ALPHA CENTAURI FOUR, 2011Penny Robinson heard Saavik's mumbled words rather clearly.
"What's she going, 'Ooh-Ick' about?"
Peter Kirk now regretted sharing his thoughts with his wife and bondmate. Scanning the minds of Will and Penny Robinson as a precaution, he had found two good, decent people about their own age. But the siblings shared a dark secret.
"Sorry, Penny. My wife comes from a very staid, proper culture. Our trip upset her stomach, and she knows it amuses me to hear her say such things."
Saavik nodded.
"Yes, it had nothing to do with anything else. Especially not you and your brover--er, brother."
Penny felt a bit suspicious, but chose to let it go, and joined Will in getting some refreshments.
Saavik turned to Peter.
"I am sorry. It just took me by--"
Peter spoke mentally.
"Thoughts only. Shields up, to keep Walter from overhearing."
"Done. Peter, again I apologize. But what they're doing is unnatural. I cannot change how I feel."
"Saavikkam---to whom are you married?"
"That--is different. We are not blood."
"By Vulcan Law, it is no different. I was born of then later adopted by Jim, my legal father's brother. Since you have no other house, he adopted you, as well. And don't tell me we haven't played together, argued and teased each other like siblings. There are nights you came into my room to suck me, and there are nights you came in to play with my train set."
"I like trains. They represent other destinations. Once, in my life, that was all I had. Before Uncle Jim. Before Father Sarek and Mother Amanda. Before you."
"I know, Saavik. I know. I had nothing til I met you. I didn't even have a childhood. Running up the sand dunes of The Forge til our faces broiled off told me I had so much more than just a girlfriend. I had a sister. Now, sister--view this."
He opened his mind, and Saavik felt a love so pure, and so sweet, that it rivaled their bond.
"Oh, Peter. Is that Will and Penny's love for one another? I would have thought it pathetic, one-sided and grasping. But it so
sustains them both.""Darling, the reason most people think of their kind of relationship as a sinkhole is what usually prompts it--abuse. I won't stand here and tell you that I'm any less thrown off by it than you. But against that level of caring, each about the other on so many levels---I won't condemn them. Any prayers I offer up for them will be that they can part ways but keep that love when their isolation ends--if it ends."
Her thoughts went silent.
"All the jokes, we have made, about incest....husband, they now disgust me."
"Why? Keep them in mind, for God's sake. Gallows humor is kept alive for just such an emergency."
In the kitchen area, Penny felt eyes on the back of her neck.
"I say we plead with this Saavik. If she'll just agree--"
Will shook his head.
"No--she's married."
Penny turned and glared at him.
"And I'm your sister. But that hasn't stopped you from grabbing, sucking, and screwing every square inch of me."
He put his head down, and she caught herself, albeit too late.
"Will, I'm sorry. Its just--God--sometimes its easier to deal with, if, if---"
He finished for her.
"If you pretend that this all was forced on you? Surprise, Penny---I do it too. I say I'm doing it for your health, or because you're lonely--or somehow you're extorting it from me."
She held her finger under his chin.
"But I'm not. Neither of us is. Sometimes, I almost wish you were raping me."
"WHAT?!!"
"BECAUSE--if you were, you could be sent away, to get help, and maybe come back my little brother. But the problem is--destiny was waiting in the bedroom over."
He smiled.
"Destiny was waiting in the bedroom over? Penny, that line was a crime worse than what we're doing."
They laughed, as they sometimes found they were still able to do, and he nodded.
"I'll ask her. But that means we have to tell them why its so important. Also--just how deeply into Star Trek are they? Peter Kirk, Saavik and Wesley Crusher?"
Penny shrugged.
"Well, just be sure and ask them what the safe's combination is."
They walked away, each thinking hard about being with the other--and hating themselves for loving it.
Minus the Robinsons' hidden relationship, Wesley Crusher and Walter O'Reilly were filled in on their situation. Walter had always been restrained in the use of his own telepathy, and so did not then find out about their hosts. The two former wunderkinds talked out their differences.
"Look, Wes--I'm sorry I went and jumped on ya, like I did. But after that last time, what with the war tween Gallifrey and Bajor an' everything, I got antsy."
Crusher shrugged.
"Walter--would you believe me if I said it wasn't even you I was reacting to? You see, my life officially stinks. One minute, I can do no wrong. Then, I commit a major error in judgement. A good man dies. I fell like I should have. But then, I find out that not only am I not starting over at square one, nobody wants me to start over at all. 'You screwed up, you have it coming' began to ring in my ears. But I did have it coming, so I took it. From everyone. Real friends, and fairweather. Instructors, enemies, and people who just live to move in on wounded prey. But you know what? It never subsided. I represented something wrong to them. When I finally quit, it had as much to do with that as The Traveller. I'll fight. Captain Picard taught me how. So did all of them. But mountains that grow higher as I climb? I'll accept that from life. But not from The Academy. Not from a bunch of people who were devising new Holodeck Ambush Simulations while I was fighting The goddamned Borg!"
Walter nodded.
"To most of the military folk, I was like this bug. Not to the 4077th folk. Even Majors Burns and Winchester were decent, compared to most of them. Cause they's always look at me this way, and I didn't need no telepathy to know what they was thinking. If he ain't carrying a weapon, what good is he? A Clerk-Boy, like you said. Ya know, I can take being overtaxed, overburdened, overwrought, overcooked, overeasy, over a barrel, over there, over and out, over the river and through the woods--but I won't ever again take being overlooked. Cause now---"
From his dufflebag, Walter withdrew his Knight's Sword, once the property of Sir Bedivere Of The Round Table--aka Lt. Colonel Henry Blake.
"Cause now I got a weapon, and it don't run outta ammo."
Wesley nodded.
"Neither does mine. My time-power, I mean."
Walter quipped.
"No. But it sure goes way off the track. Mebbe ya need more practice with the kiddie time machine."
With that, Wes froze the Iowan Immortal, and poured water over his head.
"Oh, I think I do alright."
With a rapproachment between these two put off til later, the six had dinner. Afterwords, Penny and Will built a campfire outside. She decided to try and make the request that would expose her secret.
"Look, why don't we each tell a story, about our lives. Theme--the worst moment. Not the worst thing that ever happened, mind you---but that time when you felt your absolute worst, even if something good was mixed in, too."
Walter raised his hand.
"I'll take that first, Penny. Cause that one's easy, for me. Well, at least its easy to pick out. It wasn't easy to go through."
---------------------------------------------
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, 1995
Walter emerged, chips in hand. Sidney Freedman nodded.
"Maybe you should still call yourself Radar. You sure zeroed in on luck this...."
Then, they both felt it. Powerful. Distinctive. The presence of another Immortal.
"Hey, Sid? Is Xavier St. Cloud anybody important?"
Freedman's eyes went wide.
"Walter--we're both dead men. Very dead."
2/6 (The Infinite Paths)
Walter responded to Sidney Freedman's anxious words.
"How come it is we're so dead? Is St. Cloud that good?"
The just-over 2000-year old Immortal looked at his protege' and nodded.
