Disclaimer:  Tenchi Muyo! and it's related characters do not belong to me, 
they belong to AIC and Pioneer. I make no money off of this, so please 
don't sue me.

Why Me? 
Part 7
by Rose and Jared

	The morning was perfect.  Birds were chirping, the sun was just 
beginning  to top the mountains, and all was peaceful in the Masaki house.  
All were asleep, dreaming....well all except for one.  Washu, the red-headed 
intergalactic scientist, was up and ready to work.  Yawning widely, she opened
the door to her lab and walked to her workstation.  She had plans for the day,
and she had to set them up now or face the possibility of her subjects 
disappearing.  

	The Masaki household awoke to an early morning scream of horror, 
that, while not exactly typical, was still not as rare as it ought to be.

	That scream was Washu's.

	Ryoko awoke just as the scream started to die off.  Blearily 
opening one eye, she identified its source, and briefly debated the moral 
issue of risking herself to see what was going on, or letting someone else 
go to the lab and tell her later.

	Seeing Mihoshi rushing in that direction along with Tenchi and 
Ayeka, Ryoko concluded there would be enough distraction for a *short* 
trip to the lab to see what was happening. Rising, she teleported.

					*      *       *

	"EEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeee......."

	"Cindy."

	"Cindy."

	"CINDY!!!  SHUT OFF THE ALARM CLOCK ALREADY!!"

	Sitting up I cracked my eyes open.  Hoping against hope that if I 
didn't open my eyes all the way I would be able to go back to sleep after I 
shut the screaming monster up.  Glancing around I took in my surroundings.  
Seeing the futon, the dresser.....and the purple-haired girl running out of 
the room... I realized I wasn't in my dorm anymore.

	Sighing at the injustice of having such a good night's sleep 
interrupted, I wondered if it was worth getting up to see what the racket was 
all about.  I stretched a bit, then got up to find something to wear.  There 
was no sense in pretending I'd be able to go back to sleep, so I figured I'd
at 
least be presentable when I went downstairs.  So I grabbed some clothes and 
headed off to the bathroom.

					*     *     *
        
	Sasami was already up and cooking. Leaning out of the kitchen to 
see what the fuss was, she mentally calculated that there was time enough 
to see for herself. Turning down the heat on the stove, and making a few quick
adjustments to what she had prepared, she trotted over to the base of the 
stairs.  All the while wearing Ryo-ohki as a hat. 
     
	When she got there she noticed Rose slowly walking down the 
stairs.  Her face had a puzzled expression, and she was looking around as if 
trying to find something.

	"Rose-neesan, I think the noise is coming from Washu's lab."

	"What is it with Washu and screaming?  Wherever she is someone is 
always screaming," Rose said with a sigh.  "Oh well, better go in there and 
figure out what's up.  I think everyone else kinda beat us there."

					*     *     *

	Tenchi burst through the door into Washu's private sanctum onto a 
scene of disarray and disorder. Washu was unusually frazzled as she struggled 
with her keyboard, and small robots were running back and forth dealing with 
pieces of wreckage. A pair of massive, super-strong construction arms finally 
unfolded after a night of straining and warping against each other, their
mighty 
selves attempted to fold back into storage position only to freeze halfway 
because of metal parts stressed and malformed by the pressure.
 
	With the household crowded and hiding partially behind him Tenchi 
strode in and addressed the little scientist.

	"Hey, Washu, what's wrong?"

	"What's wrong!? I'll tell you what's wrong. I've lost two primary 
data bank into unmapped subspace. It's going to be *at least* five hours of
work 
to find them! My manipulatory arms are going to require a full repair cycle
before
they can return to rearranging the bulky equipment I'm going to need to
*start* the retrieval operation, and some of my security robots against
unwanted intrusion have been vaporized!"

	"Wow!" Mihoshi spoke up from the back. "Do you mean that you've 
been robbed? Well, then this is definitely a case that falls within the 
specialty of the Galaxy Police! We'll have those criminals identified for you,
Washu."

	"Oh really?" Washu darted her an inscrutable look. "Then perhaps 
you'd care to examine the clues?"

	An empty bag and a pile of potato chips appeared in the air next 
to the small scientist. 

