Love Will Find A Way
An Onegai Teacher Fanfic
An Infinite Earths Story
By Roehl Sybing (indef@infinitedeferral.com)

Chapter Two: Parallels

The woman slowly opened her eyes, finding herself in a medical facility of
some sort.  Was this a hospital?  Everything since the mishap was a blur,
but she was on the ship, that much she knew.  How was she found?

She inspected herself and her surroundings.  None of the machines were
plugged up to monitor her, and she had the strength to stand up.  She did
so, and easily walked out in search of answers.

"Stay right where you are!" an uniformed, armed man commanded her.

The patient froze. "What--why are you--?"

"I have my orders, ma'am.  You must remain confined in the infirmary."

"I don't understand!"

"Ma'am, please return to bed, or I will have to--"

"Stand down, private!" shouted Jackie.  She had appeared in the front
doorway, pointing her firearm at the guard.

"Lieutenant, my orders are from the vice director.  I cannot--"

"Stand down," she repeated, "Or I will show you what we do to punks in
Flushing!"

The standoff lasted for a few moments after that, until the guard lowered
his weapon, leaving the patient to breathe easy.

"Good," Jackie said, "Now, get lost.  That's an order."

"Yes, lieutenant."

As one exited, the other approached the woman, startled and confused.

"I'm sorry," she said, "He was posted here for everyone's protection."

"I understand," the patient said unconvinced, "What's going on?  Where am
I?"

Jackie bit her lip, "It's...kinda difficult to explain.  Let's you go back
to bed, I'll give it my best shot."

The patient agreed, "Very well."

"By the way, I'm Lieutenant Jacklyn Forez, Queens, New York," she said,
helping her back inside.

The woman struggled to speak, as if she were searching for the right words.

"Mizuho Kazami.  I'm--I'm a teacher."
---
Jake slowly opened his eyes, finding himself in bed, surrounded by medical
devices.  Yet he was not in the infirmary; the insignia for University
Medical Downtown stood prominently over the door in the far corner of the
room.

Then he remembered that he had passed out in the restaurant.  The sun was
shining in the window, Jake observed.  He was out all night.  That is, if he
was just for one night.  He pressed his fingers against his temples; he felt
that he had been hit by a truck, and was just now coming out of it.

"Nurse?" he said, signaling one walking by.

"Agent Tyler," the nurse replied, "You're awake."

"How do you know who I am?"

"You were shuttled from the infirmary at FRC Headquarters late last night.
The resident doctor there and a Mr. Hacker One have been keeping close watch
on you all day.  I'll alert them at once."

"Wait!" he cried.  The nurse stopped. "What am I doing here?"

Said the nurse, "I'm sorry, Agent Tyler, I was hoping that you would know.
Your present condition is classified, I have no information."

Jake was shocked.  He couldn't remember a thing that had happened that could
lead to him ending up in a hospital bed.  And now, even the nurse couldn't
tell him what was going on.

"Lord," he said, "Must've been some party...or something."
---
Kim rushed into the room with a packed duffel bag, throwing it down on the
bed, in front of Mizuho.

"Alright now," she said, rifling through the bag's contents, "You're only,
what, one, two sizes up from me?"

"Huh?" Mizuho replied.

"Yeah, I wouldn't worry, I think these'll still fit.  Besides, your clothes
are still being dried out, and you got to get out of that infirmary gown
you've got on, dear."

Jackie didn't know the extent of Kim's wardrobe, despite always heeding
advice to get out of the way between her friend and a one-day sale.  But the
garments she had crammed into the bag were so colorful, so stunning that,
Jackie speculated, her collection must have been large enough for her to
spare what seemed to be valuable clothing, much less jam them into a small
space and crumple and wrinkle them beyond the help of modern upkeep.

"Here's one I really like.  Contemporary pattern, all cotton.  Well,
replicated cotton, actually, but it feels and looks the same."

"Lieutenant Swann--" Mizuho said.

"Oh, please, call me Kim," she said, "Everyone does!"

"Lieutenant!" Jackie cried.

Kim coiled back, "What?"

Jackie put her hand out in the direction of Mizuho, and left her mouth open
to exhibit her temper, "I'm kinda trying to get all the information I can
out of Ms. Kazami.  You know, so we can send her back?"

Kim and Jackie looked at each other, and Mizuho looked at both of them.
They remained silent like this for more time than was necessary, until Kim
finally retorted, "But...it's all cotton."