"In a word, Yes. Plus--there are rumors, that on that rare occasion when he's outclassed, he's willing to cheat."
Walter shook his head.
"There is no cheating. Anything's allowed, cept' double-teaming, and Holy Ground. And there are guys who'll cross those lines, too."
"Yes, Walter. I know. But most of us, even most of the worst of our kind, adhere to one-on-one, sword-against-sword, and nothing else. Xavier St. Cloud respects Holy Ground only because its useful to him. He doesn't trust anyone else, so teaming is out. Now, I have to fulfill a promise I made to Henry Blake."
"You mean a promise where you promised to get St. Cloud?"
Sidney cleared his thoughts, and then ran Walter straight through the heart.
"No. A promise to always keep you safe."
As Walter gasped, and as blood filled his lungs, Sidney dumped him in the trunk of his Mercedes. For good measure, he poured radiator fluid on Walter's wound, before closing the trunk.
"Sid--why?!"
"Consider it pro-active psychology, Radar. It's lot easier for a psychiatrist like me to analyze you--if your head's still attached."
Sidney closed the trunk with one more ominous word.
"Abysinnia!"
--------------------------------
ALPHA CENTAURI FOUR, 2011Walter was a man who seemed beyond tears, but small ones still ran down his cheek.
"I--lost people before. When yer an Immortal, you accept that, no matter who yer friends are--they ain't always gonna be there. Its not that Sidney was even the one I was closest to, from the days of the 4077th."
Will Robinson nodded, finding that the grief of another helped to drive thoughts of Penny from his mind.
"But he was your first teacher, right?"
Walter shook his head.
"Nope. Hawkeye was. Sidney wasn't my first teacher, and even he'd a probably admit that he wasn't a very good one. No, it wasn't who he was to me, that made me feel so rotten about finding him like that. Its who he was--in relation to The Game. Sid wasn't a player. Neither was I, til after I found his body. I ran to Japan, cause The Hunters were after me, too, and cause Goji----an old friend was dying. I couldn't make myself believe that anybody would want us dead, just because. Nowadays, when people talk about profiling, I hear it a little differently than I did before. Until that time--I never fully got it through my thick head—why it is we keep the secret. If people knew that you looked normal but you weren't, they'd have the firewood ready at the center of town, lickety-split."
Penny liked Walter, but inwardly was angry with him for so closely stating what she and Will felt about their physical relationship. Yet they, like Walter, had never been offered any choice in what had happened.
Suddenly, she felt Will's hands upon her breasts. She was going to yell at him to stop, when she realized this was a daydream, not a reality. She honestly no longer knew which was worse, the loneliness, its solution, or the fact that she felt so little guilt about it, most times.
"Well, then. Wesley, why don't you go next."
As Crusher began, Will began to realize the full meaning of alternate universes. These people who were named after Star Trek characters—were exactly who they claimed to be. If they were real--then most anyone might be.
"Well, I had just spent two relative years learning all I could from The Traveller. Surprisingly, it was more a way of looking at things than hocus-pocus or obscure laws of physics. You didn't need to do—you simply needed to see. Once you can see, its simply a matter of walking from here to there."
Peter Kirk nodded.
"The Enemy is not out there. The Enemy is a lack of Clear Vision. A lack of hearing what is spoken, a lack of knowing what you already know, and of not placing the pieces in the proper place, which is not always together."
Wesley looked at his new friend, somewhat annoyed.
"Pete--I'd appreciate it if you didn't go scanning my thoughts like that."
Penny and Will began to look worried, so Peter responded quickly.
"Wes--I didn't. Sarek taught me never to intrude, unless my life was in danger. My own teacher taught me the words I just said. And I wouldn't be a bit surprised if she was the one who taught them to your Traveller. Her aspect--is quite a bit on the omniversal side."
The Robinsons only calmed down a little, now knowing that at least one of their guests was a mind-reader. Crusher continued.
"Well, be that as it may, my learning was done. My abilities placed me on a space station orbiting over Bajor, called Deep Space Nine...."
--------------------------------------
DEEP SPACE NINE, 2372The would-be reporter was nothing if not persistent.
"C'mon, Wes! This isn't just an important story for posterity. I want to hear the impressions of someone who was aboard the Bridge of the first non-participatory ship to see Wolf 359."
Crusher was annoyed, but was actually grateful as well. At least he wasn't being asked about the Kolvoord Starburst Maneuver--again.
"Jake--it was bad. Really bad. We all felt like bugs. Listen, if I promise to give you more, as soon as I've checked my transmail-account, will that be enough?"
Jake Sisko acquiesced.
"Yeah, sorry. Its just that my whole life changed there, and hearing others talk about it, well, it helps."
Wes got a flash of intuition.
"You don't blame--Captain Picard, do you?"
Jake closed his eyes.
"Once upon a time. But not now. Especially since----"
Miles O'Brien walked up.
"Jake--your father wants you. The PA is down, so he asked that I tell you."
"Thanks, Chief. I'm holding you to that promise, Wes."
The younger man walked off, and when he was out of earshot, Miles winked at his old shipmate.
"You owe me, Crusher. Getting Jake away from a story is like breaking up a Klingon bar-fight."
"Thanks, Miles. Speaking of Klingons, how's Worf doing?"
"Last I heard from him, as well as any of us. Word is, Ro Laren may get a pardon soon. That would be good news, for a change."
Wes shook his head.
"They caught Laren? No way, she's too clever."
"Mmm. Clever she may be, but loyal as well. She turned herself in to be there, Wes. We all only wished you could have been there. Your mother is still in shock, still screaming accusations at Captain Kirk."
Wes almost spit out his drink.
"Captain--who?"
O'Brien eyed Crusher warily.
"Captain James T. Kirk. Captain Of The Enterprise-E. He emerged from that temporal Nexus with Captain Picard. That Nexus swallowed him after the launch of The Enterprise-B. You're in the right reality, Wes. But things have changed."
Wes calmed himself.
"Apparently. Miles--why did Captain Picard retire? Why isn't he commanding this new Enterprise, and for that matter, what happened to the old one?"
Miles saw Keiko, and gestured for her to join them. He would need his loving wife's support.
"Wesley?! Oh, this is so great. Miles, when did he..."
"Darling--Wes has been completely out of touch---for just over two years."
The teacher quickly recognized what this meant, and sat down, as Miles gave Crusher the news.
"Wes--The Enterprise-D crashed on Veridian 3, as a result of a grandiose scheme by one of Guinan's people. The casualties on the ship were light, thankfully. At one point, Captain Picard entered the temporal Nexus and retrieved Captain Kirk, to get his help. They were victorious, and this evil character was stopped. But only one Captain returned."
Numb, Crusher grasped at straws.
"So--he's still in The Nexus?"
With Keiko squeezing his hand, Miles said words that he could never bring himself to believe, or cared to hear.
"Wesley--Captain Jean-Luc Picard is dead."
Anger consumed the young Traveller. He stood up. He felt the time-stream around him, and aimed for Veridian 3.
"Not for long, he's not."
----------------------------------------
2011Wes looked around.