	"These were found at the scene of the crime."

	"Oh!" Mihoshi glittered. "You saved my potato chips! I spilled 
them last night and... Oops. You mean all this is *my* fault?" She cringed,
biting 
a fingertip.

	"Uh huh." Washu sported a pair of minor fangs and was moving a 
finger toward a control when Ayeka's voice interrupted her.

	"Washu, I don't mean to disturb you, but isn't this the tank that 
was filled with the stuff Rose-san was covered in?"

	Attention rotated away from the doomed galaxy police officer and 
onto the tank, where a young man hung suspended among the shreds of what had
once 
been a white outfit. Thankfully enough remained for modesty. But his clothes 
looked like he'd fought close quarters with a tiger.

	"Oh my, there isn't supposed to be anyone in there, is there 
Washu?"

	"Hey guys, did we miss anything?"  

	Sasami trotted up to the device, still wearing Ryo-ohki. "Hey, 
Washu, is he alright?"

	"So what's up?"  Rose asked, and pushed through the crowd around 
the tank.  Peering in she saw what had them all transfixed.  "Jeez Washu-chan,
you
collect stray people as a hobby?  What did you do to this guy?"

	Washu thought for several seconds, then blanked her current 
project and began typing controls. She'd only hit two or three before nodding
and 
rising up, walking over to the nutrient tank. Standing next to it she closed
her 
eyes and held out one hand in a presentation stance. "Ryoko, Rose, I'd like
you to 
meet your brother."

						*     *     *

	Upon hearing this a totally new feeling swept over me.  It was a 
mixture of complete surprise, disgust, disbelief, and incredulity.  My mouth
hung 
open, and my shoulders slumped.  Shaking my head I looked around to see what
the
others thought of this little tidbit of news.  Massive Facefaulting. Only
Yosho and Washu remained standing.

	I couldn't believe my ears.  It was impossible, things like this 
do not happen to me!  My life had not been perfect before the events that 
brought me here, but at least it was a bit more predictable.  In my home
dimension 
the only thing I had to worry about was getting a good grade on the next 
test, and dodging the trolleys when I had to cross the street to go to class.
Here 
life was getting crazy.  First I wake up to find out my entire genetic code
had
been mutated.  Next I find out I'm now related to two people because of 
it.  Then I find out about all of the *lovely* super powers I have, not to 
mention the possibility of me living for a lot longer than I'd expected.  But 
this event took the cake.  Now, added to all this crazy mess, I find I have a 
brother.

	Groaning with the injustice of it all, I rubbed my temples.  I 
started to feel a headache coming on.  Not surprising when one tries to make
sense 
out of utter chaos.  Turning to Washu I asked, "And exactly how did this all 
happen?"

	Washu opened her mouth to answer, but stopped, looking over my 
shoulder. Looking, I saw Ryoko making a fist in one hand while her eyes 
sqeezed shut. An expression of absolute rage appeared on her face.  I was 
about to ask the obvious question of "What's wrong?" when she suddenly 
rushed past me and grabbed the small scientist by the front of her shirt.

	"What do you *mean* suddenly dumping all this family on me?!!" 
Ryoko shouted inches from her mother's face.

	Washu was somehow not remotely upset, answering softly. "Ryoko, I 
created you using my own ovum. You are my daughter. I also charged the 
protoplasm that bonded with Rose and this one with my ovum as well. Their
genetic 
structure has been totally rewritten by ours with cosmetic deviation only.
They are 
our family now. Yours and mine."

	The space pirate blinked.

	"I'll set out another place for breakfast!" Sasami called, 
vanishing to the kitchen.
     
	Looking at the figure floating in the tank, I considered going 
after Sasami to tell her that he probably wouldn't be joining us for a while.
But 
I wanted information more, so I turned back to Washu and repeated my ealier 
question, "And how did this happen?"

	With a resignated sigh Washu said, "I had hoped that you would 
take this better.  After all, we're getting more and more members in our
family.  
How can you not be pleased?  As for your question Rose, I'm not exactly sure
how 
this fellow got here, but you can rest assured that Mihoshi had something to
do
with it."

	"Yeah, where that bubblehead is concerned anything can happen."

