--------

The Enemy of My Enemy
By
Deborah J. Brown
Characters 'acquired' from Gatchaman

	*You cannot escape your past, my kitten. Return to me and all will be
forgiven.*

***
	Joe was getting mad. Since this was a frequent state of affairs for
him, however, Nanbu ignored the young man's increased breath-rate and
whitening cheeks. It wasn't until the second member of the Gatchaman
team slammed his hand into the wall, cracking the plaster and bending
the steel beneath that the professor stopped his explanations. "Joe," he
sighed.
	"I do *not * want to do this!" Joe's voice was hard and tense. "Damnit,
Nanbu, she helped Raphael make me into this monstrosity." His dark eyes
moved to look at the tall, slender, woman sitting across from him, hands
quiet in her lap, white-blonde hair falling forward to mask her handsome
features. The arrogant expression she usually wore was gone but Joe knew
that it was simply being masked. *To think I could ever be attracted to
an ice princess like her*, he thought,
recalling the one time he'd tried - partly in an effort to prove himself
no less a man - to gain her attention.
	Nanbu glanced at the woman briefly. "Joe, Dr. Valg must have the drug.
She has to go with you. As for your being a monstrosity - that's an
opinion not shared by anyone else." 
	"If it is any consolation, Joe," the doctor added in her soft,
surprisingly deep, voice "I don't want *your* company either." Blue eyes
raised to look at the young man intently from behind thick glasses.
"Raphael didn't rebuild you so you could throw your life away on
something as banal as this."
	Cooly, Nanbu added, "I don't call a drug that keeps you from going
insane banal, doctor. You were kind enough to warn me you were going
after it. Now allow me to send protection with you to make sure you
return."
	Something about Nanbu's tone made Joe look up. The professor's eyes
were harder than they ought to be, considering his expressed concern for
Dr. Valg. It occurred the young man that Nanbu was sending him as much
to keep an eye on Valg as to protect her. But why?
	It was the doctor who answered that question. In rueful tones she
murmured, "You still do not trust me." A soft chuckle escaped her lips.
"No surprise that, considering I used to work for Galactor, just as
Raphael did." She looked at Joe, seeing the surprise and distaste on the
younger man's face and she sighed regretfully. "Soosal X was a very...
persuasive... employer. At the time I truly believed what I did was
right. Now..." she shook her head. "Now I'm not as certain."

	"Not as certain?" Joe exclaimed and Valg flinched. "Soosal X and Berg
Katse were the most evil beings ever to threaten Earth. How can you say
that?" Now, at least, he was glad nothing had happened between them. He
didn't want *anything* to do with a Galactor agent,
even one as attractive as Valg.
	The blue eyes turned away. "Perhaps I should rephrase that. I am no
longer certain at all. But neither am I able to tell what is right." She
looked up at Nanbu. "I have simply traded one master for another - and
now that Raphael's gone - a third." Her tone was bleak and for a moment
Joe felt a surge of pity, but he pushed it back hurriedly. He'd been
fooled too many times. Valg wasn't going to trick him that way.
	"I accepted Valg's help because Raphael did," Nanbu explained. "But
that does not mean she has been entirely trusted." He gave Joe a
significant look. "Yet, despite her past, she *has* been of use to us.
Considering how badly she needs that drug, I am willing to let her
retrieve more of it from one of the old Galactor bases, but only if
someone goes with her. If you refuse I shall have to find someone else."
	Joe looked up at Nanbu and sighed. "All right. I'll do it."  If nothing
else he might be able to kill any Galactors remaining after Soosai X's
last attempt to destroy Earth.

***

	She stares up at a sky so blue that it would bleed cobalt if you cut
it, numb and too shattered to understand why she is alive at all. She
should not be. Her life ended when her God deserted her. Bereft,
devastated by the revelation of her God's betrayal, she can feel
nothing, not even the fear that has haunted her all her life. A thought
occurs to her. *I should be dead. Even if I didn't fall... I should be
dead and the Earth with me.* "Why am I alive?"
	A voice speaks, "You have a choice. I saved you to give you a choice."
It is an older man's voice, familiar but unrecognizable and she looks at
the speaker. He is robed, with grey hair and blue eyes as piercing as
those of the eagle on his shoulder. Dimly she remembers
talons, grasping her shoulders - carrying her upwards from a fall that
should have destroyed her. She repeats his last word, "Choice?" and he
smiles.
	"Yes, little one. A choice. You may continue along the path you chose,
end your life and suffering... or you may take vengeance on the one who
has injured you." His eyes turn serious. "If you choose the latter I
will help you. As for the former, you know how to die."
	Her blue eyes turn back to the sky. It would be so easy, to finish
herself, to end an existence that has consisted of pain and fear. Always
she has chosen the easy way, trying to avoid the blows life has dealt
her, seldom standing up to the one who commanded her. Now, however, a
surge of anger rises. *How dare he use me so. How dare he create me and
cast me aside like a broken toy. He lied to me. All my life he has
*lied* to me.* A smile that others would recognize and fear crosses her
beautiful features. "Vengeance..." she whispers. "Yes. Oh yes."

***

	The old fashioned sportscar raced through the tight turns of the
mountain road, barely acknowledging the existence of gravity, much less
the laws of physics. Sitting beside Joe, Kay Valg wondered aloud why
Galactor had bothered trying to kill him, considering how hard he
seemed to be trying to blow himself up. She tried to keep her tone
light, but it trembled too much, to her own chagrin.
	A tight grin was Joe's only answer. It was obvious to Valg that he knew
he was frightening her and wasn't particularly sorry. A part of him
still loathed the cybernetics experts who'd given him a body that -
while incredibly powerful - was no longer human. That Raphael's doing so
had saved his life was not enough for Joe. He still thought of himself
as a machine and hated those responsible for his condition. With Raphael
dead his former assistant was the only
one left to turn that hatred on. It didn't help that Valg had rejected
his efforts at friendship, soon after his resurrection, when he was at
his most vulnerable. *You wouldn't have wanted me, Joe. You were just
looking for comfort and I can't even help myself there.*
	A particularly energetic sidesweep around a curve caused Valg to wince
and turn pale. "Please... Joe. I'm going to be sick..." She hated
herself for the weakness than made her admit that much, especially to
this man, but it was nothing but the truth. Worry over what was coming
had made her appetite - never the best since she'd left Galactor -
sparse to the point of anorexic. She was paying for that now, with a
stomach filled with acid and nothing else.
	"You throw up in here and *you're* cleaning it up." Joe's unsympathetic
reply made Valg groan. This was all she needed - to be escorted to a
Galactor base by Mr. Attitude himself. The worse thing was, of all of
the Science Ninja Team, Joe was the one she liked best. Of them all, his
bitter rage was something she could understand - having lived with much
the same for all her life As for the others... Ken was a priggish stick
in the mud, Jun equally so and Ryu not bright
enough for her to connect with. As for Jinpei... He was a likeable brat
but teenagers were - by nature - obnoxious as hell.
	A faint bitter smile crossed Valg's lips as she recalled just how
obnoxious *she* had probably been - although she'd had reason. The
thought slipped off quickly as another turn made sour liquid rise in her
throat. Fear shuddered through her and she could feel her body shifting
to deal with that terror, to give itself the strength it thought she
needed.