"That's how this whole mess started. In that moment, I sank to my very lowest. I didn't care about my mother, my friends, or anything else. All I could do was curse God and Fate. I asked a simple question of them both : How dare they take away from me the man who was like my own father?"
Walter O'Reilly responded, in a gentler tone than he had shown before. He knew Crusher's pain.
"Things are like that, sometimes. Ya know?"
As the talk broke up for the evening, Peter and Saavik took one of the upper deck quarters, while Walter and Wesley took the other two.
Downstairs, Penny locked the two accessways. Will looked at her.
"Are you sure?"
Above them were the sounds of The Kirks furious coupling.
"I am not going to be alone while yet another married couple humps in comfort above us. We may be a couple of monsters--but we're going to be happy ones."
He nodded.
"I'm going crazy, Penny. I can't stop thinking about you. I want to, but I can't."
She sat on the bed that they reserved for those times when they gave in.
"Tomorrow, we ask them. Tonight--make love to me."
And so he did. They touched, and grabbed, and went into every position they could imagine. And when they were kissing, face to face, the only horror they felt was that they felt no horror--and that it would have to end.
Above them, Peter and Saavik laid back, after what she called sehlat-style.
"Peter? Do you think they're..."
"They are."
This time, Peter did not attempt to fight his feelings of revulsion, despite the love he sensed between the two family members. Saavik took comfort in this, that she was not alone, either in her bed, or in her thoughts.
---------------------------------------
Note : There is an incident described here that is frankly disgusting, and I'm sorry I ever wrote it, back in 'Blessed Union'. But I did, and now one of the characters must deal with it.Extra Note : In Chapter Four Of 'The Infinite Paths', Will and Penny find out that they were both adopted, and are not siblings by blood. Normally, I try to avoid spoilers, but in my usual landmine-like manner, I seem to have crossed the line with this relationship. While still psychologically squicky, at least it no longer crosses the blood-line.
--------------------------------------------
Wesley walked into the Kirks' quarters, just to talk. This proved to be a mistake."Hey, guys, do you think anything weird is going on with Penny and her...oh, brother!"
Peter was lying down, while Saavik was sitting up, on top of him. They were definitely husband and wife. Crusher could even see the bulge inside Saavik's vagina. Her breasts were pert and a decent smallish size. Her ass was a pear-shaped miracle. Her long hair was undone. Peter's manhood seemed to go on forever. This had happened at the Academy--but Wes had never seen two so into it. He was stunned. Then, he was sitting in the common area, aware of what he had seen, but remembering no details. Wes realized he had been teleported and robbed of memory quite casually. The two then teleported into the common area with him. Saavik looked over at him.
"Wesley--knocking first is a good idea."
Peter's eyes were still glowing.
"A--very--good idea."
Crusher shook his head.
"I may not remember what your butt looks like, Saavik--but right now I'm staring at two asses, anyway. What the hell gives you the right to enter my thoughts and erase them?"
Peter looked sheepish, and suddenly Wes's thoughts returned to him. Saavik smiled at his body's reaction.
"You have brought a good point to our attention, Wesley."
Peter nodded.
"Friends are hard to come by. We've been under assault much of our lives, Wes. It makes us a certain way. Since I took away a bit of your dignity, here's some of mine in return. I'd prefer the others not know of this."
Wes saw, then. If his marriage to Saavik was the defining light moment of his life, then Peter's defining dark moment came when he was only twelve years old. Crusher nearly lost his air.
"My God---there has to be over 30 of them---Admirals? Oh, No--NO! They're jamming it up your behind, Pete---so much blood---three hundred times? No--stop--there's no reason to hurt him!"
Peter broke the link, and Wesley slowly walked mentally away from the night of Peter Kirk's brutal rape at Admiralty Hall. Crusher went to embrace his friend, finally understanding why he and his wife were so paranoid--they weren't. There really were people out to get them. But Peter pulled away.
"What? I wasn't going to...?"
"Wes, I'm a high-grade esper. Physical contact with anyone other than my wife causes too deep a connection."
Crusher, not being a hugger himself, accepted this, but wondered if Kirk's squeamishness had its roots not in telepathy---but in that horrible night.
Walter O'Reilly found that the below-deck accessways were locked. Life as an Immortal caused him to always worry about his friends, even his very newest ones. So he scanned Will and Penny, to see if they were alright. What he saw disturbed him in its own way beyond anything he had seen in The Korean War or The Immortal Game.
"Oh, God. They seemed like such good, normal kids. And I can feel that they for real love each other like they're sposed ta. But that ain't how ya go about it, guys."
Will was on his knees. Penny was on all fours. Walter knew that they used this position to avoid pregnancy. She was grateful beyond words at her brother's attention. And she hated his guts for not stopping. He was so thankful that his sister let him do this. And he hated her for not saying no, like she was supposed to.
Walter did not feel too bad as he ran to the bathroom, and threw up. He reasoned that probably even Hawkeye would lose his lunch, right about then.
"God--people ain't ever sposed ta be that lonely. Those kids--didn't have no choice--couldn't ya have given em' one?"
God, as Peter Kirk could attest, rarely answered such questions directly.
------------------------------------------
That night, the campfire was rebuilt, and the storytelling began anew. Penny gestured at Saavik, who was thankful Penny chose to sit next to Wesley, and not her brother Will.
"Well, I think The Kirks are next in line, and it was always we ladies who went first, where I came from."
Saavik briefly wondered if incest was the norm in this universe, but Penny's and Will's awesome guilt belied such a notion.
"Very well, Penny. My name is Saavik Brianna Kirk, daughter of James Kirk, wife of Peter Kirk. I am named for a Vulcanoid word which means 'The Rock', and for our grandmother, Brianna, though I hope to never emulate how she treated my Peter."
For a moment, confusion reigned, and Walter chose to voice it.
"Hold on, there, now. Pete is Jim's son, and you're his daughter, but yer husband and wife, only ya don't look much alike..."
Wes held up a hand.
"Walter, Captain Kirk adopted Saavik where they come from. Its not like they're related by blood."
Penny worriedly nodded.
"Yeah, not--by blood."
Will tried to smile.
"You guys--you had us worried, for a moment."
All joined in the mild laughter that was only genuine on Wesley's part. Saavik continued.
"We two are charged with the destruction of The Ancient Destroyer, King Ghidorah. We Are The Rock Of Prophecy. Whole galaxies are rent by those mighty fangs--but upon The Rock, shall those mighty teeth break, and Ghidorah be made mortal. Mortal, It may be slain."
The others winced a bit at the recitation, except of course for Peter. Saavik began her story.
"My bonding with Peter was wild and wondrous. But for one being of primeval dignity on Vulcan, it had unintended and sickening consequences........"
-----------------------------------------------
VULCAN, 2283Sarek sat the children of his heart down. His question was a startling one. His look was stern, and even frightening
"Did you, in the course of your Plak Tow, somehow produce many tens of gallons of semen, all at one time?"
Peter felt his stomach turn, at the barely-remembered incident.
"Yes, Father. In order to show Saavik that her chest-size meant nothing to me, I used my psycho-kinesis to increase her breasts to ridiculous proportions."
