"You should've stayed dead!" Virgil retorted hotly, eyes burning. "How did you get back to your body?"

Belah laughed – a maniacal sound like the squeal of an electric guitar being misused. "Who says I got back to my body?"

Virgil's eyes widened as he looked first at John, then at Gordon, and finally back at Belah. "It's not a disguise! You...you stole the sultan's body?"

"Not bad for a mere mortal," he conceded, chin rising defiantly.

"But...how is that possible? The sultan can't exist over here indefinitely."

"He will not need to. I will use him to get what I want, and then dispose of him."

"That's why our Kyrano has been losing his memories," Brains offered from his seat off to the side of the Lounge. "Because you brought the sultan into our dimension."

"Rather clever plan, wouldn't you say, genius?" the Hood sneered. "And it's all working out perfectly. By the time your father and brothers return, you will all be dead. And I will have what came for, and be gone before they know what hit them!"

"I wouldn't bet on that!" came a familiar voice from the hall.

Belah and the other four occupants of the Lounge whirled on them. "Jeff Tracy!"

Penelope, Parker, Jeff and Scott all held rapid-fire laser guns. Alan and Tin-Tin were nowhere to be seen.

"Brains, get down to the sick ward," Jeff said evenly, never taking his eyes from the Hood. He was standing much too close to Virgil, who wore the IDT, for Jeff's liking. "Hood, step away from my son."

"If you kill this body, I will merely use one of you as my vessel. Think about it, Jeff. Do you really want me inside your sons?"

Jeff's jaw worked, barely concealed fury emanating from every pore. "You can't win. Give it up."

Brains scurried from the Lounge and into the elevator, where he was surprised to find someone waiting. "Wha-? Kyrano, y-you can't be here! You can't see him!"

"I know. That is why I waited here for you. Scott has given me this." Kyrano held out the IDT. "I do not know how to use it, but he says you must teach me."

"To what end?" Brains asked as the elevator descended.

"To get the sultan back where he belongs. And to kill my half-brother once and for all."

"What's it going to be, Hood?"

"I believe we have already settled that, Jeff." The Hood stood poised like a cat ready to pounce.

Jeff swallowed hard as he felt Scott tense beside him. If Brains and Kyrano succeeded, there would be no need to shoot the sultan's body. But could they keep the Hood in one place, keep him from harming any of them, long enough for them to do it?

His question was soon answered. They all heard the elevator returning to the main floor of the villa. Jeff's hand squeezed the trigger ever-so-slightly. "One false move and we'll find out just how well you can take over anyone's body."

"How little you know of my ways, foolish mortal," Belah seethed, legs and arms twitching. "Are you prepared to kill the sultan?"

"It's what he would want," Jeff said. "Rather than allowing you to kill us all with his body."

And the standoff continued.

"I-I'll have to go with you, Kyrano," Brains said as he finished hooking up the blood transfusion lines between the machine holding quarts of syntheblood and Tin-Tin's ravished body. "You may need help getting back."

"How is my daughter?"

"I-It appears according to the, ah, preliminary tests that she's been i-injected with some sort of variation on, ah, ricin, but it doesn't, ah, seem to be directly from Ricinus communis. Rather, i-it appears to be a chemically altered, ah, derivative that causes much the same symptoms a-as arsenic poisoning."

"And you say Badan was doing this?"

"A-Alan feels that is so, yes."

"What are her chances?"

"I have enriched this syntheblood with proteins and ribosomes. I can't tell how e-extensive the damage is without more in-depth testing."

"We don't have time for that!" Alan said from his place at her bedside, holding her hand. "And you can't go, Brains. If you do, and something goes wrong, Tin-Tin could die."

"There i-is that."

"Then perhaps you will accompany me..." Kyrano faltered. He should know the young man before him, but could not produce his name. His mouth opened and closed and he looked away, ashamed.

"It's okay, Kyrano," Alan said softly, rising from his seat. "My name's Alan. I'll go with you."

"You must be very careful," Brains said as he clasped the IDT to Kyrano's forearm. "Alan must not be in close proximity to his counterpart or the damage could be, ah, irreversible."