***

	"Joe, I'm not interested. Please leave me alone." Kay Valg sighs in
annoyance as her patient leans over the railing of the exercise bars and
smiles down at her. He has been told that Raphael has given him
cybernetics and has only recently accepted it. Now he tries to prove his
sexuality - and more importantly his humanity - by flirting with the
doctor's beautiful assistant. Unfortunately, Kay Valg is a cold woman
with no interest in Joe except as a patient. She has ignored his
attentions until they are impossible to overlook and now, in cold tones,
she tells him that she wishes no such relationship. She lies but she
would not have him know that.
	Joe stares down at the woman, hurt and not seeing the pain in the back
of her eyes. She has nursed him through his long and painful recovery
and she does *not* dislike him. But her secret is such that she dares
not share it with him and she would rather he hated her for refusing him
then for other reasons. "Now, shall we get back to work?"
	The cold tones are like ice-water on Joe's libido. With an equally cold
voice, he agrees. There is much to do before he can return to his
friends - if he returns to them at all.

***

	"I told you I'd make you clean up." Joe glared down at Valg, who was on
her hands and knees, carefully wiping away the last of her recent
stomach upset. "Can't you control yourself better than this?" He didn't
know why, but the sight of her meekly obedient to his orders only
strengthened his urge to hector her. Back at the base she'd *never* have
remained silent so long. She had a reputation for a tongue sharper than
the scalpels she wielded in the operating
room.
	Blue eyes raised, flashing momentarily, then Valg returned to her task.
"Yes, you did," she agreed quietly. "And I believe that's what I'm
doing." Distastefully she set the napkin she held aside and picked up
another, clean one.
	"I had no idea you were such a wimp. I think I'll get a plastic bag and
tie it to your face..." Before Joe could finish Valg was on her feet and
glaring down at him. *I keep forgetting how
dadblamed >tall< she is*, he thought, taking an involuntary step back,
more from surprise at the fury on Valg's chisled features than from
fear.
	Icily, in strangely familiar tones, Valg growled, "Condor Joe, did
someone turn your jerk knob up to 11?" As Joe's mouth worked in surprise
she added, "Or did Raphael forget to put in that politeness circuit I
suggested!" She spun, blonde hair flying around her shoulders and
stalked down the mountain road, body radiating anger.
	It took Joe several moments before he could respond. Valg's references
to his cybernetics he considered a low blow and he felt a distinct urge
to slap the woman. Only the fact that she had moved far faster than he'd
expected prevented him from doing so. She was twenty
feet away and almost around the corner when he shouted, "Get back here
you..."
	"I don't think so. I am *not* going to ride around with a maniac whose
express purpose is killing me." Valg turned slightly, long enough to
look back at Joe. "Especially not a maniac with
the sensitivity of a rock in an iceberg! You can damn well go to hell!"
She flipped him off before disappearing beyond the cliff side.
	Stung and furious, Joe raced after her, catching up quickly. "Hold on!"
he growled, reaching out to catch her shoulder and snagging a long
strand of hair. *That'll do it*, he decided and pulled, dragging her
backwards and toward him, eliciting a sharp cry of pain. "*You're* a
fine one to be talking about sensitivity!"
	"You.... you..." Valg's voice cracked briefly, dropping to a
surprisingly deep baritone, and her entire body convulsed forward as she
dropped to her knees. For a moment Joe hesitated, while she gasped.
Then, before he could react, she spun, screeching curses that left Joe
stunned at her speed and proficiency. Her hand lashed out and cracked
Joe across the elbow. The blow couldn't hurt his cybernetic frame but it
was carefully aimed for what passed for his funny bone.
	The pain from Valg's blow pushed Joe into a fury. He grabbed at her,
shaking her by bony, hard muscled shoulders and felt her slide her foot
between his legs. Expecting a crotch shot, he started to block and was
surprised when she planted her heel into his instep instead. He kept
enough control on the situation, however, to maintain his grip, so that
when he fell it was forward and on top of Valg.
	It took several seconds of laying across Valg's thin body for Joe to
realize something was wrong. Then he gasped, "You're a man!"
	Valg glared at him. "There are those who might debate that," she...
*he* said. "And what does it matter to *you* anyway?"
	A thought flashed through Joe's mind only to be dismissed. *He couldn't
be. Raphael would have known...* But there was a resemblance, now that
he thought about it. *Nanbu would know too...* And if he had known and
wanted Valg watched for that very reason? *Surely he'd
have told me*. Joe shook off his fears, pushing himself up. It just
wasn't possible. Never the less, the doubt had been planted and he gazed
at the man who was slowly sitting up beside him. "Why?" he asked,
peering at Valg, trying to see how he could have mistaken him for a
woman. It was the make-up, he decided. She - no, *he* - wore a bit more
than most women and though the effect was subtle it was powerful. Too,
his every gesture was feminine.
	Valg looked at Joe for a long moment. "Haven't you ever heard of
transvestism?" he asked finally. At Joe's stunned nod he shrugged. "So,
I have a mental problem... A number of them." He rose to his feet. "Now,
are you quite done displaying your machismo? If so, I'd like to get
moving. Time is running out." His blue eyes narrowed. "Unless, of
course, you intend to continue driving like you have been. I am *not*
going to be made ill again because *you* can't control your feet, *or*
your testosterone level."
	Joe rose to his feet. "All right," he agreed. The shock of discovering
the truth about Valg has knocked all thought of harassing the scientist
out of his mind.