	"Waaahhh, Ryoko-san you're so mean!!!!  I didn't mean to do 
anything.  I was just looking at the album and the hair fell in. All I did was
fix it!"  
Mihoshi sniffled.

	Washu looked disbelieving, as did the rest of the crowd.  Now I 
knew Mihoshi was a little thick from our first meeting, but a quick glance
around the 
room quelched any idea I might have had that it was all an act.

	Ryoko leaned over and said, "I'd be more interested in how she 
*fixed* the problem, ne?"  Lifting an arm, Ryoko gestured to the ruins of the
lab.  

	Wincing in sympathetic pain to for the machines, and the person 
who had to fix them, I nodded.  Mihoshi was dangerous if left alone with big 
machines.  Not that I had any big machines to worry about, but I'm sure that
the 
others had experienced similar disasters.

	"Washu-chan, are you going to take him out of there or what?  I 
mean, granted he's probably been in there most of the night, but is it
healthy?" I 
asked.

	Frowning slightly the red-head said, "It won't hurt him, it is 
oxygenated fluid so he's still breathing.  But it would be a good idea to get
him out
before he wakes up.  No sense having him thrashing around and creating 
more of a mess."

	Going over to her keyboard she made a few quick strokes and the 
fluid slowly began to drain out of the chamber.  When all the fluid was gone
the clear
casing of the tank lifted, leaving the slightly worse for the wear young 
man lying at the bottom.  

	"Rose-chan, would you and Ryoko-chan be dears and bring him over 
here where I can get him cleaned up?"

	Shrugging I walked over and grabbed the guy's shoulders.  Looking 
over to Ryoko I saw that she had that defiant expression on her face, which by
this time I knew to be her Don't-Order-Me-Around-Because-I'm-A-Big-Bad-Space-
Pirate
look.  When I caught her eye I put a very annoyed expression on my face and
jerked my head toward Washu.   Her mutinous expression gradually changed, 
and with a resigned sigh she stepped over to give me some help.

	Hefting the man, we almost dropped him. I had to keep readjusting 
my grip as his clothes were so badly torn they kept sliding apart in my 
hands.  Ryoko just pulled off both his boots and stockings and gripped his
bare 
feet.  Pretty soon I followed her example and tore off his shredded sleeves. 
Lifting him again, we carried him over to where Washu had prepared the bed, me
suddenly thankful that I had gained Ryoko's strength. This guy looked (and 
weighed) like an althlete.

	Washu quickly sifted through the discarded bits of cloth and came 
up with a leather wallet. She flipped through it rapidly and concluded
happily, 
looking at a card.

	"Hmm. Well, according to this, your brother's name is Jared."

	"What else do you know about him, Washu?" Ayeka leaned forward in 
the kind of concern she often displayed for anyone who wasn't a space 
pirate.

	Washu held out the wallet to her side in presentation. "Only that 
he carries Russian Rubles, Ukrainian currency, a lot of Japanese yen and US
dollars, 
has three library cards and two fitness club memberships!"

	"So how do you know his name?" Ryoko demanded ignorantly.

	"Oh, it was on his college ID card."

	Facefaulting.

	"According to this class schedual he also takes archery, martial 
arts, and acting. At least those are the ones I assume are *voluntary* 
choices rather than requirements. Hmm, now who are you, really?" Washu 
was leaning over the sleeping face.

	I took a quick glance to his face and the rest of his body and I 
figured that he wasn't going to be waking up anytime soon.  And if his
experience was 
going to be anything like mine then that pretty much guaranteed him being out 
of it for most of the day.

	Just then Sasami came back in and announced breakfast was ready. 
Filing out at the end of the group I noticed Washu wasn't joining us.  Turning
back slightly, I called out. "Hey Washu-chan, are you coming to breakfast?"

	"......now where could he come from?  Once the data is recovered 
I can extrapolate, maybe with some better luck than Rose...."

	With Washu mumbling on like this I realized that she hadn't heard 
me, and likely wouldn't have heard an atomic bomb going off next to her.  The 
last bit of information I had overheard dampened my spirits somewhat, and I 
hurried out of the lab, thinking that I'd bring her something later.