"Got it," Alan said. "You take care of her, Brains. You take good care of her."

"I-I will," Brains nodded. "You can count on it."

With that, Alan faced Kyrano as Brains keyed a command into the IDT. The two men grabbed one another's hands tightly. "Let's go," Alan said.

A loud whine and whirring noise accompanied the appearance of the by-now-familiar blue-white light. The men looked at one another and walked through. Soon enough it disappeared, leaving Brains alone with the beeping of Tin-Tin's life sign monitors. He looked toward the infirmary door, which was locked tight and sealed with an extra titanium outer door. He found himself wondering what was happening in the Lounge with the Hood, and surmised that since he'd neither heard from nor seen Jeff, Scott or any of the others, it probably wasn't too good.

Brains shivered as Tin-Tin moaned. He rushed to her side, smoothing her hair out of her eyes as her eyelids began to flutter. "Your color is looking better," he said softly. He was surprised when her hand caught his.

"Alan," she said weakly, unable to open her eyes all the way. "Where's Alan?"

"Getting help. Now you just rest. This will take some time, ah, Tin-Tin."

"Dear Brains," she whispered, eyelids closing completely. "Thank you." With that, she lapsed into unconsciousness once more.

"Oh, Tin-Tin," Brains said, leaning in and placing a kiss on her forehead. "You're welcome."

"My God, it doesn't look very much like our home," Alan remarked as he and Kyrano were deposited into the other dimension's Lounge. "I thought Brains said this thing was focused in on the me of this dimension. I don't see myself anywhere."

"He probably moved it off slightly so you would not encounter the other...the other..." Kyrano struggled, then seemed to smile with satisfaction. "Alan."

Alan grinned. "So where do we find Ben? Virgil's room, maybe?"

"Let us look."

The men hurried up the stairs and down the hall to the third bedroom on the left. Alan suddenly sagged against the door.

"What is wrong?"

"I...I don't know," Alan said. "I feel...dizzy."

"It is this dimension," Kyrano said, suddenly sure of his words. "We do not belong here. It will feel adverse to our bodies."

"Then why are you okay?"

"Perhaps because my counterpart is not here?"

Alan nodded as he steadied himself and pressed the chime on the suite's control panel. Within seconds the door swished open. Alan's jaw dropped. Before him was a man he had never before seen but knew instinctively was the one they were looking for. His hair...his eyes...his build...his very mannerisms.

"Alan? What is it?" The man frowned as he looked from one visitor to the other. "And who's this?"

"Are you..." Alan gulped, leaning against the door jamb for support. "My God. Are you Ben?"

Penelope shook her head no at Jeff. The elevator had been empty. It wasn't Brains or Kyrano returning with help. But just as he was contemplating what might become a necessary murder, or at the very least, maiming, of the sultan from another dimension, the Hood visibly reeled, as though hit by some unseen force. Stumbling backwards, he fell to the floor, and in moments had been captured by Virgil, John and Gordon.

The others relaxed their stances and approached. Jeff was the first to speak. "Good work, boys. You okay?"

"Yeah, we're okay, Dad," Gordon said. "What happened to him?"

"I would imagine it has something to do with the fact that he's using a body from the other dimension," Scott surmised. "I don't think he can sustain this for much longer."

"He probably wasn't planning on using it for very long," Jeff replied. "He thought he'd be in and out of here by now."

"And back to his own body," Penny added. "We must work quickly. Virgil, would you and John be so kind as to accompany Parker?"

"Where are we going?" John asked.

"To the Hood's body," Jeff said, eyeing their captive. "To bring it back here. We're going to end this once and for all."

"You will not succeed!" the Hood cried, struggling uselessly against the strong arms that held him. Parker approached with metal binds which he sealed around the Hood's ankles, then used a larger version to bind his elbows to his torso.

"Sorry, then, Sultan," Parker said quietly. "But h'its necessary for now."

Suddenly the sultan's eyes glazed over and what Jeff saw made his breath catch in his throat. "Kyrano?"

"Jeff," the sultan's bruised voice wheezed. "Help me, I am dying. Help me..."