***

	The years pass and the Science Ninja Team continues its battle with
Soosai X and his newest servant - Gel Sadra. Kay finds herself wondering
if she had looked so foolish when she had been Soosai X's loyal slave.
Certainly her costume wasn't nearly so hilarious as Sadra's. It is
almost in her to feel sorry for the girl, who is so clearly another one
X had twisted into usefulness, but she has yet to find the ability to
care for anything but the need for vengeance that
she and Raphael share.
	Strangely, it is that very need that tempers her. She'd spent her
childhood on the run, constantly forced into new identities and always
losing those who might have cared for her until she learned that she was
the only one to depend on and the only way to get what she wanted or
needed was to take it. It was - after all - the lesson Soosai X wanted
her to learn and she proved an exceptional scholar. By fifteen she'd
found a place in Galactor and in less than three years
had risen to leadership in its ranks, her brilliant mind and towering
need to be nobody's plaything again driving her to the top. Yet in those
years she has yet to learn patience.
	Now, under Raphael's tutelage, she learns the forbearance she failed to
learn as a child. He has lost much to Soosai X. His pregnant wife was
taken away from him and he never saw her again. His homeland was taken
over by Galactor and he was forced to serve their interests. He has
spent every day of his life plotting revenge, working quietly - behind
the scenes at first and then openly - against Soosai X's plans.
"Vengeance is best served cold," he tells her. "Wait until your enemy
does not expect you, then strike."
	In subtle ways he also teaches her a kind of rough compassion. It's her
job to help the cyborgs he creates accustom themselves to their new
bodies and though at first she has little use or sympathy for their
weakness, their fears of their freakishness strikes a chord in her.
After all, her own peculiarities are the root of her own unhappiness and
now, having learned that her mutation was not - as Soosai X had claimed
- a gift from her loving God to prove her place as the leader of
humanity, she does not have even that crutch to fall back on. She cannot
share the source of her misery with her patients but she can understand
theirs better. Slowly she takes the first steps back from the madness
her master had inflicted on her.

***

	Dusty wind blew in Valg's face as he stared into the rearview mirror at
his face. His expression, he was pleased to note, showed nothing of the
inner turmoil that Joe's discovery had inflicted. It'd been close - far
too close. Had Joe not been absolutely certain that Berg Katse had died
in the volcano he'd leaped into he *would* have guessed and *that* would
ruin Valg's plans. He needed Joe to be at least semi-cooperative and
knowing who Valg had been was almost
certain to prevent that.
	Another part of Valg's mind was still enraged at Joe's behaviour. *He
doesn't have to be such an >asshole<!* he thought, lips tightening.
*It's not my fault that he's a cyborg.* Except, in a round-about way, it
was. Joe'd joined the Ninja team because Galactor had murdered his
family. He'd fought Berg Katse for years, damaging himself in the
process, until the only way to save him was for Raphael to work his
mechanical magic over Joe's body.
	Of course, Joe had no idea that the man sitting beside him was once his
worst enemy. If he disliked Valg it was because she was a convenient
target. Most of the time he avoided her - except when a particularly
dangerous job had needed her expertise to put him back together. *That's
probably part of it*, Valg thought, expression softening just a bit.
*I'm a constant reminder of his nature. Worse, I'm a symbol of the thing
that keeps him apart from his friends.*
	Valg made a face. Joe wasn't the only one who felt alone. Being a freak
like he was, Valg knew what it meant to feel disconnected. Of course,
Joe had friends who accepted him despite his nature, where Valg had
never been able to share his secret with anyone - except Soosai, of
course. A mutation which causes one to change gender - frequently
without notice - is not something most people understand. In the back of
his mind he could hear the shouts of
hatred that had followed him all his life.
	That events had been carefully manipulated to ensure he was cut off
from humanity and that s/he would turn -gladly - to Soosai X for comfort
and protection didn't make him feel any better. Nor did it make it
easier now, with Soosai X gone, for him to deal with the results of that
manipulation. Even if he'd wanted to it was impossible for him to make
friends or even trust anyone.
	With a sharp mental oath, Valg shook his head and forced his thoughts
onto the present. He'd *promised* himself he wouldn't do this again.
Bouts of self-pity, brought on by a tendency towards manic depression,
sent him long mental angst-fests wherein he remembered (all too clearly)
every hurt ever inflicted on him. They didn't help his mental state and
there'd been one such bout that had nearly driven him suicidal. That'd
been after Raphael's death, when she'd
learned more about Raphael's past than she'd ever wanted to know.
	Glancing sideways, Valg noticed Joe grinning. Wondering at the speed
with which the younger man could recover from upsets, he asked, "What's
so funny?"
	Joe gave Valg a quick look. "I was just thinking of a scene in Ace
Ventura and wondering what all those guys at the base would do if they
knew about you."
	Valg frowned, puzzled, then remembered when that film had been shown on
the base. She hadn't wanted to go at the time but had been convinced by
one of her lab assistants. She had not been amused, particularly at the
reaction all the men in the film had had to the idea of kissing another
man, even one changed to a woman by surgery. As a sometimes male who had
once taken some pleasure in relationships of any sort, it had struck her
as very unfunny. With asperity he told Joe, "I've never forced my
attentions on anyone, unlike that particular character. And what do you
mean 'those guys at the base'?"
	"You didn't know?" Joe laughed. "There's a whole bunch of guys down in
the launching area who'd love to get into your pants. If you weren't
such an Ice Princess... er... Prince... er."
	Valg considered that fact and shook his head. "I seem to recall they
weren't the only ones," he reminded his companion, "As for being an Ice
*Princess*, I've got other things to do with my time now."
	Joe shrugged. "That was then," he replied to Valg's first comment.
"This is now and you're a cold hearted bitch. Even if you *are* a man."
A thought occurred to him. "At least you're not a tease."
	*I could be, if I dared relax my guard*, Valg thought, but simply
smiled coolly. "I told you years ago I wasn't interested in that sort of
thing."
	"I always thought that was because you and Raphael..." Joe grimaced, "I
guess not. He's the last one to have considered it. He did know, didn't
he?"
	Valg inclined his head, thinking, *It wasn't my male form that kept him
from touching me, but who I was*. He leaned his head against the side of
the car again. The warmth of the sun was making him sleepy.