She let her mouth remain agape, and scoffed.  Jackie set Kim aside, sitting
her down in a chair in the opposite corner of the room with her duffel bag.
This time, Jackie was visibly less intolerant. "Why don't you sort out a few
sets for us, so when we're all done, we'll pick one out?"

Kim nodded eagerly, "You betcha.  I got a really nice silk one that--"

"Yeah, yeah," she interuppted.

Then to Mizuho when she sat back down next to her, "Ms. Kazami, there's
still a question of how you got here in the first place."

"I already told you," the patient replied, "A pool of light opened up in
front of me, drawing me in against my will.  Next thing I know, I end up in
the ocean.  Soon afterwards...here."

"Yeah, but do you know why it appeared?  Where were you when it happened?
What do you suppose might have opened it?  That sort of thing."

Mizuho shied away, evading the question. "I...can't say."

Jackie turned an inquisitive eye, "You don't know?  Or you can't say?"

She shifted in her bed.  She clung to her blanket and looked away.  First at
Kim, oblivious to the outside world, and then to nothing at all.  Mizuho did
not like where the conversation was going.

"This is really uncomfortable for me."

"Well, it's necessary if you want to go home."

"I don't understand," she said truthfully, rising up to object, "Am I being
held captive?  What did I do?"

Mizuho struggled as best she could, with Jackie holding her back down onto
the bed with both hands.  Justifiably upset, she was nonetheless helpless.
To her panicked estimation, she was found out.

"Marie, help me!" she cried, "This is a matter of the highest priority!"

"Easy, lady!" Jackie shouted back, "We're not going to hurt you!"

No help came to Mizuho's aid, and when that became apparent, she settled
back down by herself, unresponsive to Jackie's commands.  She stuttered
uncontrollably, "Why isn't--why wouldn't--oh no!  Where am I?"

"Mizuho!" Jackie uttered, "Focus on me!"

She did so, turning towards her slowly with a blank stare in her eyes.  The
patient whispered, "Where am I?"

The officer sighed, finding it difficult to explain.  But she was obligated
to do so, saying, "You are on Earth, but you are not on your Earth.  The
wormhole accidently sent you to an alternate reality, which is somewhere
between three...and three-hundred decillion light years from your home."

Mizuho continued to blankly stare at Jackie, not knowing how to take the
news.  Not that much of it sunk in at all, the whole concept of it was
incredible to believe.  On the other hand, those who would find out her
secret would also find it far-fetched to be true.  So her response was just
as blank.

"I see."

Jackie nodded, understanding in silence that it was going to take a moment
for her to adjust to the size and scope of the dilemma.

"Guys!  I got it!" Kim said, grabbing the attention of both of them, "It was
lucky, but I got the perfect color combination like you wouldn't believe!"
---
"How are you feeling, Jake?" Hacker One asked.

Jake looked at him, and then at the Commission doctor.  He never travels
outside of Headquarters except in an emergency.  They both hid the incoming
bad news underneath stoic faces, but it leaked out for him to see.

"I don't know," he said, "How should I feel?"

Hacker laughed nervously, then turned to the doctor, "Why don't you tell
him?"

The doctor hesitated, stammering on a few syllables before he gathered up
his composure. "Yes, um...Agent Tyler, you had a blackout in a restaurant
last night."

"Well, yeah, that much I deduced, doctor.  Now, why am I in a hospital?"

"It's because...excuse me, I've never seen this sort of condition before--"

"Out with it!" he cried.

"Very well," the doctor said, "You have a circulatory complication in your
brain, which has led to a problem in your heart."

Jake's jaw dropped the instant he had heard it.  He looked to Hacker for
answers.  Of course, he had none.  They both stood over him as they would
over a coffin of a fellow officer.  And Jake was quite uncomfortable with
that look.

"I don't understand," was all he could say.

"Well, I don't get much of it myself, Agent Tyler, until I had a look at
your medical files.  Apparently, when you suffer from stress, an inordinate
amount of pressure builds on your heart.  Blood isn't circulated, and you
could pass out, even suffer brain damage."

Jake looked at the doctor incredulously, "How is this possible?"

"Well, I don't know.  I figure it is related to the genetic engineering you
endured in the Delta Program," said the doctor, turning an eye to Hacker.

He continued, "But I'm not allowed to ask questions."

"Why hasn't this happened before?" Jake asked.

The doctor shifted his head, speculating, "Apparently, the condition was
patched up, of sorts.  Your body is triggered to release endorphins
specifically altered to relieve the pressure.  The amount of painkillers
that are produced in your body are three times that of a normal human.  But
now--"

"--Now I'm not producing endorphins to undo the damage?"