But no sooner had the sultan appeared than he was gone again, replaced by the Hood's evil sneer.

"You're losing, Hood," Jeff said confidently as Gordon and Scott took up position on either side of Belah. "You're losing your grip on him."

Belah didn't reply as Parker, Virgil and John moved over near the balcony. Virgil secured the IDT on his forearm. "Ready, guys?" John and Parker nodded as Virgil keyed in a command. "I scanned his form as best as I could given the data we have on the Hood and what I remember from my encounter with him." He looked across the room at his father and brothers. "We'll be back soon."

"Good luck," Scott said, his eyes sending a silent second message. Virgil nodded, and soon the blinding whiteness appeared. Within seconds it, along with the trio, was gone.

"Alan, why are you acting like you don't know me? Are you all right?" Ben approached his door, frowning as he came closer to the duo. "Alan, you look...different."

"I am different. Listen, Ben, I don't have much time to explain." Alan visibly swayed, caught by Kyrano on one side and Ben on the other. "I'm from another dimension."

"Excuse me?"

"It is true. I am Kyrano. Perhaps you have heard of me."

"Kyrano? Uh...well, yes, I remember Dad mentioning you. But I thought you were a king in Malaysia. What are you doing here?"

"I am Kyrano from a second dimension. The sultan of Malaysia has been abducted by my half-brother."

"Alan, you've gone stark raving mad and so has your friend here."

"No, Ben, listen to me. There is another Alan on this island. Please, you have to believe me. I'm not your Alan." Alan sagged further into Kyrano, who struggled to hold him upright. "Please, Ben, just locate your Alan on GPS. Please."

Ben frowned. "You're nuts." He walked over to a computer monitor embedded in the wall of his sitting room. Flipping it on, he pressed two buttons in succession, showing the location of everyone on Tracy Island. His eyes widened as he turned slowly to face those at his door. "My God," he whispered. "This says Alan's down by the pool."

"Exactly," Alan breathed. "Your Alan is. Please. Will you help us?"

Ben ran out the door past them, down the steps and into the Lounge. He raced across the room and out onto the balcony. Sure enough, Alan was sitting in a chaise lounge, looking very much asleep, accompanied by Gordon in a second chaise to his right. Ben turned as Kyrano and Alan entered the Lounge. "What in the hell is going on?"

"Return with us. You must help us get the sultan back here. We need someone from your dimension," Kyrano explained, by now almost entirely supporting Alan's weight.

Ben's scowl deepened. "Why me? Why now?"

"The Hood has the sultan's body. Virgil, John and Parker are bringing Gaat's body back to our island," Alan explained. "But we need someone from here to make sure the sultan gets back here safely."

"You were chosen because..." Kyrano looked at Alan. "As I understand it, you are not in existence in our dimension."

"I'm not in existence?"

"No," Alan shook his head, finally collapsing to his knees. "On our side, you were John's conjoined twin, and you died when they separated the two of you. And Virgil didn't die."

Ben gasped. "You mean, Virgil's actually alive?"

Kyrano nodded.

"And so are Dad and Scott."

"No," Ben breathed. "It can't be."

"Will you help us?" Alan croaked as Kyrano knelt next to him. "Ben, please, I...I'm begging you."

Ben looked back out at where Gordon and Alan – his Gordon and Alan – still napped next to the pool. He then looked back to where the second Alan was very clearly in distress on the Lounge floor. He didn't understand any of what was happening, but he felt the urgency, and to see his baby brother in such a state tore at his heartstrings...even if it wasn't really his brother.

"Fine. I'll come. But won't I have the same problem you're having?"

Kyrano shook his head. "Brains does not believe you will simply because you do not exist on our side. There is no one to drain your substance as there is with Alan."

Ben nodded. "What do I do?"

"Quickly," Kyrano said. "Alan, we must go before you weaken further."

Alan lifted his hand, his eyes having difficulty focusing on the rather small buttons the IDT displayed. Slowly he keyed the sequence in just as they heard a splash from the pool.

"Take our hands," Kyrano said, reaching out to Ben.