Saavik plainly felt ill, to be speaking of this with Sarek.
"I, Father, upon learning of my own abilities, caused Peter's member and balls to expand commensurately, as well. As we touched our voluminous parts, we realized that a veritable explosion was building within Peter's--parts. We aimed that massive residue out the patio door, and into the desert."
They both started giggling a bit, about the absurd obscenity they had made, until Sarek slammed down his hand, nearly livid with true rage. The disease that was sapping his emotional control was never more in evidence.
"Do you think that your stupidity is amusing?! I have never been more disappointed in the two of you in all the years you have spent here. I have given you a home, and the freedom to couple within that home, for I love you both. But for you to act to rob my grandmother of her dignity? She who is all of Vulcan? I know how you feel about her, but there is NO excuse for what you have done. NONE at all."
Peter shook his head, in disbelief.
"That gob of---semen? It traveled all the way to Gol? Why didn't it break apart, or dissipate?"
Sarek's temper suddenly flared out, at Peter's logical question.
"You--are correct. It is merely liquid. The trajectory—the distance--the heat. None of it makes any sense. Even the height of T'Pau's perch upon Gol would work against it ever reaching her."
Saavik began to hyperventilate. Her new husband helped her to calm down. But she was now crying.
"Saavikkam?"
"Peter, Father---it was me! In my mind, I directed the---gob—towards Lady T'Pau. I meant only to frighten her with its approach. I did not realize that I lost control of it. I was drunk with my newfound power of psycho-kinesis."
Peter held her.
"Father, its both our faults. Tell Lady T'Pau that we are sincerely sorry. Despite our differences with her, we never meant to do such a disgusting thing, to one of such grace and strength."
Sarek walked out, the massive disappointment still in his eyes.
"I suppose--that you think that helps matters. Very well. I shall tell T'Pau that you were both insane. She will easily believe that."
Saavik was still crying.
"There are times, Peter-Kam, that I have despised her for the contempt she has shown me. I dwell in her grandson's house, but have never enjoyed her protection from my tormentors. But still she is T'Pau. Head Of House Surak. Perhaps--I have been deserving of that contempt, all along."
He would offer words of comfort to her later on. Right now, she felt unworthy of continued life, and he would hold her tightly until that changed.
--------------------------------------
2011Penny felt ill. So did everyone else.
"You covered her in---ohhh, gross!"
Saavik nodded.
"Indeed. Rather than confront her to her face, I pulled what amounts to an infantile prank, to seek redress. I am better than that. I have endured, and even done, worse things. But at no other time have I more clearly known--that I did a tangible and true wrong."
Since no one wanted to discuss this any further, Peter began his story.
"I once knew an absolutely vile member of The Admiralty named Norman Osborn. A thug and monster and bigot and manipulator second only to Cartwright, Bunson, and Morrow. It was he who oversaw my kidnapping. Well, imagine my surprise when, after we met Wes, I met his even more vile dimensional counterpart, calling himself The Green Goblin....."
---------------------------------------
A MARVELS-EARTH, NEW YORK CITY, BROOKLYN BRIDGE, 1973Osborn was giggling maniacally.
"Oh, Peter! We don't want poor, unconscious Gwen Stacy to fall, now do we?"
Peter Parker, in his guise as Spider-Man, nervously gauged the mad Green Goblin's intentions.
"C'mon, Gobbie! Its me you want! Its me you've always wanted. Put Gwen down."
The villain complied.
"You mean like this---HEYYY!!!"
Having observed enough, Peter Kirk raced up and teleported Gwen to complete safety at the police station.
"Osborn, you bug! You're even worse here than at The Hall!"
The Goblin turned to Spider-Man.
"Friend of yours, Peter?"
Spider-Man shook his head.
"No, but since the Torch is nowhere in sight, and he got Gwen away from you----I'm calling him for best chum ever!"
They shook hands, while the Goblin pulled back.
"Peter Kirk."
"Well, since Gobby has loose lips, and you just saved my lady---Peter Parker."
Bombs fell around them.
"Heads Up, Heroes! You may have saved Gwen Stacy--but today's the day you're going to die!"
Both Peters faced Osborn. Both Peters were heroes. But their intentions in this upcoming battle could not possibly have been more different.
---------------------------------------------------------
With unbelievable speed, Spider-Man dodged the glove-gauntlet barrage that Osborn, known as The Green Goblin, laid down.
"Impressive as always, Spider-Man, but you can't last forever. You'll tire, and when you do, I'll finish you and return for dear Gwen Stacy!"
A solid kick to the Goblin's jaw was just the first part of his arch-enemy's response.
"Goblin, there's no way my speed is as awesome as your ability to keep making arrogant speeches. Have you considered writing for politicians?"
"You'll pay for that, Parker. You and your interfering friend. Say, where is the other Petey?"
A question Spider-Man himself wondered upon, til Peter Kirk came flying towards them.
"Sorry, Spider-Man. I had to trace this frequency that the Goblin was giving off. Led to this genetic house of horrors. I destroyed it, of course."
At that, Osborn checked a small transmitter, and found no messages but static.
"You little fool! That cloning facility was my clear shot at Immortality! That was where Professor Warren kept my and Parker's DNA."
Spider-Man was taken aback.
"Professor Miles Warren was working for you?"
Peter Kirk nodded.
"Emphasis on the was."
Before Peter Parker could take in Kirk's words, the Goblin began aiming at the Brooklyn Bridge below.
"If my dreams are dust--then so are everyone ELSE'S!!!"
Spider-Man turned to his new ally.
"Peter--God, it's funny to call someone else that--I'll stop the barrage from hitting the cars, while you keep The Goblin busy. Think you can do that?"
Peter Kirk's eyes glowed.
"Count on it."
As the barrage fell, Spider-Man webbed up the Bridge, and protected the innocent. Because that is what Peter Parker always did.
His power fully charged, The Rock shouted out to gain Osborn's attention. And he prepared to do what Peter Kirk was born for : Kill The Monster.
"Osborn!! I sent you to Hell once, and I'll do it again."
The insane businessman merely smiled.
"No, you won't. Because you're a hero. That makes you weak."
Peter shook his head.
"I Don't Think So."
As the Goblin prepared to unleash an even deadlier barrage on the people below, Peter Kirk acted. As Peter Parker watched in utter horror from the Bridge below, the event that would benefit his life in ways he would never know but scar his soul forever took place.
"Noooo!!! Do you have any idea who I am? I'm Norman Osborn! I...Spider-Man! HELP MEEEEEEEEE!!!!!"
Parker tried to leap up, but was blocked by Kirk's psychokinesis, in full view of a Harry Osborn who would now not blame his best friend for what was about to occur.
"Goodbye, Goblin-King!"
The torrent of energy washed over Osborn, utterly disintegrating him. In this reality, no formula would revive him, and cloning would be something that Peter Parker would read about, not live through.
Triumphant, Peter Kirk landed on The Bridge next to Spider-Man.
"Well, I guess that takes care of..."
Barely holding back his full strength, Parker punched Kirk square in the jaw. It would have shattered, but for Kirk's own abilities. Rubbing it as he healed, Kirk looked at Parker warily.