Visibly distraught, the doctor nodded, "I don't know what happened
specifically, but I gather that it has something to do with your contact
with the alien yesterday."

Jake put a hand across his brow.  What was happening to him?  He just
couldn't believe it.

"Oh my God," he said, "Agents Forez and Swann are meeting with the subject
right now!  Tell them to--"

"Don't worry, Jake," Hacker said, "You're the only one that seems to be
affected.  I mean, it's only because of all that stuff we did to y--"

"Hacker," Jake interrupted.

"Sorry.  Anyways, the entire floor's been discreetly checked out, they're
fine."

"Well, that's a relief.  I guess."

"I need you to stay here for a bit, while they run some tests," the doctor
said, "Until then, I'll be returning to Headquarters, going over your data
for answers."

"Alright," Jake said softly.

The doctor nodded, and exited quietly, leaving Jake to speak with Hacker.
Jake was blown away.  He had been in life-threatening situations before, but
never did it involve his health.  He was never going to die of a simple
heart failure, and the possibility that he could was devastating to him.

"Let me get this straight," Jake said, "You guys screwed me up, so you
screwed me up some more to fix the first screw up, but now this woman
screwed me up even more to keep the second screw up from fixing the first
screw up.  Did I get that right?"

Hacker bit his lip. "I'm sorry, Jake.  If there's anything I can do..."

Jake shook his head.  He thought about what had brought on the blackout he
suffered at the restaurant.  Lisa was pissed as hell at him, and was, as
always, two steps from breaking up with him.

"That's alright, Hacker," Jake said, turning away, "I'm literally dying of a
broken heart.  What can you do?"
---
Kim and Jackie remained penned up with Mizuho in the infirmary for almost an
hour and a half.  Kim was laying out the latest of sixteen sets of clothing,
all of which came from the one bag that she brought with her, but eventually
Jackie and Mizuho warmed up to each other.

"See this thing?" said Jackie, showing her weapon, "Thunderbolt Mark 2.
Shoots out enough electricity to light up Angeles Island.  Twice.  My
father, he was so proud when I joined Commission, but he told me, 'You're
only fourteen, I thought they would put you behind a desk, I didn't raise
you to fire no ray gun!'"

Mizuho laughed with the Reality Jumper.  She had quickly erased from herself
the fear of being thrust into a strange, mysterious world, though much like
the one she had been monitoring until now.

"And, boy, that was eight years ago, but he says that to me everytime I come
home," she added.

"You love your father, didn't you?" Mizuho asked her.

"Yes, I do.  Worked like a dog all his life, moved us out of the Heights.
He wanted a better life for all of us, wanted to make sure that I could earn
my keep in the Commission."

"That's wonderful."

"Yeah.  What about you?" asked Jackie innocently, "How about your father?"

Mizuho looked away, embarrassed.  Jackie had hit a soft spot, and noticed it
instantly.

"I didn't know my father very well," Mizuho said, "I never had many moments
with him."

"I see."

"I mean, there was one thing that I had that reminded me of him, and I
always kept it with me.  I guess I might've lost it in the storm."

"Right," said Jackie, quickly getting onto business, "That's, uh, exactly
what we need to talk about."

"What do you mean?"

"See, it's very rare to see a naturally-occuring wormhole.  Technology
creates most of the folds in multi-dimensional space.  And this kind of
technology would have to be very advanced.  Now, maybe the thunderstorm and
rain triggered something that you were using, and if that's the case, in
order to send you back, we need to know what you were doing before the
wormhole opened."

Mizuho shook her head, defiant against the need to disclose anything.
Jackie had been gently pushing her for the better part of two hours, and it
wasn't working up until now.

"But that's ridiculous," she said, "I'm just a high school teacher, I've
never even--"

"You are not a teacher, Mizuho," Jackie insisted, revealing for the first
time what she truly knew, "You are an alien not native to a pre-fusion
Alternate Earth.  That is why we cannot send you back so easily.  Your
essence is not anchored to anything or anyone on the planet."

She slinked back into fear.  Her breathing was rapid and her eyes welled up
with tension. "H-How did you--?"

"'How' is not important," the Jumper explained, "But you have to trust us.
In order to pinpoint your place in the continuum, you have to tell us
exactly what happened.  What your world is like, its history, your history,
things of that sort.  Every little detail is important."

Mizuho was confused.  Only once has she revealed her true nature to someone
else, and he became her husband.  Even so, she shared her secret with great
discomfort and risk.

"Mizuho," asked Jackie, "Is there someone waiting for you at home?"

Her eyes lit up.  She turned to Jackie and nodded silently.