Ben approached them and sank to his knees in front of them. He took Kyrano's offered hand and reached out for Alan. When the brothers' hands met, it felt like a shockwave ripped through them, but there was no time for either to contemplate it as the portal door appeared. Slowly Ben and Kyrano hauled Alan to his feet, and the three walked through.

"Where should we look?" Parker asked as the men stared at the cavernous room filled with ugly but priceless statues depicting demons and gods of the netherworld. "Coo, this place h'is gigantic!"

"We're going to have to split up," Virgil said. "John, you go up the stairs. Parker, take the left. I'll take the right."

The men nodded and headed off in their respective directions. Virgil noticed a hall further ahead and walked into it. At the end of the short hall was another room, much smaller than the one they'd entered. At the far end of the room was what appeared to be a black marble table, possibly an altar. And lying atop it was the still body of an Asiatic male, wearing nothing but a black pair of leggings. On the other side of the altar were two female slaves, who shrieked and cringed back against the wall when they saw him.

"That's got to be him," Virgil breathed. He raised his watch to his face. "John, I've got him. Get Parker and come to the hall to the right of where we were standing before."

"F.A.B.," John replied.

Virgil held up a hand in the women's direction, trying to calm them. They silenced, their eyes wide as he approached their master. The man on the altar didn't move except to breathe. Virgil reached out and poked at the Hood's body. He would've known the bastard anywhere after his experience with him in the other dimension. "Okay, then, guess you're coming with me, asshole."

With that, Virgil hiked him into a fireman's carry just as he heard gunfire from the main room. "Shit!" he cried, running for the hall. Before he was even halfway along, he heard Parker cry out.

Brains analyzed the samples he'd taken from Tin-Tin's skin, both subcutaneous layers and surface, as well as the blood sample he'd taken before setting up the transfusion. He compared it to the current blood sample and a small smiled graced his features. "Looks like it's working," he said softly, looking over at the sleeping form on the bed. "Thank God."

He was startled by the appearance of a portal. He looked away until the sounds abated, then turned back to see who had arrived. When he did indeed see them, his eyes widened. "Alan! What's wrong?" He rushed to Alan as he collapsed into Ben's arms.

"You...must be Ben," Brains said as Ben lifted his little brother into his arms.

"I am," Ben replied, placing Alan on the bed next to Tin-Tin. "He's weak, can you help him?"

Brains nodded. "I think so."

"Anything from Jeff?"

"No, Kyrano, I haven't heard a-a word. I have no i-idea what's happening up there, but Tin-Tin is on the mend."

"My daughter," Kyrano said, approaching her and kissing her forehead. "I am so...so..." Before he could finish the thought, he collapsed to the floor.

"MyGod!" Brains cried. He knelt next to the fallen man, then turned to look at the unfamiliar Tracy standing before him. "You must hurry to the Lounge. I don't know what you'll find, so arm yourself first." Ben looked on worriedly. "I-If the sultan doesn't return to your dimension, this Kyrano is going to die."

Ben nodded, swallowing hard. "Weapons in the same place here?"

Brains nodded as he easily lifted the frail Malaysian into his arms and placed him into a bed on the other side of Tin-Tin. "Panel 3, north wall. Code 8-1-3-0-alpha-theta-4."

"You're kidding. That's the code we use."

Brains, however, was no longer in the moment as he studied Kyrano's life sign readings. Ben moved to a spot near the sick ward's front door and clicked a panel open. He then entered the familiar code and a second panel slid aside, revealing a small arsenal. Pocketing two handguns, he grabbed an automatic uzi-like laser gun and clicked it on. Turning for one last look back at the unconscious three and their caretaker, he closed the weapons safe and keyed open the sick ward door. Entering the hall, he locked it tight behind him, sealing it once again with the titanium outer door.

Soon he was in the elevator. Soon, he knew, he would be seeing two people that, to him, were dead. And one who hadn't lived past infancy. He wondered at what was happening, thinking he must be dreaming. He had to be. A mirror of his family in another dimension somewhere? A place where he didn't exist? Was that even possible?