***

	In all the time that she works with Raphael, she never sees him show
his fury at Galactor. Had he not put all his energies and efforts into
their destruction she might have thought he didn't care. It isn't until
after he dies - killed at last by his enemy - that she learns the full
extent of his anguish.
	Raphael's death leaves her his sole heir, a situation she had never
expected. She knew he had no family - that his wife and child were
killed by Galactor and that she would probably inherit his laboratory
and the rest of his equipment. She had no idea he would give her the
rest as well - all the money he'd siphoned off of Galactor before
escaping the organization and the contents of his home - including an
old photo album.
	It is the album that reveals Raphael's secret. His wife bears a
striking resemblance to herself and though that is not enough to make
her think, the final picture of Raphael's wife, just showing her
pregnancy, carries the note "Rachel and the twins." It does not take
much for her to realize just *who* those twins were... herself before
Soosai X had intefered - when she had been two separate beings - not the
mutated freak she was now.
	The knowledge is almost as devastating as the revelation of Soosai X's
betrayal. The more so when she finds Raphael's letter of explanation -
hidden deep within his computer's records. He had seen her when an
unexpected gender switch had forced her to act as Katze's
female assistant rather than himself and had recognized her as his
wife's daughter. Further investigation had revealed the full truth -
that Soosai X had managed to combine his twin children into one being -
a being capable of changing its gender as the occasion demanded.
	It had been that knowledge - more than anything else - that had caused
Raphael to turn on Galactor. He had not cared for its methods or
purposes before but had not seen a safe way to leave them. Learning that
his children had been turned into a monster had been the final straw in
an extremely large pile. He'd escaped, swearing to somehow either save
his mutated child or destroy it - as well as to ruin Soosai X for what
he had done. In the former - at least - he had
done his best, though she was willing to admit that the greatest
difference between her current self and Berg Katze was her certain
knowledge that she belonged nowhere and to no one.
	Learning the truth about Raphael's relationship to her sent her into a
wild moodswing. She found as much alcohol as possible and proceeded to
get herself royally drunk - so that when Professor Nanbu came to see her
and asked *why* she was doing this to herself, she told him. Later she
wasn't certain why he didn't kill her on the spot, or at least have her
arrested. Instead he carried her off to the base and gave standing
orders that she was to remain there until he
gave her permission to leave. Her only consolation was that he told no
one else about her and that he allowed her to continue her work - albeit
watched like a hawk for signs that she intended to betray them.

***
	Joe was getting tired. Desert driving was one of the most boring
occupations in the world - especially when you were forced to maintain a
relatively sedate pace to keep your companion from spilling his guts all
over the front seat. If his car wasn't roofless the sour odor from the
last time would be unbearable, despite Valg having done his best to
clean it up.
	A faint snore made Joe look in his companion's direction. The doctor
had pulled his feet up and was curled against the side of car, mouth
slack in sleep, long blonde lashes flat against his pale cheek. In sleep
Valg had the look of a child - especially in his current almost fetal
position. If it'd been anyone else, Joe might have felt a bit of
compassion for him, despite his feeling unnerved at Valg's masquerade.
But Valg was a person who showed little feeling for
others and Joe couldn't find any for him.
	*Who woulda thought 'she' was queer?* Joe thought to himself. Valg put
on such a cold "Touch me not" act that it never occured to anyone to
think 'she' was anything other than an extremely frigid woman. That'd
probably been Valg's intention but Joe couldn't help but wonder about
it. He would admit to being ignorant about such matters but he didn't
understand how someone so driven by a sexual need would be able to stand
living entirely on base - unable to release himself without revealing
his true identity.
	The thought made Joe frown. Why *did* Valg never leave the base? Even
those quartered there got some chance to travel. Valg did not take that
opportunity. *Or isn't he allowed?* Joe remembered the distrustful tones
in Nanbu's voice when he'd discussed Valg's
former relationships with Galactor. But Nanbu *never* let any former
Galactors on the base, even ones who'd proved themselves over the years.
It was simply too great a risk. Why had he permitted Valg to live there?
	Again that suspicion he'd had earlier crossed Joe's mind. *Nonsense.
The team saw him jump into that volcano. Surely even Katse couldn't
survive... And even if he did, Nanbu would never >trust< him*. Joe
looked at Valg and reflected that it was no wonder the doctor had pulled
off the act. Valg's features seemed full and soft - no doubt due to the
makeup. He even seemed to have breasts - admittedly not large - pressing
against the soft fabric of his full blouse.
	Forcing his eyes back on the road, Joe noted that they were getting
close to the site of the Galactor base. Since Valg was the only one who
knew how to get into the place, it was time to wake him. Joe pulled over
to the side and leaned over to touch the doctor's shoulder, feeling the
softness beneath the silky fabric. Then blue eyes opened and a sweet
smile curved Valg's lips momentarily. "Ja...," he said, in a softer,
throatier, voice than he had been using, a voice that seemed oddly
familiar. Then - coming to himself - he straightened. "Joe. Are we
here?"
	Joe nodded, returning to his side of the car and removing the keys. The
thoughts running through his head were confused and he didn't want to
believe what he was almost certain of now. There have been far too many
clues, all spaced out from each other and subtle enough that he'd been
missing them at first. But he couldn't deny what the touch of his hand
had proved. An hour ago Valg's shoulder had been as hard and strong as a
man's. Now it seemed softer, more womanly. It could have been merely the
result of Valg's relaxing in sleep but that - combined with the other
clues - was enough to fire his suspicions. *But if it >is< Katse what is
he planning and does Nanbu know?* He got out of the car and walked
around to Valg's side. There was only one way to prove his suspicions.
	As Valg opened his door and started to rise, Joe reached out and
grabbed the long fingered hand, pulling the doctor out and onto his
feet. The gesture was done at enough speed that Valg was thrown off
balance. He stumbled forward and into Joe who automatically wrapped an
arm around the doctor's waist. *Damn!* he thought.  *I was >right<!* The
body he held was thin and too tall but it was softer than the one he'd
held down earlier that day and definitely a woman's.
	With a curse Valg pulled free and backed up, stumbling and falling back
into the seat. An expression of fear crossed the pretty features and
blue eyes widely at Joe. For several seconds they stared at each other,
then Valg spoke. "What are you going to do?" The tone had something of
the faint whimper Katse had always had when the Gatchaman team came
close to capturing him.
	Joe pulled his gun, pointing it down at his enemy with a cold
expression. "What do you *think* I should do?" he asked, adding the
mutant's real name. "Berg Katse."
	Valg closed her eyes for a moment. "I'd rather you didn't," she said,
obviously trying not to plead. "Joe... I know this seems strange but..."
	Reaching down to pull Valg back up to her feet and press the gun to the
bridge of her nose, Joe growled, "Strange? You should have died, you
freakish mutant! Instead I find you masquerading as Doctor Valg. What
did you do with the real one?" He doubted that Valg had
existed before Katse had created her but couldn't help but throw the
accusation out.
	Valg flinched. "I was born the day Berg Katse died," she whispered.
"There was never any other Kay Valg." Her head tilted backwards as she
tried to flinch away from Joe's pistol.
"Please Joe, don't kill me. It's too soon. I'm not ready to die... "
	"Neither were the countless millions you killed. Neither were my
parents." Joe's finger tightened on the trigger and Valg made a small
frightened noise, raising her hands. Then - without warning - his entire
body stiffened as something like an electric charge went through him and
he slumped to the ground. When it was over he found himself almost
completely paralyzed. He could breathe and move just a little but not
enough to do more than curse inwardly as Valg slid his pistol free of
his grip and divested him of his bracelet. Then, with unexpected
strength, she picked him up, carrying him like a baby despite the weight
of his cybernetic body.
	"Come along, my dear. It's regrettable that you found out so early but
I suppose I should have been more careful." Valg's voice was amused and
tolerant - too much like the way she used to speak as Katse for him to
consider himself in anything but the deepest trouble. He
struggled against his paralysis, uselessly, as Valg carried him into the
desert.

