"Never Give A Short Red-Haired Scientist Too Much Free Time"

Disclaimer: The characters in this story are copywrite 
Pioneer/AIC

(Part 2/?)

As if on cue, Ayeka stormed into the room, the recent victim of 
one of Ryoko's practical jokes, this one involving a bucket of 
mud placed strategically over her bedroom door.

She looked like the victim of a mad cosmetologist.

"RYOKO!" She shouted at her tormentor.

The Draalthi toddler was so startled by her appearance and her 
shout,that he let out a whimper of fear and clung tightly to 
Ryoko, digging his fortunately short fingernails into her and 
trembling as he tried to bury his muzzle under her arm.


"Washu!" Ryoko shouted, leaping up with the child still clinging 
to her "Come back here and take this little brat with you!"


A small rock hit the back of Ryoko's head. She turned and 
glared, but there was no one there. She bent down, still holding 
the child, and picked up the note that was attached to the rock:

	'I think you can watch your baby brother for a few minutes.'

Ryoko tossed the note into a subspace void and was about to toss 
the child in after when Washu poked head out of nowhere.

"Don't even *think* it." Washu warned. "I can't believe you'd do 
that to your baby brother."

"He's not my brother!" Ryoko's words overlapped Washu's as she 
blurted them out. "Just because you remade him in your lab, 
doesn't make you his mother."

"Mamma!" The child called out, reaching for Washu.

"And don't *you* start." Ryoko scolded the child. She looked up 
at Washu. "Just out of curiosity, what made you decide to remake 
the little brat anyhow?"

Washu shrugged.

Kiyone walked in at that moment. She was soaked to the bone, 
despite the fact that it was a nice and sunny day. 

"Oh my!" Mihoshi gasped. "Kiyone?"

"I asked for the standard landing procedure." Kiyone muttered, 
turning to glare at Mihoshi. "For some reason the ship thinks 
that means crashing into the lake."

"Oh.. Um... Sorry, Kiyone." Mihoshi was sincere about this, 
but all the same, there was a humorous side to Kiyone's choice 
of words that gave her a severe case of the chuckles.

Kiyone managed to look cross for a few more seconds, then 
Mihoshi's chuckles became contageous and she joined in.

Kiyone was nearly rolling in the aisles when she spotted the 
newest member of the Masaki household out of the corner of her 
eye. She spun around and stared at him.

"What the...?!" She turned to Washu, "your doing, I assume?"

Washu nodded. "Cute isn't he?"

"He was one of our best operatives!" Kiyone exclaimed.

"Oh, so that's why he got killed." Ryoko remarked, 
sarcastically.

"Kain was just too much for him." Kiyone replied. "Besides, at 
least he died fighting. I'd like to go out in an act of bravery 
like that myself. But I suspect I'll probably be the victim of 
an accident."

"But most accidents happen in the home," Mihoshi tried to 
reassure her partner, "and you're almost never home because 
you're off on duty with me."

"That's very reassuring." Kiyone replied, sarcastically.

"Thank you." Mihoshi beamed.

"I can't believe you turned him into a baby." Kiyone told Washu.

"I didn't." Washu explained. "This is a genetic duplicate of 
him."

"A clone?"

Washu nodded.

"So, it's not really him?"

"Actually, it is." Washu replied.

"But you just said."

"I regenerated his body from a single cell."

Kiyone walked back out of the house with her head spinning, 
trying to clear it.