But apparently it was. For as the elevator opened onto the main floor of the villa, he knew instinctively that it was different from the one he was used to. He walked out into the hall and turned to peer into the Lounge. His breath caught in his throat.

"Father?" he breathed, chest tightening. "Scott?"

The Hood gasped as the sultan's body seized. "You're running out of time, Hood," Jeff said triumphantly. "What'll it be?"

Before the Hood could respond, the appearance of a portal blinded and deafened them all. When it disappeared, Scott was the first to see Virgil carrying a body hiked over his shoulder. "Is that him?"

Virgil nodded. "You're damn right it is."

"Parker!" Penelope cried. "Oh, Parker, you're injured!"

"H'It's nothing, milady. Just a scratch."

"Nonsense, you've been shot!"

"Take him to the sick ward," Jeff said. Penelope nodded, and soon she was leading Parker into the hall, a trail of blood behind him on the hardwood floor.

"Now," Jeff said. "Here's your body. Time to switch."

"When hell freezes over!" Belah spat, groaning from the effort.

A voice from behind startled them all. "It's just frozen, asshole."

Slowly they all turned. Jeff visibly reeled, steadied by Scott's hand as the men gaped openly. Virgil placed the Hood's body on a sofa near the portrait wall and approached. "Ben," he said. "Ben, you won't know me."

"Virgil?" he asked as the men looked into one another's eyes. "You're Virgil."

"I am," Virgil smiled.

"Can this be real?" Ben looked beyond Virgil to his father and Scott, looking healthy and none the worse for wear. "Father?"

Tears sprang to Jeff's eyes as he blinked rapidly through them. "Benjamin..." he breathed. "My God, look at you."

Ben ran forward into his father's arms. "I thought I'd never see you again." He squeezed Jeff so tight he thought he might just break a few ribs. Then he looked up into Scott's eyes. "And you...I...I watched you fall..."

"I know," Scott said, the look on his face belying the rampant emotion running wildly through him. "Ben, it's..." Scott stuck out his hand. "It's good to meet you."

Ben smiled warmly and shoved past the hand, enveloping his brother in a hug. "I didn't believe them," he said into Scott's tee shirt. "I didn't believe Alan or Kyrano."

"How very fucking touching," came a nasty voice from behind them. Gordon clocked Belah up side the head with his elbow, his eyes not moving from the brother he'd never known.

But it was John who was at the most loss for what to say or do. He stood near the balcony windows, simply staring at the man who was his twin in another place. The man who could've been his very own twin from this dimension if he'd had light blonde hair and blue eyes. The similarities between John and Ben struck everyone in the room, but for John, especially, it hit home very hard.

Ben walked across the room. "John. Hello." John just stood there in shock as Ben approached. He stiffened when Ben reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. This is probably as hard for you as it is for me to see Father and Scott again."

When John spoke, his voice was choked. "I always..." He looked away, swallowing hard. "I always wondered..." He turned and looked back at his twin, face unreadable.

"I never thought I'd see him as a grown man. He was so tiny when he died."

"I know, Dad. I remember."

Jeff's head snapped over to look at his eldest. "Remember? My God, Kyrano!" He looked down as the Hood fell off the couch, his body shaking and sweating. Tears streamed out of his eyes. "Dammit! Quick, we have to somehow get the Hood out of the sultan's body and back into his own!"

"How?" Scott asked as Ben and John turned with the others to face the center of the room.

"He said if we killed the sultan, he would be forced to take another body," Jeff said.

"Father, you're not saying...you can't be."

"I don't see that we have a choice. Get Brains up here with a hypo and the means to resuscitate."

Virgil hesitated only a moment before heading to the intercom.

"You...cannot...succeed. I will take one of your bodies!" the Hood ground out through clenched teeth.

"We'll just remove your ability to do so," Gordon said menacingly as he rose to his feet.

"Help me," came a different voice from the floor. "Please, Jeff..."

Jeff rushed to the sultan's side, kneeling next to him and grabbing his hand. "We will. Virgil, get Penny to bring Kyrano up here."

"But, Dad!"

"We must! None of us knows how to do this!"

"Penny said he's passed out."

"Then tell her to revive him, she knows how."