"Are you insane? What is your problem, pal?"
Parker pointed up.
"You-you just murdered a man in cold blood--and you ask me if I'm insane? And what about Professor Warren?"
Kirk shrugged.
"What about him? He was a short-eyes, obsessed with your Gwen. You should be thanking me."
With that, an enraged Parker went wild, and Kirk never had a chance to use his powers. Somehow, Parker's 'spider-sense' blocked out Kirk's telepathy, as well. Blow after blow were putting Kirk as close as he had ever been to oblivion. Parker then dumped him on the ground, and walked away.
"I have to stop. If I finished you off--I'd be a killer, just like you. A monster."
Peter Kirk had just had the living crap beaten out of him by Peter Parker. As he faded out of that reality, the mighty Rock was no longer certain that he had done the right thing.
A tearful Harry Osborn saw the fade, and shook his head.
"He killed my father. Spider-Man, who was he?"
Spider-Man felt more enraged than ever, especially at himself, for not stopping Kirk in time, and for feeling that just maybe Osborn's complete destruction was not such a bad thing.
"He was a hero, Harry. But he allowed himself to forget that—With Great Power, There Must Always Come Great Responsibility."
As Spider-Man swung off to comfort Gwen, Harry looked at the energy-cloud that had marked his father's passing. The moral confusion continued.
"I'm glad you're dead, Dad."
-------------------------------------------
2011
Peter Kirk looked not at all proud.
"Besides ignoring the Prime Directive, I just operated on a set of presumptions that have guided me through my life. I was born to kill something. But I keep forgetting there are other ways. Until Parker laid into me, though, I've never felt like a monster."
Wesley shook his head.
"You should have just captured him, Pete. Then left well enough alone."
Penny agreed.
"Just because you have some kind of destiny in your world, that doesn't give you the right to play judge, jury, and executioner in the others."
Saavik objected to this.
"That is unfair. We two have been at war with evil, targeted nearly since birth. Granted, our actions are often a bit more emotional than either of us are comfortable with. But when you fight a war, you do not fight it to a draw."
Will put up his hands.
"Hold up! I've never bought that excuse from Don West, when he would talk about Kuwait, and I'm not buying it now. This happy bullshit that says, no uniform, no understanding. There's still right and there's still wrong."
Walter-Radar--threw in, on the Kirks side.
"When the scabbards are pulled off, guys--one person keeps their head, the other don't. From what I'm hearing, Pete got ridda somebody what needed it badly."
Peter spoke again.
"We're not going to solve this now. Penny, I think its your turn."
Everyone allowed their ruffled feathers to calm, and they each kept and rethought their positions a dozen times over.
Penny Robinson began her story, which would tell all--at least to the only one left unaware of her secret.
"One morning, I awoke, and someone was in my bed with me....."
-------------------------------------------
2010
She somehow knew that she hadn't spent the night alone. She knew this because she knew full well what a night alone felt like. She's spent an eternity of them, it seemed.
On the opposite side of the room were her night-clothes, and the clothes of another. She remembered them being thrown there, in reckless abandon.
She remembered kissing, and not caring whose lips they were, because there was someone kissing her. She remembered her vagina being full, and only caring that the drought was over. She had made love, and she felt alive--especially when she dimly remembered that she had been with someone she loved very, very much.
Penny dimly realized her companion was still lying behind her, dead asleep and smiling. She loved him even more for not letting her be alone that awful night. His hand was on her breast, and she giggled in delight that something that had taken so long had finally occurred. Even the feel of his manhood by her backside brought about loving, tender notions of a love that had always been, and now would never die.
Slowly, she turned. She knew her lover's face. How could she not? She had watched it grow from a baby's face to that of a very handsome man. In a mix equal parts horror and relief, she whispered his name, so as not to wake him up. The best and the worst was contained in that one name.
"Will."
------------------------------------------
5/6
Penny put her head back down and cried lightly into her pillow. There were both kinds of tears present, fighting for dominance.She was a scientist. Any scientist could tell what would happen if two young people, especially a male and female, were left alone for too long.
She was an older sister. That meant she protected her little brother from people who wanted to do to him--what she had just done.
She was a woman. A woman who had endured too many damned nights of grabbing a pillow and holding it, wishing and praying to God Almighty it were another human being.
She was a Christian. What had gone on in that bed was an abomination, plain and simple.
She was an older sister again, this time thinking of the lonely lost look that had become her little brother's face of late. She thought of how she would do literally anything to see him smile again.
She was a daughter. She had once been slapped lightly for mercilessly teasing her younger brother. She could only imagine the punishment for lying with him as a wife. She knew it was less likely her own father than The Heavenly Father she would have to answer to.
She was a daughter. She was angry beyond belief that her parents had placed her--had placed him--in this position. All older siblings at some point feel like a third parent to the younger ones. How many lines had their selfishness and stupidity forced her to cross?
She was a younger sister. She cursed the selfish Judy, unwilling to share her Don even once. Will would have waited, she reasoned, because he is strong. But thanks to Judy, they were both equally lonely. Thanks to Judy--or so she thought--they had been sent away.
She was a young woman, at one time impressed by a smooth-talking older man who tried to be good, but was too greedy to live. Zachary Smith, more than any other, had created this disaster. But for him, the mission would have gone as scheduled. She and Will would be surrounded by boyfriends and girlfriends galore, seeing each other only over dinner and not having to fight down thoughts of how attractive a person each had grown up into--because that was normal, and couldn't lead to anything.
She was giddy with ecstasy, and wracked with anguish. She was Penny Robinson, sister and lover of Will. Like a train wreck, she had seen the accident coming---but she had ignored all the signs. They both had. They were genius failures, as family, scientists, and Christians.
"Penny?"
Will was now awake. What would he do? Blame her? Blame himself? Run away? Expect sex all the time? Whatever their problems with their parents, they had given them at least two special gifts of impossible value. Life itself-and their sibling relationship. The relationship that they had, in a moment of weakness, literally fucked away.
"Yes, Will?"
"Did We--Did You and I-?"
"Yes. We did. We had sex."
He tried to look away, but she shook her head, and lifted her sheet.
"No. You look at me, Will Robinson. What happened, happened, and we can't take it back. I hate how it happened. But I could never hate who it happened with. It was beautiful--but now its done. Will, look at me! You've already seen me naked. We've been together, for pity's sake."
He still refused.
"I can't look at you. You're beautiful. You've always been beautiful. If I look at you--I'll want you again."
She was stunned.
"You mean--you've wanted me before this?"
He finally looked at her.
"Ever since we landed, and confirmed that this place wasn't some kind of alien trap. All of a sudden, the life and death stuff was over. Mom is Mom, Judy is with Don, who's like an older brother besides, and then there was you. My best friend. We needed each other, as time wore on. For those last six years on the ship, we told each other everything. Remember how we use to get Smith away from us by discussing masturbation?"
She laughed.
"The one sure way to send him upstairs. God, Will--this night was a dream and a nightmare come true for me, too. But now its over."
He nodded.
