doctor's demeanor calmed.  In Victor's estimation, she'd never looked more dangerous.  "I'm warning you, the next time I want something done you will do it right.  Or she will pay the price."

But Anita's voice was louder and more urgent than the doctor's. <i>You need to follow your heart, Victor.</i>

Yes, that's what I need to do, he thought dazedly.  He backed away from Dr. Doctor's glare and running to the docking bay, he leapt on his skybike.  The world needed saving - his world - and while he didn't know how he was going to do it ...

Victor Volt knew he couldn't do it alone.

xXx

Anita's rented flat was a tiny thing, meticulously clean and tastefully decorated.  She only stayed there on weekends, mostly to enjoy the fireplace, the flat's one irresistible amenity.  

Victor had visited her often during off-hours, sharing take-out and staring into the fire, her with a cup of tea, him with his heart in his throat, trying not to make an idiot out of himself by doing or saying something he'd later regret.

How innocent those days seemed. 

A light was on in her window.  Victor parked his skybike on the roof and easily made his way down to the fire escape.  He thought about knocking on the window but thought she just might lock it in reply and this was too important.

He slipped in over the windowsill and through the shade of sheer curtains he could see her, curled up on the sofa beneath a blanket, steaming tea on the table.  Her hair was loose, falling across her cheek and she'd never looked so beautiful, shadowed in firelight. 

Maybe he'd said so aloud, or maybe they'd been partners so long she could sense his presence.  But she didn't bother turning around before saying, "You could have used the door."

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I ... I ... have to tell you something."

"More than a few somethings, I'm thinking."  She looked at him, her eyes bright with tears. "Still, don't I rate a 'hello' at least?  Or am I the only one missing us?"

Victor's gut twisted brutally.  He shook his head, hardly trusting his voice.  "Anita ..."

Anita rose, holding out her arms to him, as if welcoming him home. "Can't we just be Anita and Victor again?  Just for a moment?  Please."

He crossed the room in two steps and found himself in her warm embrace. Without hesitation, he buried his face in the crook of her neck, breathing her in, praying that it wasn't a dream.  Like a sailor lost at sea, he found himself rescued by her, taken in and given life again. 

She clung to him just as desperately, murmuring his name over and over again. If only they could erase everything else, he thought, they could stay like this forever but ...

With great reluctance, Victor pulled away.  "I need to explain myself.  You're going to be very angry at me, Anita.  But I can't go on like this."

Anita gave him a watery smile and lead him to the sofa by the hand, motioning for him to sit. "I think you underestimate my capacity for forgiving you, Victor."

"This isn't just an ordinary screw-up.  I've ... betrayed my oath.  For selfish reasons."  He turned toward the fire, staring into the flames.  "I traded my allegiances so I could have you back again.  After you were hurt, I allowed Dr. Doctor to cure you with forbidden technology in return for my alliance with T.H.E.M.  You were right - it wasn't as they promised.  They lied to me and now they're threatening to kill you if I don't do everything they say.  I was a fool, Anita.  I was angry and heartbroken and I'm a disgrace to my father's legacy.  I'm sorry."

Long moments of silence followed.  Victor stared at the carpet, unable to face her - unable to deal with the hatred he knew he'd see in her eyes.  Just tell me to go, he prayed.  Don't tell me that you used to love me and I destroyed that - please.  Please, I can't go on living if you tell me that.   Have pity, my Anita.

"Victor, look at me."

"I can't."

"Victor ... please look at me."

Wincing, he looked up, preparing himself to have his heart broken.  Instead, she was smiling and reached out to hold his face in her hands, her eyes shining with affection.  "Oh, Victor, you are far from a disgrace.  You are my Victor and I love you, always."  She leaned in to gently kiss him on the lips. "Even if you are rather ridiculous sometimes."

The kiss stunned him.  He gasped for air, the room tilting and he stared at her with huge eyes. "You can't be serious."

"About which part?  You are ridiculous sometimes."

"How can you forgive me?  I joined the other side.  I let Dr. Doctor cure you!  I ... I ... I'm wearing this idiotic suit."

"Black is rather flattering on you," Anita demurred with a chuckle.  "As for Dr. Doctor, she didn't cure me.  Prof. Professor did - she doesn't have nearly the brains nor the tools to do what needed to be done.  She must have gotten wind of what he was going to attempt and bribed you with that, pretending that it was all her doing."

His mouth dropped to his chest.  "But ... that technology is illegal."

"The world leader gave U.Z.Z. special permission for me," she said. "I guess all those saves counted for something."

"Oh."  Victor put his head in his hands.  "How could I have been so stupid?"

Wrapping him in a comforting embrace, Anita rested her head against his shoulder. "The same way I would have been stupid, if our positions were reversed.  You don't think I would have made the same deal if I thought it would save you?  I would do anything for you - that's why forgiving you is so easy.  Didn't I say that I know you better than anyone else?"  She sighed.  "At least that's what I've been telling Prof. Professor and Pointy Snugglemuffins for the past two months."