Virgil and Scott exchanged worried glances before Scott nodded almost imperceptibly. Once again, Virgil was on the intercom.

Penelope frowned as she got off the intercom. She went to a nearby cabinet and searched until she found the proper hypo. She approached Kyrano and stuck it into his neck, praying that it would work and he would be able to do what Virgil had said.

Kyrano moaned softly as the hypo began to take effect, artificial adrenaline coursing through his body. "Kyrano, can you stand?"

His eyes blinked open as he struggled to sit up. Penny helped him, holding his hands as he tried to come to his senses. "Who are you?"

"I'm Lady Penelope. Kyrano, Jeff needs you in the Lounge. Now."

"Jeff..." Kyrano looked around, noting Tin-Tin to his left and Alan further over. "Jeff needs me."

"Yes. You must help him. Can you walk?"

"I...believe so." Kyrano slid off the bed, much of his weight against Penelope. She supported him as best she could and the two headed for the sick ward door.

"He's dying," Scott said as he checked the Hood's pulse for the fifth time in as many minutes. "His heart rate's slowing."

"Our Kyrano must not be faring any better."

"Why don't I just take him back to my island?" Ben asked.

"Because the sultan's body will regain strength with Gaat still inside," Jeff responded, unable to quite tear his eyes from his missing son. "No, we have to get the Hood out first and then you can take the sultan back."

Ben nodded. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with John, it was a sight Jeff never thought he'd see. He knew damn well this wasn't his Benjamin, but it was impossible to ignore that he was, somehow, part of the genes they all shared as Tracys. He was like a mix between Virgil and John, carrying characteristics of them all. Jeff could even see some of his own father and mother in them and suddenly wished Ruth were there to meet the grandson she'd seen only once, and then from a distance through an incubator wall.

Jeff remembered it all so clearly, as though it had happened only yesterday.

She'd had to have a Cesarean section, as the conjoined twins were unable to exit the birth canal due to their shared chest cavity. John, it was obvious, had been the stronger and less frail of the two. It had been a heart-wrenching decision he and Lucille had had to make, but in the end it was either lose one son or both. They had agreed the greatest chances of survival would be with John as the larger and more robust twin.

And so they had signed the papers that would kill little Benjamin William Tracy, so named for an astronaut friend of Jeff's, Dr. William Benjamin Lenoir. Bill had been good to Jeff, and as such he had decided to take the older man's middle name and first name and switch them for one of their twins.

Throughout the entire pregnancy there had been no indication that anything was wrong. No way to tell, even through the advanced screenings that could be done with color ultrasound, that the boys shared only one heart. For Ben was always along Lucy's spine each time they went for doctor's appointments. It had come as a great shock to them all, and he knew Lucille had never forgiven herself for what she felt was somehow her fault, though everyone knew she couldn't have done a thing about it.

He'd never forgiven himself for killing his son, and yet every time he looked at John, he knew it was better to have him alive and well with him in life than to have had neither infant survive. And now, impossibly, the very man Virgil had told him about was standing in his Lounge, right next to John. Looking as though he was meant to be there. Six sons instead of five. Jeff's heart felt like it was about to squeeze right out of his chest as he contemplated the lunacy of somehow keeping Ben there.

Innately, he knew it was wrong. And selfish. His counterpart may have been dead along with Scott's, but there were three brothers on the other side who needed Ben back. Jeff mentally kicked himself for even allowing the thought to take hold in his mind, but at the same time longed to know this child of his, different as he might be from the Ben who died.

He was shaken from his reverie by a hand on his arm. "Kyrano," he said softly.

The slightly shorter man looked at him, and Jeff had to keep from gasping aloud. For the eyes were almost completely blank. "I haven't much time," Kyrano choked out. "I do not know if I can do what Penelope suggests, but I must try."

"Kyrano...dammit, look at him, he's not going to survive this!" Jeff said to Brains, who was kneeling next to the sultan's now-still body.

Brains nodded to indicate his agreement with Jeff's assessment. Jeff turned back to his friend. His best friend who was already very nearly gone. "I can't let you, Kyrano, I...I didn't know how bad off you were."