***

	She dreams. The image of a face both feared and loved, the only parent
she has ever known, the God that created her. Every part of her yearns
toward that face - longs to obey. In her mind she hears it speak.  "Come
to me, kitten. You cannot escape your past..."
	She wakes from the dream soaked with sweat, body shifting to male as
fear and need for strength runs through him. Soosai X is dead. He was
certain of that. It can't possibly have survived that last battle. It
was only a nightmare. As soon as she recovers her equilibrium she forces
herself female again, though the adrenaline in her system causes her
body to fight the return. It was only a nightmare, she tries to convince
herself.
	If, however, it is a nightmare, it is a continuous one. Soon she cannot
sleep without hearing her creator's siren call. She knows what she must
do and goes to Nanbu, telling him only that she needs a drug that helps
her remain female. It's a lie - for no such drug exists - but she is
desperate. She must go to Soosai X.


-----
*** Enemies - Part 5

	Valg hoisted Joe up slightly, resettling his body. "You always have to be
awkward," she commented lightly as she moved with easy strength across the
sands. In a lot of ways she felt released - relieved of the tension of
keeping her secret. It made her feel giddy and light-headed. *Get this out
of my system before I get to Soosai. He >won't< be amused*. Of course, what
amused Soosai X usually involved pain and humiliation, something she
intended to avoid at all costs.
	Joe managed to squeeze the word "Bastard..." from between his paralyzed
lips. At least that's what it sounded like. His numbed vocal chords made his
words incomprehensible and Valg grinned. There'd been a time when she would
have loved having him in this position and in complete control of that
energetic mouth of his. For now, however... With her thumb she turned down
the control mechanism in her ring, allowing him just enough freedom to talk.
It was a freedom he made complete use of - cussing her out in several
different languages and using words that would have left his teammate - Jun
- blazing like a lighthouse with embarrassment.
	Valg, however, had grown up with language like this and she barely paid
attention as she found the latch to the secret door into the old Galactor
Base. She nodded occasionally, however, agreeably and corrected his wording
when he forgot and called her by a masculine insult. "At least remember
which gender I am right now," she told him, using her foot to push the door
open. "I'm in female cycle. It's only when I'm scared... or need more
strength... that I go male." She wasn't sure why she was sharing that with
him, other than the fact that bantering was a way to avoid thinking about
what was coming.
	Beyond the door was an elevator that she knew would carry them to the
center of the base. It wasn't very big, having been intended for use as an
escape hatch for herself back in the bad old days of her rule over Galactor.
She sniffed. The air was stale and dry. Obviously the conditioners were
off-line, a state of affairs which told her much about Soosai X's current
circumstances. Balancing on one leg she pushed the door shut, then set Joe
down. "*My* elelator," she told him in a babyish voice, "not your elelator.
*I* push de button!"
	Joe stared at her as she'd gone stark mad - *which I probably have* - and
she reached over his head and flipped the switch. "Close your eyes or hold
onto your hat, sweetheart, this ride's gonna be a doozy." She grabbed onto
the handholds that hung from the wall as the world dropped out from under them.

***

	Joe gasped in shock, feeling his stomach do a backflip. The elevator was
spinning wildly, and brilliant images were being flashed on the walls. He
was pretty sure he saw one of the monsters from Doom, as well as a
tyranasaurous rex. He moaned and clenched his teeth against nausea. This
wasn't an elevator, it was an out of control ferris wheel. He glanced
Katse's way and was surprised to see her laughing. *She hated my driving and
>enjoys< this?*
	"And the elevator's dropping and it shows no sign of stopping!" Katse
chanted, clutching the handholds beside her and grinning like the mad
creature she was. "Dropping ever dropping and never ever stopping until our
brains they are hopping and our stomachs all are slopping and our ears they
are popping because the elevator's dropping!" Again she laughed.
	"Lunatic!" Joe shouted at her. "Stop this thing! Are you trying to kill us
both?" He could understand if she'd tossed him into this torture chamber
alone but why would she want to risk self destruction this way?
	Again Katse laughed. "I said this ride's a doozy," she shouted back,
hysteria plain in her voice. "Haven't you ever gone to Disney Land?"
	As the elevator drew to a sudden, jolting, halt Joe managed to swallow back
what he'd eaten for breakfast. There was no way he was giving his enemy the
satisfaction. Especially after what'd happened earlier. "What are you
talking about?" he managed to ask.
	"Ride called the broken elevator," Katse replied, leaning against the wall
and taking several deep breaths. "Give the eyes the right stimulus and you
don't need much else to fool the brain. We only went down twenty feet." She
straightened and moved to Joe's side. "This was my escape hatch, Joe. I
couldn't have it be used coming *into* the base, so I set it up to disorient
the rider going in. Back when I ruled here there'd be about fifteen Galactor
guards waiting at the bottom." She picked him up, adding "*Whoof*! Condor
Joe, you've been into those donuts again. You've gained weight."
	All Joe could do was growl, even as she leaned him, sitting, against the
wall. "In a minute I'm going to leave you. You really are a dead weight
right now and I'm going to need my hands free to get into the main control
chamber." She smiled at him, a sweet, not-all-there smile. "I've no doubt
that I'll be asked to retrieve you in a bit."
	"You sonuva..." Joe felt her finger tap the side of his nose playfully as
she once more reminded him that she was female - for the moment. Not that it
mattered. Bitch or the spawn of one, he didn't really care. He'd get Katse
if it was the last thing he did. *Which it might be*, he had to admit to
himself. *I shoulda guessed she have some control device on me. She'd know
how, after all.*
	Realizing that Katse was still leaning over him, he demanded, "Well, aren't
you going?"
	With a dreamy smile that was completely over the edge, Katse replied, "Not
just yet, sweetheart." Leaning forward, blonde hair brushing his face with
butterfly lightness, she suddenly pressed her lips against his.
	Disgust and fury shot through Joe. He could feel the warm pressure against
his face and body and was all the more disgusted with the response from his
own body. Angrily he took the only attack he had available and bit down on
Katse's lip.
	With a shriek of pain, Katse sat back, hands going to her face. Blood
spilled between her fingers and her blue eyes were wide with pain. "Ouch..."
she managed to whisper, "that hurts..."
	*Serves you right, bastard*, Joe replied mentally. "Keep your damned hands
- and lips - off me, you freak."
	"And that hurts even more." The long fingers moved down from Katse's face,
revealing the slowly healing wound. Even so, the skin was swollen around the
torn flesh. The expression in Katse's blue eyes was unreadable but
frightening in its intensity. "Do it again, I dare you." Once again she
leaned forward and Joe found himself locked in her tight embrace.
	This time, however, there was a difference. Last time Katse had merely
pressed against him. Now he felt her press her tongue forward, into his
mouth, forcing his lips apart. He opened his jaws, *bite the damn thing
straight off!!! Wha?* His thoughts of violence were interrupted when Katse
pressed a hard, metallic, object into his mouth. It felt like a ring. At the
same time he felt something press into his hand - his bracelet.
	In shock, Joe simply stared at Katse as she rose to her feet and pushed her
long hair out of her face. "Now," she told him softly, "I've got to go and
see my old master. You'll be joining us, sooner or later, I'm sure." Her
lips curved in a sweet, psychotic, smile. "And - my love? - it won't come
soon enough for me."