"Sometimes you have to risk everything for those you love," the Jumper
suggested.
---
Minoru could do nothing but wait.  It was a terrible time for Ms. Kazami to
just disappear and leave Kei behind, but when she did so, he had fallen into
unconsciousness after another one of his stagnations.  This time, however,
Kei stayed under for much longer than usual, certainly longer than that of
his most recent episodes.  After examining his nephew, Minoru put down his
stethoscope and turned to his wife, signaling a lack of hope with the look
on his face.

"He'll come out of it," Konoha said.

"Of course," he replied, then said to himself, "It's just that teacher of
his, where did she go?"

"Dear..."

"Left before I could even get my hands on her!"

Konoha knew the words were coming, and threw a left hook across his cheek,
sending him to the floor as she exited the room.

"Honey!" he cried, crawling out on his hands and knees, "I didn't mean it!"

In the room, Kei was left all alone.  Naturally, he wasn't going anywhere.
His presence contributed to the stillness of the place.  Indeed, this was a
very bad episode for him.  His breathing and chest movements were minimal,
so he could almost be mistaken for dead.

Marie was not fooled, of course.  He had floated into the room quietly to
examine Kei.  He landed on Kei's chest and tiptoed onto his face.  The man
was out of it completely.  So, out of thin air, Marie pulled a tiny,
unremarked device, difficult to make out by the naked eye, and snuck it just
underneath the collar of Kei's shirt.  It activated itself even as Marie
stood near it, and it gave a shock all around Kei, throwing the control unit
of Mizuho's ship across the room and against the wall.  He saw stars quickly
after that, but the unit, whatever its function, was working.

Responding to the machine, Kei exhibited some signs of life.  He clung to
the comforter on the bed and shuffled about.  He stretched out his neck and
his face pointed towards the ceiling before he collapsed back onto the
pillow.  The sound from his throat was a soft, low-pitched groan that
alerted no one in the apartment that he was in pain.  He clenched his teeth
and curled his toes, but after all of this, Kei stopped in an instant and
lay comatose on the bed once again.  Yet, the machine just below his neck
continued its work, transmitting and receiving information for some unknown
end.
---
"Aaaaaaahh!" Mizuho screamed, pressing the sides of her head with both hands
and convulsing uncontrollably.  All this time, the lights and machinery all
about the room flickered on and off, somehow in relation to the glow that
surrounded Jackie's patient.

"Jackie!" Kim cried, "What's going on?"

"Just help me hold her down, dammit!  Take her legs!"

The two Reality Jumpers did their best to restrain the woman who was seizing
in front of them.  It was, by the look on Mizuho's face, a seizure of some
sort.  She cried out in pain, pleaded for help, and struggled against being
constrained.  But the glow, the feedback from the machines...no doctor was
around, the phenomenon could not be explained.  Nonetheless, it all
eventually worked itself out.  It was at least a minute before Mizuho
settled back down and Kim and Jackie could let her go.

"What was that?" asked Jackie.

"I dunno," Kim said, "Totally freak, wouldn't you say?"

"Mizuho?  Ms. Kazami, are you alright?"

She opened her eyes slowly.  After so much pain, she had a look of
contentment on her face. "Yes, I think so," she said, "I saw him."

"What?" Jackie said, "Who did you see?"

"In my mind...I saw Kei.  He's my...my--I'll tell you everything you need to
know, lieutenant," Mizuho said resolutely.

Jackie nodded with approval. "That's good to know," she said.

Then she turned to her partner, "Kim, get this woman a set of clothes to
wear!"
---
Mike Conner had only subbed in for Jake on two occasions, but never because
of a medical emergency.  His thoughts drifted about his best friend, who lay
in a hospital for whatever reason relating to the collapse at dinner last
night.  But whatever the distraction, he had a job to do, and a woman to
meet.

"You look nice today, Rachel," Mike said to Jake's secretary.

"Tell me, lieutenant," Rachel replied, "Are you saying that for my benefit
or are you just practicing for your appointment?"

Mike stuttered, "Well, I--I--uh...I would've said it anyways."

"Uh huh, well, I guess that'll have to do," she said, "Your appointment is
here."

Mike nodded and winked casually at Rachel, who was clearly resistant.  He
walked into Jake's office to meet a uniformed officer, waiting in the chair
in front of the director's desk.

"Lieutenant Conner," the woman said, rising to her feet, "Major Rei Xiang
Xia, U.S. Space Command."

"Major," he replied, shaking her hand, "Should I call you Rei?"