"Out of our systems for good."
Penny smiled.
"Promise to call me back?"
Will finally smiled.
"Nah. I will brag to my best friend, though. Penny, this chick had an ass--"
She pulled back, and he stopped.
"Oh, God, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I've ruined everything. Penny, I love you. Don't hate me, please."
She glazed over.
"Tell me more about my ass--and anything else that comes to mind."
She was a woman, laying back in her lover's arms as he extolled her
beauty.For the next week, the two barely left the bed.
----------------------------------------------
2011
Will did not take his turn, just then. All were stunned by the admission, but only non-telepathic Wesley was really shocked by it.
"Guys--I'm sorry. Nobody should have to go through what you have."
Penny nodded.
"Thank you, Wesley. Walter, are you all right?"
The Iowan Immortal looked ill.
"I'm fine. But you two--yer goin' straight to hell. No two ways about it. Ya went and ya crossed the line."
Will stood up.
"There's the door, pal! You don't speak to us that way in our own home! Now get out before I throw you out!"
Walter got up.
"You mean before you try to throw me out, you...you two...Oh, BOY!!!"
Wesley decided to follow.
"I know him...he's upset. I better go after him."
Will calmed a bit, and looked at Peter Kirk.
"Nothing to say, Pete?"
Peter said the only thing that came to mind.
"Do you two still love each other? Do you make each other happy?"
Penny and Will were taken aback by the question's simplicity. Each answered from the heart.
"Yes."
"Yes."
He nodded, and Saavik felt her bondmate enter an eerie zone, one in which he seemed to literally have all the answers.
"Kaidith. What is, is. Your love has a long ways to go, and this is one of the twists it took. But what happened came out of love, not abuse, or hate, or power. Love. You would not have been together had you both not loved the other and known they could be trusted."
Saavik nodded.
"Walter was wrong. Hell only awaits you if you continue this, for we must, like birds, move beyond the nest."
Saavik would later find out she was partially wrong, at least in this case. But for now, no one disputed her.
Penny asked the final question.
"Will you two help us? To be normal again, I mean?"
The Kirks nodded, choosing to restrain their telepathy in this one instance.
"Of course."
"Anything."
Will smiled.
"Okay--then I go with Saavik, and Penny goes with Pete."
The Kirks looked at each other, now wishing they had used their telepathy.
----------------------------------------
Walter O'Reilly sat, and brooded, and talked to himself.
"I'm a guy what cuts off other people's heads to survive, God. So I do I got any right judging Will and Penny? Methos, he'd probably go and talk about the kings and queens of Egypt. Duncan, he'd try and understand. Connor---well, I never know with him. Amanda, she'd try ta take both of em' to bed at once, prolly. The slut. Cassandra---well, Cassandra's nuts. But she's good people."
The man once known as Radar looked up.
"How come it is I'm 72 years old, and I'm still squicked out by sexual stuff pertaining to sex--and stuff?"
Walter then felt as well as saw a flash of light. He was back in The Seacouver Dojo, in his apartment, beneath Macleod's and Amanda's.
"Hey--whose that raiding my fridge?"
A friendly face topped by curly hair shrugged at Walter.
"Sorry, bro. But Mac never keeps his supplied with essentials, like peanut butter."
Walter knew the face in an instant. It was the face of a man whose head was no longer attached to his body. Because Duncan Macleod had killed him.
"Richie? Yer alive?"
Richie Ryan nodded, pointing his finger as he spread the peanut butter on his crackers.
"I get it. You're the other Walter--the one that comes from where Tessa and me bought the farm, right? What're you doing here?"
Walter shook his head.
"Its like 'Sliders', Rich--only I hope we don't get canceled. Listen, what would you do if you met this really nice brother and sister, and they was stuck in isolation, and they ended up in the sack together. How would you feel about them?"
Ryan nodded.
"Well after I got over being envious of them having a real family, I'd try and find out how it all started. Did he rape her?"
Walter shook his head.
"No way. He--wouldn't."
"Ho-kay. What is she, a little sex kitten? Wrapping brother around her little finger?"
"No. She's really sweet. They both keep worrying that they're hurting the other. They love each other---I think they might even be in love."
Richie winced.
"Deep doo-doo, to be certain. But it sounds like they've made the best of a really bad situation. I dunno, Walter. I hate judging people, after all I've seen and done. What they're doing isn't right--but neither is a family cut off from everyone else. My advice--get them some other companionship--and fast. Are you married to Tabitha Stephens in your zone?"
"Nah. To her cousin, Erin Hunnicutt."
Rich stood up, enraged.
"MY ERIN?!!!"
Radar gulped; Richie laughed.
"Face!"
Walter shook his head as he faded back into the reality he had been in before this.
"Yer just lucky Mac done ya in my zone, Rich. Otherwise--bang--zoom!"
"Yeah, right. Say, who are the siblings?"
"Penny and Will Robinson."
Now, Radar was gone, and Richie took in this new information.
"Ooh---ICK!!"
(Look for more of this AU in Chapter 10 of 'There Can Be Only Radar')
---------------------------------------
Wesley Crusher was trying to find Walter.
But in the same flash of light, he found himself aboard the Enterprise-E.
"Computer--Commanding Officer?"
"Captain Jean-Luc Picard."
"Chief Medical Officer?"
"Doctor Beverly Picard."
Wes shot off a quip, despite his grief over his reality's Jean-Luc Picard.
"About fucking time."
Using a private recorder he was certain he could take with him, Wes recorded some thoughts.
"Though not in his stridency, I certainly share in Walter's feelings about Will and Penny. Isolation is no excuse. Even my own feelings of isolation, both on the D and later at the Academy, would never have been allowed to place me in that position. Unlike Will, I was never lucky enough to have a sister. If I did, I would never let my private parts and my private pain put me in her bed. End of story."
The door to his quarters opened. Standing there was an absolutely stunning 14-year old girl. She was blonde, and had a perfection about her that would only increase with age.
"Wesley? Oh, you got off shift early! Was it to be with me?"
Her name was Marrissa. She was his lover. And she was his adopted sister. She was his world. By instinct, he got up and kissed her.
"Of course it was. I love you."
"Wes--I'm preg----"
----------------------------------------------
Back on Alpha Centauri Four, a Wesley who had never fallen head over heels for a dangerously young girl shook with fear and disgust.
In part, this was because he realized how easy it was to think of something so very wrong as the way of the world.
In part, it was because he missed her touch, her feel, and her smell.
"I'm not a freak--not a freak--a freak--freak......freak.."
Aboard a ship of over 1000 people, that other Wesley and his Marrissa did what they wanted to. Alone, Will and Penny had done what they had to.
Wes Crusher hated himself, just then. And he had no clear idea why. But he knew he hated being alone, and envied the couples in their little group.
(Writer's note : I promised the esteemed writers of 'M+M' a Marrissa cameo --though taken from an alt-Marrissa piece, I hope it kept within the lines, guys Derived From-- 'A Different Path' by Stephen Ratliff)
-----------------------------------------
Will Robinson thought he had made a request of Peter and Saavik Kirk.