To be continued....
************************************************************************
*"It has been theorized that an infinite number of monkeys typing at an*
*infinite number of keyboards could eventually produce the works of    *
*Shakespeare.  Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this isn't true."  *
************************************************************************


Sorry to take so long getting this out. Life's been mucho hectic,
lately.

Enemy of my Enemy, part 6
by Deborah Brown
Characters 'acquired' from Tatsunoko enterprises
-----

	Valg stalked down the deserted and dusty hallway of her former base,
feeling the fear in her body shifting it - slowly - into male. *And what
kind of fit would Joe have had if I'd been a man back there?* That was a
thought s/he preferred not to think of. Joe was psychotic enough as it
was. There was no need to scare him into a homophobic frenzy along with
all the other shocks he'd been dealt.
	Not that the situation didn't have some humor. Here s/he was, Berg
Katse, having to depend on hir worst enemy. S/he wondered if the Ninja
Team member would understand what was expected him. *Hopefully he won't
turn that switch the wrong damn way.* That'd be a laugh - though a short
one for hir. If nothing else, Soosai X would make it quick,
re-establishing complete control. What would be left of hir mind
wouldn't care anymore.
	He came to the door to the main chamber soon after the final convulsion
that turned him completely male. Shifting into a gender other than the
one in her current cycle was always painful, for s/he was essentially
fighting hir body's natural *natural?* responses. It wouldn't be so bad
when - or rather *if* - she was able to turn back. Right now, however,
he had a God to face.
	Standing at the door, Katse examined the keypad. Now, if Gel Sadra
hadn't changed the damn thing. But if I'm right about Soosai, she may
never have been here.* He pressed several buttons, carefully paying
attention to the pulsing of the monitor above him. If he was wrong he'd
be charred ash in seconds. As the door slid open, allowing a heavy cloud
of dead air to flow free, he knew a moment of triumph. Then he stepped
back, using his shirt sleeve to mask his face. No one breathing had been
in this room for years.
	Of course, Soosai X did not breathe and as soon as Katse stepped into
the darkened chamber a brilliant light flared from the center of a
circular dias. *TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH, KITTEN!*
	Katse gazed at the roiling colors in front of him. This time around
Soosai was manifesting as a kind of pregnant laser beam. It rotated at
the center, heavy at one end, then the other. Slowly he went to one
knee, bowing deeply, hand at one shoulder in a gesture of respect. "It
wasn't easy for me to leave my previous employment," he replied.
	*NO?* Soosai X asked, voice radiating sour criticism. Inwardly, Katse
flinched. How many years had he been the recipient of Soosai's not so
gentle sarcasm? *I'D THINK IT WOULD BE EASY FOR ONE OF YOUR SO-CALLED
INTELLECT. WHY DID YOU BRING THAT MAN? DO YOU KNOW HOW DANGEROUS HE IS?
YOU SHOULD HAVE KILLED HIM!*
	Katse shrugged. "I thought perhaps you would like to dispose of him. I
beg your pardon if I've erred." He gestured back towards direction he'd
come. "Shall I retrieve him?"
	*NOT NOW. FIRST WE MUST DISCUSS YOUR... FAILURE... TO RETURN TO ME.*
The laser beam had no eyes but Katse could feel its stare nonetheless.
*AND TELL ME WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN DOING IN THE LAST YEARS.*
	Katse prepared to lie through his teeth.