						*    *     *

	Seeing that everyone had left, Washu tapped some keys on the 
computer and the repair drones she had invented long ago in case of just 
such a Mihoshi incident.  They performed their task in no time flat, and the 
interdimension machine that had caused such problems was back in it's original
condition.

	A quick medical exam of the boy that had given Washu such a start 
revealed that he was healthy, but would not be waking up in the near future.  
Taking a pair of scissors Washu clipped a small strand of dark red hair from
his 
head and walked over to her DNA screener.  A short while later the machine was
humming happily away as it worked on the sample, comparing it to every other 
sample it had ever been fed.

	"Ahhhh, now that should take a little while.  Hopefully I won't 
have the problem with his DNA that I had with Rose.  It wouldn't be a new 
challenge for my galactic genius to puzzle out....unfortunately, it would be
nice 
that I could find out the answer to two problems at once."

	Glancing at her patient she felt secure enough to leave him alone 
to go to work on the perplexing situation Rose was in.  Scans of the room when
she 
had arrived had been no help, and the change in her genetic structure had just
settled down.  Unfortunately, an original sample hadn't been obtained, which
would have made her job much simpler.

	"Well since she's here, I plan to keep her here for as long as 
possible.  She and Ryoko seem to have so much fun together!"  Washu chuckled.
"I'll 
have to find a way for her to feel more a part of the family." 

	Turning back to her console Washu began typing away, comparing 
the scan she had gotten the other day from Rose and Ryoko.  It was shortly
after she 
had read the machine's report that she began laughing.  If anyone had walked 
into the lab at this point in time they would, upon hearing the slightly 
maniacal pitch of laughter, turned around and thought very carefully about
ever 
coming back in.

						*      *      *

	Dreams are an interesting place to become familiar with the 
architecture of your own mind, and Jared had control over his dreams like few
others 
could boast, having been able to turn the tides against nightmares since his 
earliest childhood.

	In dreams Jared reigned absolutely over his person and his 
environment. Successful battles against multilimbed demons, black pits, 
strange creatures and all that would normally make a dream intensely 
frightening were his normal cup of tea. It had been awhile since he'd had 
anything that could realistically classify as a nightmare. Failing all 
else he could freeze time or summon light that would burn away any 
creature of darkness.

	Jared was intimately familiar with the architecture of his own 
mind, including its flaws.

	That was why, wandering around his abode there, on one of those 
rare days when he was somehow not out fighting any demons, and not even 
aware that he was ignoring the telephone/door-knocking equivalent of 
someone or something trying to wake him up, he was surprised to stumble 
across a renovation.

	Seeing as how this was a dream and everything existed as a 
metaphor anyway, it was as if a team of movers and construction crewers 
had taken a previously empty wall and bolted bookshelves thick, deep, and 
high upon it. In fact it had ceased being a wall so much as an recessed 
library (who cares that the wall had previously been straight and was now 
a side room? Such is the way of dreams and the things they are made of). 

	Curious, Jared's dream self wandered into this new subsection and 
began to explore.

	The new addition was encyclopedic and broad in scope, though 
narrow in topic. Mathematical facts that were usually just jotted onto 
mental scrap paper to be thrown away later were now neatly collated and 
bound into books, far many more books and facts than *he'd* ever been 
exposed to, much less expected to need. Then there were sections devoted 
to chemistry, biology, botany, physics... In each there was only a 
foundation of knowledge, but in every case that foundation was laid with 
such precision and careful attention to comprehensive detail that the 
knowledge itself was almost advanced.

	Quietly dubbing this new section his Science Library, Jared 
resolved that he would have to spend some time there in future to become 
familiar with its contents, with the end in mind of perhaps getting some 
use out of them.

	Wandering further through his dream home, Jared's representation 
of self came into the living room, where he found that someone had been 
playing with this as well.

	A TV set was as good an equivalent to a communications metaphor 
as many were likely to find. And, like most people, Jared got one or two 
linguistic channels very well, and perhaps a few hints of others through 
the static.

	Someone had come in and set him up with a killer satellite array 
and a few hundred extra channels were coming through as bright as day.