"They must want to kill me.  And then kick my ass," Victor groaned.

"I'm not sure, but we'll deal with them later.  How about we go take care of your new friends - the ones who put you in that slinky suit."  She pressed a kiss to Victor's shoulder. "Not that I can hate them so much for that.  You do look very ... impressive."

It felt like being reborn.  He didn't whether to laugh or cry.  All he knew that he back where he belonged and with Anita by his side again, he couldn't be stopped.  

But there was just one thing ... "Anita," he asked shyly.  "Didn't you have *some* doubts?  I mean, how could be sure I wasn't gone to the other side?  I haven't exactly been myself lately. I've been started to doubt me.  I can't see how you could be so certain."

Her finger hooked into the braid of her hair still wrapped around his wrist, her smile brilliant.  "I saw this.  And then I knew," she replied simply before taking his mouth with hers and kissing him deeply. 

Victor allowed himself to get lost in her kiss, all the months of pain and sadness shedding away like the cold of winter turned to a bright spring.  He had no illusions about the perfection of anything but he knew ...

This was as close as it got.

xXx

Victor's final confrontation with Dr. Doctor was one of the most satisfying of his life.  He even let her believe he still thought she could kill Anita before laying the smackdown.  Kicking her spider throne, with her still attached, out of the space hatch while hurtling toward the ground was one of the greatest moments of his life. 

The rest of her minions didn't stand a chance.  "Who's next?" Victor asked happily, laughing as they all took off, pushing and flailing in their attempts to escape.

"They seem a bit intimidated by you, Victor," Anita commented as they flew away, Dr. Doctor's ship shattering in an explosion of metal and fire beneath them.  "I'm impressed."

"Peru has very thin air - gets you in great cardiovascular shape," Victor replied, a little smugly, but he was too happy to care.  The U.Z.Z. base loomed into view.  "Here comes the music," he sighed.

They landed and Anita nodded meaningfully at Ray before he escorted them into the main briefing area where Prof. Professor and Changed Daily were waiting.

"Look who it is," Prof. Professor said, pulling at some of the cloth of Victor's black suit and letting it snap back against his skin. "How's it going, Darth Vader?"

Victor hung his head. "Okay ..."

"Is that your new name?" Changed Daily asked.  "I hope not.  It's still better than most of mine."

"No, my name isn't Darth Vader.  And listen ..."

"Anita told us everything and we had a very good debate over the actual depth of your stupidity," Prof. Professor interjected.  "Anita was very generous with her assessment, if you must know.  Me, not so much.  However ..."

Changed Daily interrupted him. "However, if you wish to come back, we'll be glad to have you Victor."

Victor's head whipped around. He could hardly believe his ears.  "You'll take me back?  Just like that?"

"Of course," Changed Daily waved his hand in a casual gesture.  "Agents defect and return all the time -- it's part of the spy game, my boy.  Why, I myself joined T.H.E.M in '59, after I got pissed off when U.Z.Z. tried to send me to the North Pole when Lucy disappeared.  Can you believe it? The North Pole!"

"I thought it was a good idea," Prof. Professor muttered.

"And then I came back with loads of information, just as I'm sure you are now in possession of, correct?"

"Well ... "  Victor hesitated.  "Yes.  I do know quite a bit more about them than I knew before."

"Then let's get sharing," Prof. Professor said, rubbing his hands together. "I want to know everything about her, what she eats, what she wears, if she has any naughty movies ..."

"Professor!" cried Anita, scandalized.  She took Victor's hand and squeezed it. "Don't listen to him, Victor."

"She hates Star Wars," Victor offered. "Thinks Princess Leia is ugly."

"The fiend!" his bosses yelled in unison. Changed Daily shook his head. "She's even more diabolical and insane that can be possibly imagined.  Hates Star Wars ...."

xXx

The fire in Anita's fireplace was near the end of its life, red embers punctuated by twinkling pops. 

Victor pulled Anita a little closer, enjoying how she nestled in, burrowing against his chest.  She seemed to be dreaming, a smile lurking at the corner of her mouth.  He was too happy to let her sleep, there wasn't a minute he wanted to miss, every second with her was precious. 

It was sheer joy to sit there, pressing the occasional kiss to her hair which had finally returned to its former curl-laden glory.  There were other things they could do together, but those could wait -- he was more than content to just hold her. 

His next mission was to convince her to marry him.  He wondered if that's why she was smiling in her dream - she *was* a mind-reader when it came to him.

The sun was nearly at the horizon, the first rays of pink light peeking through the curtains. Later they'd go to the briefing room and get their next assignment, saving the world or just putting off another pathetic attempt at overthrow, but whatever it was, it was nothing compared to this.

Being here, together, finally past the crossroads on to the path where their life truly began.

xXx

end

Reviews are very much welcome and appreciated.  If you read this and enjoyed it, please let me know by clicking HERE. Thank you!

Edit this page (if you have permission) |

Google Docs -- Web word processing, presentations and spreadsheets.