***

	Joe struggled to his feet. Even with the paralysis gone he was still
stiff and achy. He spat the bitter metallic taste from his mouth again.
The ring might not be in there anymore but it'd tasted awful. *I was
damn lucky I didn't make matters worse with that thing*, he thought,
remembering the torturously slow progress he'd had to make until he was
sure he wasn't going to increase the paralysis. As he slipped on his
bracelet he wondered what the hell Katse was up to.
	At least this much was obvious. Katse was plotting something and it
probably meant little good for someone. It also probably required him to
be able to move and help - and that was something Joe wasn't at all sure
of. *I >ought< to just leave him here. Unfortunately, the memory
of his promise to Nanbu to bring Kay Valg back in one piece kept him
from doing so. Nanbu *had* to know who Valg was. He wasn't stupid and
his behavior towards her had made it clear he didn't trust the doctor.
Even if Nanbu hadn't known, Joe had to find out the truth.
	Cautiously Joe moved down the hallway, noting the path by the marks in
the dust. About mid-way he noted that Katse's stride had altered,
becoming unsteady for at least twenty steps - at the end of which were
marks as if the blonde mutant had fallen to her knees. Then the strides
continued, subtly different from those previous. Another gender shift,
Joe realized and remembered what Katse'd said about its cause. *I'll
give him a reason to be scared.*
	A few minutes later Joe heard a deep, hollow, voice speaking from
beyond a darkened opening. A little light spilled into the hallway,
quivering between colors with unnerving intensity.
	*SO YOU ARE WILLING NOW TO RETURN TO ME?* Joe shuddered, recognizing
the harsh tones despite the years since last hearing them.
	"I've learned my lesson, my lord." Katse's voice had deepened to a
light baritone. "I'm a freak to the entire world. So be it. Let it pay
for the way it's treated me. I don't want to rule it anymore. I'll help
you however you want." Joe frowned furiously. So that was his plan, to
use Joe to get him here, back to Soosai X. *Except why would she give me
a way to free myself.* Using every ounce of his ninja training, Joe
slipped into the room.
	Katse was kneeling before a twisting, shifting, pattern of light, his -
and this time he was obviously male - features cold and stern. "But why
haven't you restarted Galactor, begun preparations. Surely there are
still those who'd serve..."
	*FOOL!* The shout caused Berg Katse to cower backwards, expression
terrified. *YOU DARE QUESTION ME?*
	Katse winced. "No, my lord. But I *do* need to know how much is left of
Galactor. How else can I rebuild it so we can start again?"
	*REBUILD?* A laugh echoed through the chamber. *OH, I WILL REBUILD. BUT
NOT WITH YOU, KATSE! YOU ARE A BROKEN AND FAILED TOY!* With those words
the lights flickered brighter and Joe felt something grasp at his mind.
*DO YOU THINK I WOULD FAIL TO NOTICE YOUR PATHETIC ATTEMPTS TO BE
CLEVER? YOU BRING THE NINJA TEAM MEMBER TO ME AS A SUPPOSED PRISONER 
AND
PASS THE MEANS OF HIS ESCAPE TO HIM THROUGH A KISS? DO YOU THINK I
WOULDN'T NOTICE THAT YOU NO LONGER WEAR A RING?*
	Joe found himself pulled forward to fall to his knees beside Katse.
"This is a fine mess," he muttered to Katse who was able to spare him a
glance and a whispered, "I'm sorry Ollie."
	*BE SILENT!* Soosai X shouted. *I KNEW WHEN I CALLED YOU THAT YOU WOULD
BE USELESS. THERE IS ONLY SO MUCH THAT I CAN DO WITH MATERIAL AS FLAWED
AS YOU!*
	"If I am flawed, my lord, it is your handiwork. It was not I who shaped
my destiny, but you." Katse's voice was bleak, almost emotionless, but
Joe - aware of the psychotic tendencies of his *own* mind - could sense
the hatred behind the tones. "You made me what I am, not just by melding
me from what should have been two people but by twisting my childhood -
forcing me to run all my life - until in desperation, I ran to you."
	*I SHAPED YOU, YES. YOU WERE THE CLAY UPON WHICH I BUILT MY PLANS. 
BUT
YOU ARE WEAK, A SNIVELLING COWARD, UNABLE TO ACCEPT MY REAL MISSION. 
YOU
ARE OF NO USE TO ME ANYMORE.*
	"I'm at a loss to know what else you expected me to be, considering how
many traumas you inflicted on me" Katse replied. "As for being of use...
Why did you call me to your side until I couldn't even rest anymore if
you didn't need me?"
	*I SOUGHT YOU THEN BECAUSE I THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE USEFUL TO ME. I 
DID
NOT KNOW THEN HOW FAR YOU HAD BETRAYED ME. DO YOU THINK I COULD NOT 
TELL
THAT YOU HAVE WORKED AGAINST ME THESE LAST FEW YEARS? HAVE YOU
FORGOTTEN THAT I CAN READ YOUR MIND? THAT I CAN CONTROL YOU?*
	Katse shrugged. "Then see if you can *still* control me," he suggested.
"I won't deny I'm scared of you but there's no point in trying to argue.
What do you intend to do?"
	Joe sensed immense satisfaction. *I WILL DESTROY YOU BOTH. BUT FIRST
YOU WILL TELL ME ONE THING.*
	"And that is?" Katse's voice was supremely unconcerned.
	*WHERE IS THE CHILD?* At Soosai's words Katse made a little choking
noise and Soosai continued, *I KNOW IT WAS NOT TAKEN BY ISO.* Joe
frowned. What child was the alien talking about?
	"I'm not telling you a damn thing!" Katse replied and jerked as a line
of energy slashed out at him, striking and pressing against the middle
of his forehead. "It's *my *child, damnit! I'm not letting you do the
same thing to it that you did to me."
	*Katse has a child?* Joe wondered. The thought was unnerving.
	*I CREATED IT THROUGH YOU. IT IS MINE. I WILL NOT BE DENIED.*
	"Oh yes you will!" Katse screamed back and there was something animal
in that sound. Joe watched as the mutant managed, somehow to rise to his
feet. "I'll die before I tell you."
	*YOU'LL TELL ME AND THEN DIE,* Soosai corrected. *YOU ARE NOT MY
MATCH!*
	"Aren't I?" Katse demanded. "You gave me my abilities. Do you doubt
their strength? I've been practicing, all these years, just in case you
came back for me. Moreover, you're weak. You have no one. Nothing. This
base is empty because there's no one left to serve you. You're helpless
here, your final avatar bound at the center of this dais and there's no
one to build you a new home. This is it!"
	Joe knew somehow that he'd been given the clue he needed. If he could
destroy Soosai X here the alien could never return. But how was he to
get free?
	The answer came a moment later as he felt the energies holding him down
lessen. Of course - Soosai was turning his will on Katse, trying to
force his mutant creation to capitulate. The more energy he used for
that, the less he'd have to deal with his other prisoner. With effort,
Joe pulled his arm forward and shouted "Bird Go!" In seconds he was
garbed in his uniform.
	*STOP, CONDOR JOE!* Soosai managed to shout, as more energy bolts aimed
themselves at Katse. *IF YOU KILL ME NOW, KATSE DIES TOO.*
	*Gee, what a shame*, Joe thought to himself, drawing one of his feather
shuriken. At the same time Katse managed to gasp, "Do you really think
he cares? I'm still his worst enemy." He hesitated, not because he cared
about Katse but because he wasn't sure where to aim the feather.
	*RELEASE ME, KATSE!* There was terror in Soosai's voice and Joe
realized that the two were caught in each other's minds. Katse must be
preventing his former master from backing away from their psychic duel.
Joe could feel fear emanating from the energy being on the dais. At the
same time Katse flung his arms wide. "Joe! What's true one way is true
the other!"
	Understanding lit Joe's eyes and he turned towards Katse then stopped,
seeing the thin, fine boned face clearly for the first time. There was a
kind of calm in hir expression as s/he gazed into the energies of Soosai
X's current form. Joe had never seen Katse look so peaceful before and
for a moment he saw what Katse might have become. Another image occurred
to him - a distant and bittersweet memory and he knew what he was seeing
and why Katse'd seemed so familiar to him, back at the car - and whose
name s/he'd nearly used when s/he'd woken. Instead of throwing his
weapon, he flung himself onto Katse, forcing the mutant's eyes away from
Soosai X's glowing form. At the same time he tossed one of his small
grenades, shielding himself and his companion with his cloak.
	The explosion was accompanied by two screams, one from the alien whose
only connection to this world had been destroyed, the other from the man
beneath Joe. The Condor risked a glance towards the dais and was pleased
to see only rubble and an occasional spark. He returned his gaze on the
body beneath him. "Katse? You okay?" Silence. Again he whispered the
mutant's name. Still no answer. Sitting up, he put his ear to Katse's
chest. His old enemy was still breathing, at least.
	Noticing that the sparks from the dais were beginning to spread to the
other machinery in the room, it occurred to Joe that it was high time he
got himself - and Katse - out of there.