	Finally curious as to who or what had been adding things to his 
mind, Jared turned from his dream and began to focus on that bothersome 
call he'd been ignoring, swimming out of the surface of his dreams to 
find it.

					*      *      *

	Breakfast seemed to be going normally.  At least as normal as I'd 
ever seen it.  Ayeka and Ryoko were fighting again, Tenchi was trying to stop
them,
Mihoshi was crying, and the others just went on as if nothing was 
happening.  Seeing how Tenchi was struggling to keep the two of them from
destroying
their immediate surroundings I thought of trying to help.  But I thought 
back to the last time that I had gotten between the two and decided to leave 
it to him.  He did have more experience with it, after all.  

	Despite the craziness, it's consistancy was comforting.  It was 
perhaps the only thing that was predictable around here, and I had had quite
enough 
of the unpredictable thank you very much.  I wondered what the plans were for
the
day, I didn't really feel like staying in the house with Ayeka and Ryoko.
That
would be seriously hazardous to my health, even if it did make things
interesting.

	As I finished my breakfast I noticed that Washu's place was still 
empty.  Looking over to Sasami I saw she was talking avidly with the little 
cabbit.  Although apparently one sided, the occasional yes or no question was 
answered by the creature.

	"Sasami-chan, do you think you could help me put together a tray 
for Washu?"

	"Sure, Rose-oneesan.  Let me just go get a tray from the kitchen."

	"Are you sure you want to do that?" A voice said from over my 
shoulder.

	Jumping slightly, I turned to see the face of Ryoko.  Rolling my 
eyes I said, "She has the new kid to entertain herself with.  What could she
possibly 
want with me?  Washu's probably so engrossed with her calculations she won't 
even notice when I put the tray down."

	"You never know what goes on where she's concerned." She replied 
with a shrug.  "Don't say I didn't warn you."

	And with that she went in pursuit of Tenchi, who had probably 
left for school while I'd been talking with Sasami.

	Two minutes later I was walking into Washu's lab with the tray of 
food.  Walking in I navigated as best I could to the location where the
morning's
excitement had taken place.  A glance told me that although the boy and
machines were here Washu apparently wasn't, but some flickering lights on 
the edge of my vision sent me off in that direction.  One turn and a short 
hallway later and I was back in the lab that Ryoko and I were in the day
before.  

	"Washu-chan I brought you some breakfast."

	"Call my Okaa-chan.  How many times do I have to say that?" Washu 
replied without taking her eyes from the screen in front of her.

	Smiling nervously I brought the tray over, and just as I was 
setting it down on the floor near her I felt her stick something to my temple.

	"Hey!!" I cried, "What are you doing?"

	"Oh nothing, nothing.  Don't worry about it.  Thank you for 
bringing the food.  Why don't you go play with Ryoko for a little while?"

	Looking at her strangely I left the lab, and began to rub my 
temple.  Whatever she had stuck there had apparently either fallen off or been
absorbed into my skin.  I favored the latter.  My search for Ryoko proved 
fruitless so instead I went to the kitchen to see if I could help with
anything.

					*     *     *

	"Tenchi????" Ryoko whined playfully, scratching at his door while 
her tail lashed about.

	"Lemme alone!" Tenchi called back, in the midst of changing 
clothes. Pulling off the shirt he'd slept in he noticed the wooden ring 
of Juraian craftsmanship he wore. The ring Ayeka had given him when 
they'd gone out to fight Kagato.

	He smiled. "Guess I won't need this anymore." He pulled at it but 
it would not come off. Twisting harder, he heard the activation sound and 
despite his cries he was spinning in space as his Juraian battle armor 
materialized over him.

	Looking at his hands he moaned. "Oh, great. Now how do I get back 
to my normal self? Hmm? What's that?" He picked up a small object that 
had fallen out of his robes. Seeing it, he smiled. "Oh, I remember..."

	Ayeka walked out of her room yawning. Well, crazy morning or no, 
it wouldn't do for a noble princess of planet Jurai not to behave herself 
properly. She supposed it was time to get ready for the day. Then she 
caught sight of Ryoko scratching at Lord Tenchi's door.

	"Ryoko, such behavior! You should be ashamed at yourself."