Instead, he was inhabiting the remains of a Jupiter 2 he didn't recognize. He was holding a gun. He was older, and bitter.
"Where are you, Old Monster? I want to kill you!"
Something scurried past, but Will didn't fire at where he saw it. Rather, he fired around him, and heard a shriek.
"What's wrong, boy? Did you fancy the women for yoursel......"
Always rotten-souled, Doctor Smith had mutated at the bite of an alien arachnoid. Before he could continue his blather, Will kicked him into a time-space ripper.
"I warned you not to go near them, Old Monster!"
His mother was flayed meat. Judy was less than that. But the one he loved best was still alive.
"Penny?"
Her pretty face scarred and ripped, Penny looked up.
"Smith found out what we were doing, Will."
She pointed to her stomach, surging and twisting, as she writhed in agony.
"AND HERE ARE OUR CHILDREN OF SINNNNN!!!!!!"
As Will faded out, The Spiders began to leak out from his illegal beloved.
(A dark AU of LIS-The Movie)
------------------------------------------
USS ENTERPRISE-A, 2267
"Captain's Log--My nephew, Peter, having discovered the secret of time travel, has come back in time to Deneva 3, in a vain attempt to rescue his parents--my brother Sam and sister-in-law, Aurelan."
Spock spoke to his oldest friend.
"Jim, we have a complication."
"Another one?"
Spock pointed to the other Peter Kirk, now on their bridge. He nodded.
"Captain, I can rescue your nephew. I'm from---"
Captain Kirk cut him off.
"Just do it."
The native Peter Kirk's shuttle was headed for the Denevan sun. He would become the Denevan that the first Enterprise watched burn up in the sun, attempting to destroy the infection.
But not while he who was The Rock was on duty.
The shuttle burned up, as the timeline demanded. But Peter Samuel Kirk, nephew of James, was teleported back to The Enterprise-A by Peter Claudius Kirk, son of James. As McCoy sedated the infected Peter, Jim and Spock congratulated the odd visitor.
"You saved him. I don't pretend to know who you are, young man, but I thank you."
"Are you from a different quantum reality than....."
The other Peter surged up, insane.
"Noooo....I must be FREEEE!!!!!!"
He rushed into his counterpart as he faded out.
(An AU of the rather sucky fate of PK as presented in DC Comics, 1995)
------------------------------------------------
ALPHA CENTAURI FOUR, 2011
Penny ran out, her eye blackened.
"Penny, you come back here, YOU BITCH!"
She wondered when she got so weak. She wondered why her lover had become a drug addict. She wondered when she entered hell. Her lover had once been a good person--a sibling.
But now that love had turned abusive, and paranoid ego consumed them. It made them a monster that routinely demanded sex, and always got it--or else. Penny could do nothing right.
"Oh, go ahead, and freeze, you damned crybaby! You bring this on yourself, Penny! You are a lousy lay, a slovenly housekeeper, and an even worse sister!"
As Penny heard the hatch close, she peeked over and saw the snarling thing that had once been the beautiful Judy Robinson. She slept outside by the grave of her best friend.
"She's getting crazier, Will. But pretty soon, she'll go too far—and we'll be together again, darling. I should have killed her, before the fight. I just never thought she could beat you. Wasn't I a good enough prize? She's not like you, Will. She enjoys hurting me. There's no tenderness in her touch."
The most pathetic version of Penny Robinson ever conceived then laid down and died. Sickeningly, it took six weeks for Judy to bury her, before her usefulness was at an end.
(Whew! That's the darkest AU I've ever done--Rob)
------------------------------------------------
KAIDITH, B'STON, VULCAN
The dead lay around Saavbecka T'Howe.
"Stamm---I warned you about grabbing my behind."
"T'Carla--you were T'Carla. That is enough."
"Suclif--please note that I shot you in the mouth."
"Swudi--when someone tells you to duck, it is generally a good idea to duck."
Finally, one last patron walked in.
Saavbecka smiled, and aimed her gun at the door, calling the patron by name.
"Morn!!"
Morn shrugged.
"Thanks a lot, Saavbecka! I had 100 said that Suclif would be the one to lose it."
-----------------------------------------------
TRUE ALPHA CENTAURI FOUR, 2011Suddenly, the discussion was outside, as were all the travelers.
Walter looked around.
"Guys--I'm sorry for what I said. But you don't need ta mess with me like this."
Peter tried to get a reading, and could not.
"Walter, it isn't us. Saavikkam?"
She was in a daze.
"I forgot to shoot T'Dian!"
Wesley looked at The Robinsons.
"You two should be given a medal, for how long you held out, and how much you endured."
The confused siblings looked at one another. Will spoke first.
"If it had to be wrong--I'm glad it was with you."
Penny.
"We forget, Will. But never again. Up or down, platonic or--not--we're a team."
Two barely-human things landed in their midst.
"Never fear--Smith is here!"
"I MUST BE FREEEE!!!!"
The Spider-Smith Thing from Will's darkworld and a parasite-mutated Peter Kirk were joined in a sickening amalgam. The Rock was grateful that the other Peter looked not at all like him.
Wesley tried, but failed to freeze the obscenity in its temporal tracks. The Smith-part sneered, and Penny noted that it did not look like their Doctor Smith.
"My dear boy, we are constructed of many different temporal counterparts. Makes your task a mite difficult, don't you think? Hmmm?"
Saavik cleared The Robinsons and Wes away from the battle scene. Her eyes, and then the eyes of her husband and Walter, began to glow. The energy-buildup began.
Peter.
"Ka---"
Saavik.
"Me---"
Walter.
"Ha---"
The Spiders were infesting the parasites, and vice versa. The insane human psyches were merging. But that all ended in a local nova blast.
All three shouted out together.
"KA-ME-HA-ME-HA!!!!!!"
From Peter came waves of power. Saavik shout out deadly ribbons. Walter poured out blue-white lightning.
The Beast was destroyed.
Peter looked at his three stunned friends.
"You always hope there's another way, besides killing. But there's not always. Wes--take Walter inside, and close the ports--please?"
Walter O'Reilly was exhausted, and so Wesley Crusher did as he was asked.
Saavik sensed her bondmate's desire, and nodded in silent agreement. She looked at The Robinsons.
"We cannot be intimate with you. But we do wish to help you. To that end--we have a plan."
6b/6
Peter made the link."I'm attaching your minds to ours."
Penny felt it; So did Will. The incredible love between Saavik and her man. Love so deep and vast, the mere word bond was inadequate. The link broke, then they all sat down. Penny was close to tears.
"So--big. I felt like I was going to be erased!"
Will shook his head.
"Like swimming the Pacific without arms or legs. No wonder you're both so smug."
Will winced.
"Did I think that or say it out loud?"
Saavik shook her head.
"It does not matter. Now, we must all disrobe."
The Robinsons became excited.
"You'll do it with us, then? We two don't have to feel like freaks anymore?"
Peter was already down to his underwear.
"No, Penny. We still can't do that. But we will give you something that may sustain you."
At a nod from his older sister, Will decided to disrobe along with her. After all, that hardly mattered, now.