"It is not your choice to make, Jeff," Kyrano wheezed as he pulled himself away from Penelope and collapsed on the floor next to the sultan's body. "Bring the body of my half-brother to me," he said, closing his eyes and placing his left hand on the sultan's chest.

Virgil moved to lift Gaat's body, depositing it on the floor next to Kyrano. He backed away as Kyrano's right hand touched the Hood's chest. Kyrano cried out as the sultan's body visibly arched off the floor. The room's occupants watched in shock and amazement as Kyrano's left arm vibrated uncontrollably. It moved up into his head and torso until he looked as though he was having a violent seizure, yet his hands didn't move from the two chests. The transfer progressed into his right arm and soon he was flailing like a fish out of water.

Jeff's muscles tensed as his best friend continued to cry out and groan in what appeared to be severe pain. "Kyrano..." he breathed. He'd promised to find the man, and bring him home. But not for this. Not to die. "No." He couldn't lose him after having only just found him. He just couldn't. "Kyrano!" he cried out, lunging forward onto his knees behind him.

He placed his hands on Kyrano's shoulders, gripping them as tightly as he could, arms shaking as he continued to convulse. But his hands kept slipping away, unable to keep their grip on the constantly moving man. Jeff bent low and wrapped his arms around Kyrano's torso. He buried his head in the back of Kyrano's neck, willing him to complete the task quickly, to be all right. Willing him to live through this nightmare.

Scott saw his father's body sag into Kyrano's, his head and body beginning to thrash in time with his friend's. "There's got to be something we can do!"

"Can we help?" Virgil asked, standing at his brother's side.

"I don't know!" Scott anguished as their father continued to seize.

"Help...!" Jeff barked, his voice rough and faded. "Scott!"

As Jeff's eyes rolled back in his head, Scott fell to his knees behind his father and wrapped his arms around him. Virgil fell in line, followed by John and Gordon. Ben looked up as a figure appeared in the doorway from the hall. It was Alan, who was watching his father and brothers in disbelief. Without a word he positioned himself behind Gordon and held tight.

Penelope looked across the room as a myriad of emotions played across Ben's face. One by one the Tracys began to lose consciousness. Jeff, then Scott, then Virgil, then John. "Help them," she said, startling Ben. "Please, you must."

Ben nodded and ran over to sit behind Alan. He grabbed his little brother in a bear hug and held on for dear life as the entire line of men shook and groaned together.

"My God, Brains," Penelope breathed, grabbing his hand tightly. "My God."

Tin-Tin blinked slowly awake, eyes taking a moment to adjust to the bright lights of the sick ward. She looked around and found herself alone except for Parker, who was apparently asleep on a bed near the front wall. Slowly she sat up, noting the IV, the blood transfusion device nearby and the queasiness in her stomach. "Hello?" she called out. When she received no response, she tried again. "Hello? Brains?" Gritting her teeth, she pulled the IV needle from her arm and hopped off the bed, holding her hand over where it had been. She went to the linen closet, grabbed a small green surgical sheet and wrapped it around the wound, tying it tightly in place.

She turned off the IV and checked Parker's life signs on the monitor above the bed. He seemed to be fine, and so she moved to the sick ward door. Noting it was not only closed and locked but sealed off by the second protective door outside, she wondered what on earth was happening. How had she even gotten there? And where was everyone? Taking a deep breath and tying a thin white robe around her body, she keyed in the access code and left the ward, moving cautiously out into the hall. Then she stopped. "What if they're in trouble?" she wondered aloud.

Quickly she moved back into the ward to the weapons locker and opened it, palming a laser pistol and shoving two new clips into the bathrobe's pockets. Feeling much more prepared, she moved into the hall again and down toward the elevator. She stumbled once, but forced herself to continue walking until she reached it and pressed the call button. It seemed to take an eternity to arrive, but when it did she entered and keyed in the code that would take her to the main floor.

At last the doors swished open. She was greeted with the sounds of yelling, groaning and general confusion and mayhem as she stepped into the Lounge. Tin-Tin couldn't believe what her eyes were seeing.