	There was a flash of light and a deactivation sound from Tenchi's 
room. The door opened suddenly and Ryoko fell to face plant on his floor.

	"Oh, Tenchi. Good Morning." Ayeka smiled.

	"Ah, Ayeka. Just who I wanted to see." Tenchi walked out in his 
normal clothes, walking straight over to Ayeka as if Ryoko didn't exist. 
He held out his hand with the strange object in it. "This is for you."

	The princess blinked at it. "That is from the Royal Tree."

	Tenchi nodded. "Tsunami said it was for you. She said it was 
Ryu-Oh's seed."

	"Ryu-Oh's seed?

	He looked embarrassed. "Yeah. I forgot to give it to you. I'm 
sorry."

	Ayeka took the seed in great emotion. "Ah! Thank you. Oh!" 
Realizing she was holding his hand, Ayeka dropped it swiftly. She 
blushed. "I want to say thank you."

	Tenchi scratched the back of his head. "Oh, don't bother, please. 
Really."

	"Oh! But I must. Now I can bring Ryu-Oh back to life! Thank you. 
Thank you. I mean this so much. Thank you."

	"That's wonderful!"

	"You're wonderful."

	Ryoko, brutally ignored while all this was going on, began to 
cry. "Tenchi?" He went on ignoring her in favor of Ayeka and Ryoko�s face 
fell into abject misery.

					*     *     *

	When Tenchi had come down the stairs dressed for work in the 
fields Ayeka had seemed very happy for some reason and went straight into 
Washu's lab.  Ryoko flew out of the front of the house and I was with 
Sasami and Mihoshi cleaning house.  Although it's not what I would have 
picked to keep me occupied I didn't want to sit around and do nothing.  
But with the way Mihoshi kept prattling and messing up I was starting to 
go a little crazy.

	Fortunately I was able to relieve some of the feeling by 
vacuuming.  The noise was enough to drown out most of her wailing.  Mihoshi 
seemed to be a very nice person, just.....not all there all the time.

	The spot where Washu had touched my temple earlier was begining 
to tingle and itch.  At first I tried to ignore it, but as time wore on 
it became downright annoying.  Rubbing it didn't help, itching it didn't help,
it 
was like a bad misquito bite.  Finally I could take no more and decided to go
see Washu.
Turning off the vacuum I went in search of Sasami, and found her in the garage
doing laundry.

	"Sasami, I'm going to see Washu for a few minutes.  I'll finish 
the vacuuming when I get back." I called to the small girl.

	"Ok Rose-neechan.  Tell Washu that if she wants anything cleaned 
she should bring it out now," she replied.

	"No problem," I answered, and made my way to the belowstairs 
closet which housed Washu's lab.

	I made my way as quickly as I could to the last place that I had 
seen the red-headed scientist.  When I finally saw her sitting at a console in
front of a large machine marked "TRANSCOMBINATE DNA PROCESSOR", I sighed in 
relief.  Stepping up my pace to jog, I called out at the same time. 

	"Washu-chan!"

	My call was greeted with a slightly annoyed expression, and then 
with the sweetest smile imaginable, with the deadliest eyes imagineable she 
queried, "And what did I tell you to call me?"

	Seeing the look in her eyes, and recalling the experiences that 
I've had, along with the experiences of others I quickly replied, "Okaa-chan!"

	"Now was that so hard?" Washu asked as she turned back to her 
typing.

	"Aa.....uh....no," was my intelligent reply.

	"So what's up Rose-chan?  Why did you come to see your mother?"

	"Well, Sasami told me to tell you that she's doing the wash, so 
if you want anything done to take it out now.  And I really wanted to ask you
what 
you did to me before, because my temple is giving me fits." I sighed as I
rubbed 
my temple...yet again.

	"It's giving you trouble?  So soon?  Well that's a surprise, I 
expected it to take at least a few days for it to penetrate fully.  Hmmm....it
must 
have been one of the side effects of you absorbing the protoplasm."

	"So can you do anything?" I asked in desperation.

	"Oh....of course, just follow me for a second."