The four were now all naked. If anyone was resentful or otherwise about anyone else's body, they kept it quiet.
"Penny--you go with Peter. Will--you are with me."
Two pair of psychokinetic eyes glowed, and the two crossed couples took off in opposite directions. They levitated, and then began to fly.
Penny was almost ready to scream, but felt too giddy for words or yells. To actually fly--naked as she was born, was the single most intense positive experience she had ever been through. Except for that first night laying with a man she wasn't ever supposed to be with.
The wind whipped between all three of her lower extremities. It caused her breasts to bounce and float, and ripple. Her hair was like a cape.
She looked over at Peter, seeming like an angel in flight.
"What--are you?"
He looked playfully at her behind.
"A Butt man."
"That isn't what I meant. However--whose is better-shaped, mine or ----"
"Saavik's."
"Oh."
On the other side of the horizon, Will felt like he was with an elf-princess, exotic and mysterious. With his manhood pointing in the wind, it was like he was screwing the sky.
"Saavik---we may have a problem, here."
"Don't worry. My abilities will dissipate any--results---of your ecstasy, Will. Have fun, for I know I am. You are most fetching, in your way."
"Thanks--a lot. I mean it. By the way, whose is big----"
"Peter's."
"Oh."
As each couple sighted the other, the Kirks created a new link, telepathically. This one was between the Robinsons.
The two siblings each saw the others' mind, for the first time. Each came repeatedly as they saw something beyond the worries about the size and shape of body parts. It was love. Love of every kind, and on every level, and all of it was good.
"You will always be my first time, and my first real love."
"If we have to part, we will always have this time, and this place--together. Some never get those things, ever."
"I still wish things could have remained as they were. But because it was you, I was strong enough to survive the change. If it changes back--I will welcome it. If it never does--then I still have one I love."
"What we will tell those we love?"
"That it's their own fault. That they raised you so well, so wisely, and with such strength and beauty---I had no choice, left alone as we were, but to fall in love with you."
No one word was spoken. The thoughts were shared. One simple image came through at the end. Not of sex, or pain, or planets. But of 10-year old Penny walking on a beach's boardwalk somewhere, her 7-year old brother in tow, just enjoying the sunny day.
"We must try and get that back."
"And if we can't?"
"Then we are freaks, and people will say so. But some will do so out of envy."
Peter and Saavik redressed everyone as they landed. No more words were said. But all were smiling. No choices had been made, save the choice to make a choice.
Back at the Jupiter 2, Will talked with his sister.
"Will, No! I won't leave you alone."
"Penny--Wesley's willing. Go be with him. We have to try. We have to know that there are other possibilities--before we make our stand."
She half-smiled.
"I thought brothers were supposed to chase a girl's boyfriends off, not line them up for me."
Crusher, who had been feeling a bit lonely, was stunned inside his room as Penny undressed. Her clothes hid her true shape, ofttimes.
"Penny--you are gorgeous."
Something awoke inside her, to hear a man not her brother say that.
"I am, aren't I?"
----------------------------------------------------
JAPANIMEOPOLIS, SOME WEEKS LATER
The busty, well-rounded woman Will Robinson had just made rather wild love to nodded at the end of his story.
"So while you had a bull session with Peter, she and Wesley did it? Weren't you jealous?"
Will gave her enormous breasts another kiss, then shook his head.
"No. We didn't originally plan to accompany the others on this trip. One of us was going to have fun. I love her too much to condemn her for my sake."
"Y'know, Will--its funny. Back at Finishing School, there were some sis-bro couples, and some stepcestuous unions, too. All of them pathetic. But you two--specially since you found out bout the adoption--I think its gonna work."
"Thanks. So you say that in your world, I'm on a TV show?"
She nodded.
"Yeah. From 10 to 13, I always caught the reruns on Sky-Channel. You, Will, were a young girl's MAJOR fantasy. I just can't believe you're real, and not just an image on a screen."
"That is surreal. Are you sure about me and Penny?"
The young archeologist shrugged.
"I'm sure, or my name isn't Lara Croft!"
------------------------------------------
ABOUT A MONTH LATER...........
With Blake Pierce asleep, and the exhausted reality-travelers awaiting Will and Penny's parents for revelations, Wes remembered something.
"Hey, Will. You never told your story."
Peter seconded.
"Yeah. I'd like to hear that. But no more worst-feelings--I've had enough of that. To last me several lifetimes."
Saavik offered a suggestion.
"I would like to hear about some of the people you met on your long journey, while lost in space."
Walter, now.
"Yeah--but somethin inbetween. Before things got bad, but after the carrot-guy, and stuff."
Penny, now visibly pregnant with Will's child, knew they were in for a treat. Will was a great storyteller.
"Adopted or no, I'm still your older sister, Will Robinson. So you better do it or I'll spank you--or maybe I won't spank you."
Will thought for a moment, and decided to keep the story PG, in case little Blake woke up.
"We fell through this rift. Two guesses who was responsible.........."
-----------------------------------------------
JUPITER 2, 2002
"How dare you, Sir? I am not responsible for this Fiasco!"
Don West shook his head.
"Who, then, decided to borrow the nav-computers battery pack for his hair dryer?"
Smith was indignant. Being Smith, he could be little else.
"Major, until you place a civilized tongue in your head, I refuse to discuss this with you."
"I'd like to tear the civilized tongue---"
John Robinson intervened.
"Don--forget Smith. Just help me right our course."
"Duty calls, Major."
"How would you know?"
As the stowaway supreme went back to his quarters in a huff, John saw Judy darting from Don's quarters back to hers. John whispered to Major West.
"Don, the agreement was that she should always be back in her room by six-thirty."
West nodded.
"John--all I can say is I'm sorry. These lonely nights are eating our brains."
"I know that. But please think of Will and Penny. They have no one, and you and Judy only serve to remind them of that."
Unwilling to challenge John's concerns at this time, Don concentrated on readings and star-charts.
"I'm getting nothing, John. These stars don't look right. Will, get out here."
From his own quarters emerged 15-year old Will Robinson.
"Sorry to drag you away from the dishes, kid. But I need hide and hair
on where we are.""Hey, its Ok, Don. Me and Penny do the chores, late at night, now. Its quiet, and we get a chance to talk."
Despite the crisis, John smiled. He couldn't recall the last time his two younger children had argued over anything. It had taken him decades to reach the same point with his own brothers.
Will looked up.
"Well, I don't know these stars, either. But I am getting a reading. I think its another ship. Hey--they're hailing us."
Over the speaker came a woman's voice.
"Unidentified ship--please answer our hail, or we will be forced to take you in our tractor beam."
John took the chance, and grabbed the mike.
"This is The Earth SpaceCraft Jupiter 2. I am Doctor John Robinson, Commanding. To Whom am I speaking?"
The woman now sounded puzzled.
"Doctor--you're an awfully long way off from Earth. But then aren't we all?"
Her ship came into view, a long, slim vessel with two nacelles that seemed movable, and a oval-like hull.
"In any event, I am Captain Kathryn Janeway, of The Federation Starship USS Voyager......."
But that is a story for another day.
THE END---for now.