***

	It was the explosion that woke her. Of course, an entire mountainside
going into orbit would be enough to wake the dead, and - though a part
of her might wish it - Berg Katse was not dead. She opened her eyes,
feeling warm sand beneath her, and saw a tall figure standing over her,
staring off into the west. "Hell!" Condor Joe muttered feelingly. "Farm
Film review woulda loved *that* one."
	Managing to turn her head and see the smoke rising against the crystal
sky, Katse had to agree. "Why," she managed to ask - despite her aching
head "Why did you *do* that?"
	Joe looked down. "I'm a Science Team Ninja," he replied with a grin.
"We blow things up real good!"
	"That's *not* what I mean and you know it," Katse growled, irritably,
managing - somehow - to sit up. Rubbing at her temples she added, "You
had your chance to destroy us both..."
	Joe hunkered down beside her and grinned even more broadly. "Yeah. I'll
probably regret that, but if I killed you, who'd put me back together
when I start rusting?"
	Joe's query startled a chuckle out of Katse. "Hmmph," she muttered.
"That's not much of an excuse. Haven't you ever heard of an oil can?"
Her face went serious. "Has it occurred to you that by not truly
*killing* Soosai he might manage to find a way back again?"
	"I thought that was his last refuge..." Joe looked worried and Katse
couldn't help but give him a superior look, explaining that what they'd
seen was his physical entry into this dimension. Its destruction would
make it close to impossible for him to return but close to and actually
impossible are two different things. When Katse finished Joe shrugged
philosophically. "I'm willing to take that risk," he replied calmly.
	Katse stared at Joe for a long, disconcerted, moment. "But... You hate
me..."
	"Yeah. I did. I also realized something down there." Joe leaned down
and picked Katse up. "You manipulated everything, didn't you. Conned
Nanbu into letting you come here and convinced him that *I* was the last
person on Earth you wanted near you. Conned Soosai into
revealing that this really was his last entry point and nearly conned me
into killing you." He carried her back to his car. "I was wondering that
you made it so easy for me to realize the truth. The old Berg Katse was
so good at hiding hir real self when in disguise that I shouldn't have
been able to guess. Which meant - on some level - you meant me to know."
	Slowly Katse nodded. That *had* been her intent, although she'd meant
to wait a bit longer, to avoid the necessity of carting Joe's helpless
body around. Joe continued. "Then I saw your face - when you as much as
told me killing you would kill Soosai X. You wanted me to do it
and I couldn't see any reason for you to feel that way that didn't
involve a major change of heart." He set her in the passenger seat,
carefully closing the door so that her hair didn't get caught. As weak
as she was, moving even that light weight was beyond her. "Besides, I
promised Nanbu I'd bring you back - alive - and that's what I intend to
do."
	Katse blanched. Nanbu was going to be furious. If she was dead now, he
couldn't do anything but accept her sacrifice but Joe was right, she
*had* tricked the professor. He wasn't going to like that, even when
she'd done it with at least somewhat decent intent. "I see..." she
muttered, and wondered briefly if she could convince Joe to kill her
after all. But that wasn't a serious thought. She really didn't want to
die - she never did, even at her most suicidal - she just wanted the
world to stop dumping on her.
	Joe swung himself over the side of his car door and into the driver's
seat. "Why'd you do it?"
	Katse managed a small smile. "For reasons you should understand, Joe.
Revenge." She looked off into the distance. "Soosai created me, shaped
me and abandoned me. He murdered my mother in creating me and murdered
my father for defying him."
	"That's quite a sob story..." Joe began but Katse managed to lean
towards him, hissing "Sob story? Do you call constant manipulation, from
day one, a mere *sob* story? I'm not asking for pity, Joe. I'm coming to
terms with it, but if you think I'm going to take *all* the blame for
what I did, when there was absolutely *no* way I could have become
anything else but the power mad maniac I was, you'd better think again!"
	"Hey!" Joe backed up, leaning against his door in his effort to get
some distance. "Okay. It's not just a sob story. I suppose it's no worse
a reason than my own. Calm down, Katse. Don't go ballistic on me." He
shook his head. "I'm used to hearing excuses and I guess I reacted
automatically."
	Katse looked away. "All right," she whispered and leaned back. "I hope
you don't mind, Joe, but I think I'm going to sleep... for a very very
long while."
	Joe nodded. "Just one more question." At Katse's raised brow he asked,
"What child?"
	Katse winced. He *would* ask that question. Finally, very carefully,
she worded her reply. "I'm not going to live forever. Considering how
hard you and the others were trying to kill me,
Soosai decided to create another me, in case his plans didn't work the
way he'd intended." She tightened her lips, this wasn't the complete
truth, but *that* was something she didn't want Joe to know. "He had me
go and breed with someone. I couldn't bring the child to term under
normal circumstances, but Soosai used his powers to speed the process.
After it was born he made me forget about it and it was dumped, just as
I had been, in an orphanage." Shuddering at the memory of her own
freakish childhood, she managed a smile. "Of course, it wasn't long
after that that his homeworld was destroyed and he decided to destroy
Earth as well. His plans for my child were put on hold - since they
didn't matter anymore. When I remembered the child I took it elsewhere.
I didn't want him doing to it what he'd done to me."
	Joe stared ahead of him, "I see, so there's another..." he hesitated,
clearly trying to find the right word. "Gendermorph? around? It's not as
bad as its... parent was... I hope."
	Katse shook her head. "I was careful in my choosing. The place it is
now deals with special children. They're doing a good job with Jackie."
	"What about the father? What happened to him?"
	Katse swallowed. Was Joe getting suspicious? "He doesn't know and I
don't intend to tell him. It wouldn't help matters and since he probably
wouldn't care for having had any relations with me... or being a freak's
father... it's better that way." It hurt but it was the truth. What
normal human male could deal with having been Berg Katse's lover?
Especially one who was also hir enemy?
	Slowly Joe nodded, starting the car. "Well, you're probably right." As
they started moving, he added, "Though I think Jackie's a good name for
a kid like that. Jack/Jacqueline?"
	Katse looked down at her fingers. *He knows*, she realized with a sharp
pain and reflected that he was - at least - not pushing the point. It'd
be best for all concerned. "I'm glad you approve."
	"Yeah." Without another word, Joe turned the car and sent it gliding up
the road. They had a long trip home.

END
======
Well, that's it. The next story is in the process of writing.

If you need the previous sections, let me know and I'll send it in
whatever form you prefer. Word 7.0, Write or plain text.

Mata ne!