	Falling into step behind the diminutive scientist I soon found 
myself in yet another section of the lab.  There were no containment fields
here, 
although along the way I had seen some truly impressive containment units with
even
more impressive otherwordly creatures.  All that seemed to be in this lab 
were a chair with some sort of head piece over it, and a machine of only a 
moderate size.  Quite a step smaller than many of the others that I had seen.

	"Just have a seat in the chair and we'll get started.  It shouldn't take more
than a few minutes."

	"Thank God."

	As I sat down I tried yet again to relieve the itching at my 
temple.  For some reason it seemed deeper than before, not on the surface of
the skin. 
I wondered if I should be worried about this.

						*     *     *

	Dreams cleared and Jared awoke.

	This was not something that ever caused him any particular 
difficulty. Even if he didn't want to wake he could merely return to 
sleep with a thought, unless something was wrong.

	Something was presently wrong enough to stir him out of some of 
his deepest dreams.

	He opened his eyes.

	Nope, not the usual environment. Looked like a mad scientist's 
lab, and he, coincidentally, was waiting on a bed that was wide and soft, 
yet still held an uncanny resemblance to a surgical table. He tried 
standing up, but spent several moments swimming against a light retaining 
field. Lack of purchase prevented him from leaving the bed.

	Not having spent the last several months in intensive training 
under world-caliber martial artists for nothing, Jared produced a combat 
quality gymnastics ribbon and flicked it out to grab a spine on a nearby 
machine. He used the hold to pull himself out of the retaining field, 
landing unsteadily on the floor.

	The remains of his shirt then decided to give up the ghost and 
slide off of his chest, and he was woozy enough to guess that he was 
probably ravenously hungry.

	He didn't usually get hungry, only tired, so he had to infer 
hunger from subtle signals such as dizziness and a near-inability to keep 
to his feet. Some wild and distant corner of his mind remarked that an 
outragious amount of healing had been done, and it still wasn�t quite 
finished. So could he kindly send down some more fuel for repairs?

	And could he send it in bulk? The hardhatted thought addressed 
its clipboard. Yeah, the construction teams are standing idle and if you 
want that work done better get snapping and send down the material.

	Healing was something his mind tracked very efficiently.

	Retrieving his combat ribbon he stumbled toward a door while 
rewrapping it around his wrist, for once truly grateful that he'd not 
elected to carry spatulas. Right now he'd not be able to heft the weight.

	As he navigated the doorway the redheaded young man found enough 
mental power to note several things, in addition to sniffing out the 
nearest kitchen that is. The first was that his waist pouch must have 
fallen off somewhere, depriving him of his usual techno-toys. The second 
was that he was alive. This was shocking because last *he* remembered he 
was going down for the final time under the claws and power bolts of his 
enemy. So, either he had somehow won anyway, been kidnapped, and lost his 
memory (a far less unlikely scenario than it seemed), or someone had 
effected a timely rescue.

	He found the kitchen.

	Glass of milk, sandwich, toast, cheese, hmm, that looks good. 
Objects began rapidly disappearing into a good analog of the infamous 
Saotome stomach. Reigning himself in before he emptied the fridge 
entirely Jared measured out ingredients and started a convenient 
breadmaker on pizza dough. Doing a quick judgment based on what he could 
observe he elected to make two batches. Pepperoni was not to be found 
anywhere so he substituted ham, which he would later slice, then began 
rooting through cupboards looking for tomato paste and pineapple. No 
pizza pans, but big cookie sheets would do just as well. Square pizza had 
never killed anyone.

	Grabbing oregano and things from the spice rack he went to work 
making sauce.

					*     *     *

	"Things are progressing much more quickly than anticipated," Washu thought, 
"The change in Rose's DNA structure must have allowed the acceptance of the
recombinant enzymes more quickly because of it's similarity to mine."

	"Don't move.  The headpiece is going to be lowered and it won't work at 
it's optimum if your head is moving about.  And I know it's hard, but try not 
to touch the site while it's working," she called out to Rose.

	"Ok, first we have to do a scan, and see exactly where those little 
suckers are in relation to where they're supposed to be," Washu muttered to 
herself.

	A minute later when the results came in her eyebrows shot up.  The enzymes 
were in the perfect position, all she had to do was send the correct
electrical 
pulse and they would activate.