Lying on the floor were two Kyrano's...two!...along with Jeff, Scott, Virgil, John and... "Oh, my God!" she cried.

Penelope whirled around. "Tin-Tin! You shouldn't be out of bed!"

"What's happening? Why is my uncle here? Why? What has happened to my father?" She moved toward the two Kyranos. "Which one is my father?"

Brains was working with Ben to move the unconscious Tracys away from Gaat as the latter began to moan and move around.

"Tin-Tin, please, you aren't well." With that, Penny took up position next to the Hood, now back in his rightful body, her gun pointed directly at his chest. He was now clad in the binds that had only moments before been on the sultan. Ben had seen to that. But Penny wasn't taking any chances.

"Please, someone, tell me...who is that?"

Ben looked up as he and John finished putting Jeff on the settee. "You must be Tin-Tin."

"Who are you? You look...familiar somehow."

"I'm Ben. I'm..." He looked down at the unconscious man before him. "I'm John's twin."

Tin-Tin's head began to spin. "Father!" she cried, unwilling to try and understand Ben's words. She knelt between the two men who looked almost exactly alike except for one being much more gaunt than the other. She placed her hands on either side of the gaunt one's face. "Oh, Father," she said, her voice trembling as the laser pistol dropped from her hand onto the floor next to him.

"Everyone seems to be okay," Ben said as he and Brains settled Scott into the couch. "Vitals are good."

Brains was checking Virgil's pulse when a shriek made him and everyone else jump. "Father!" Brains and Penelope knelt next to their Kyrano. "He's stopped breathing! No!"

Within seconds she'd begun puffing air into his mouth as Brains pumped his chest. Over and over again, but to no avail. He just wouldn't breathe. Tears flowed from her eyes as she held his chin tilted and tried so desperately to breathe life back into the man she loved so much.

Brains looked up at Penny even as he continued the chest compressions and shook his head no. At that moment, Penny's eyes went wide and before his eyes, she flew backwards, seemingly of her own volition, sailing across the Lounge and slamming into a coffee table. Brains and Tin-Tin gasped as they saw what had really happened. For the Hood was sitting upright, his eyes squinting at them, a look of pure hatred upon his face.

"You will not beat me so quickly," he ground out.

"Jesus," Ben breathed as he laid John down on top of an oriental rug near the geisha statue. For Belah's muscles strained, and the metal binds around his torso and arms, as well as those around his ankles, groaned, cracked and then broke, sending bits of metal flying in all directions.

His eyes darted down to the pistol Tin-Tin had dropped, which Brains was partially sitting on. Tin-Tin saw his eyes move and a split-second later, grabbed the gun just as he lunged for it. She rose to her feet as Brains scrambled out of the way, stopping near the settee. Belah, too, rose to his feet and stared his niece down.

"You are no match for me, little girl. You are a sultana in name only. Your father is dead, and soon there will be no more Kyranos on this earth."

"You bastard," she whispered. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she took aim at his chest. All she could think is that her father was dead. "You won't win. Not this time."

"How can I lose? If you kill me, I will merely inhabit one of the men in this room, niece. Surely you know that much. Or did my brother not educate you in the ways of mysticism?"

She watched in horror as he reached down and grabbed her father's lifeless body by the neck, squeezing it as he used that one point to lift him into the air. "At last my brother is dead," he grinned nastily, his eyes never leaving Tin-Tin. "And now, his daughter."

Belah made as if to throw Kyrano's body at her, but his eyes widened in surprise and his hand released the elder man, whose body fell to the floor like a ragdoll. He sank to his knees, shifting slightly sideways, and Tin-Tin saw what appeared to be a jackknife sticking out of the back of his neck. She looked up to find Ben standing behind him, small traces of fresh blood on his still-raised hand.

Finally Belah got hold of the knife and yanked it from his neck. Blood spurted out, covering Ben's legs as Penny groaned in pain from across the room. The Hood began whispering in Malay, and Tin-Tin recognized the meaning of the words.

"Oh, no, you don't," she said. "You won't be taking any more of us. Not ever again."

And with those words, she fired.