"You can call me Mr. Squiggle if you want," she said dryly, "There's a
matter that I'd like to tend to at once."

"Oh, right down to business.  Please, sit down."

One after the other, the two of them settled down on opposite sides of the
desk, while Mike took notice of the major.  She was of the same height, same
age as he was.  Underneath her cap, she sported jet black hair and dark
eyes, complementing her no-nonsense attitude that he had already detected.

"I'm sorry that I was late," Mike said, "I hope you don't take any offense,
but--"

"Lieutenant," Rei interrupted, "I can appreciate the rather laid-back style
of the Federal Reality Commission.  That no officer whom I have seen in this
building is wearing formal dress, or any regulation dress for that matter, I
can almost tolerate.  But I hovered in from Washington on a matter of the
utmost importance, so may we dispense with the pleasantries?"

"Major, that's not true," he objected, "The guards are fully uniformed, as
you can see at the front desk--"

"Mr. Conner.  Do you have an alien in your custody?"

Mike raised an eyebrow, then chuckled for a bit.  Obviously, he would have
to ditch the phase where he would have to spend four or five minutes denying
the whole thing, until the major had presented him with situation reports
from the Norfolk, more than enough to out him.

"Why ask a question to which you already know the answer?"

Rei grinned defiantly, "I don't want to be stepping on anyone's toes."

He poured himself and his guest some water.  He took a drink.  Rei refused.

"On what grounds if I might ask?  Don't tell me, she knows your little
secret in Roswell."

"That's Albuquerque, you twit," Rei replied promptly.

Mike choked on his water, and laughed out loud.  He banged his palm on
Jake's desk a few times, leaving Rei absolutely livid.

"Lieutenant, I don't see what's amusing."

"No," Mike said, clearing his nose, "I bet you don't.  Look, I can likewise
appreciate the hard noses at the Pentagon.  I mean, you guys haven't fought
a war in twenty years.  No one left to fight, I suppose.  Makes you rather
cranky after a while, naturally."

Rei huffed, reclining back into her chair.  She finally took the glass of
water and downed it in one go. "If you think we don't have enemies, Mr.
Conner," she said, "You're sorely mistaken."

She leaned over and took some documents from her briefcase.  Spread out over
Jake's desk, the papers were images of space, the names of planets and their
moons clearly marked.  And all of them were marked at the top, "Eyes Only.
Top Secret."

"The Pentagon had been secretly working with the ESA in operating an
unmanned resource base on Valhalla Crater, on the Jupiter satellite
Callisto.  These images were from two years ago.  That was the last contact
we had with the computers on that moon."

"Yeah," Mike mumbled, "So what happened?"

"On the last scheduled AOS eighteen months ago, we were unable to establish
radio contact with our drones.  Imaging indicates that all of the assets
were deliberately destroyed."

"You don't know that."

"We do," Rei said, "A transmitter was left behind on that moon, transmitting
radio data directly at Earth.  A message was sent identifying them as the
Galaxy Federation.  The contents of the message required several months of
decoding, but it was clear enough that there is a hostile force in this
system."

Mike examined the images, which showed that the crater on Callisto had been
set up with complex machinery and mining technology, all of which was
suddenly wiped off the surface in the following photos.  It sent a chill up
his spine.

"Yeah, but you don't know if these aliens have anything to do with the one
we've got."

Rei looked at Mike condescendingly, as if she did not have to explain
anything.  But she did so with another set of photos.

"Proxima Centauri," Rei said, "About four light years away from Earth.  Its
third planet, here, has been surrounded by six artificial satellites, which
from the speed of their orbit we have concluded to be spacecraft.
Communications among these ships operate on the same radio frequency as the
transmitter on Callisto.  Tachyon imaging dated this picture three weeks
ago."

The major slapped down another image of the same planet, this time missing
the objects surrounding it.

"This was dated six hours ago."

Mike examined the pictures stoically.  Space was not his expertise, so the
conclusions to him were questionable at worst, but sound at best.  He wasn't
sure.  But one thing was certain.

"This isn't real proof," he said.

"Lieutenant, every wormhole in interdimensional space reverberates in
low-frequency radio waves, infinitely outwards in all directions, across the
galaxy.  The wormhole over the blast area in the Pacific had to have been
detected by these aliens, and they must have somehow detected this
particular woman's presence."

"And can you prove it?"

"Mr. Conner, I don't have time to make a whole presentation for you.  I am
here to take precautions before something really bad happens.  For
everyone's safety, the alien must be taken into custody by the Pentagon."

"So you can do what?" asked Mike in an accusatory tone.

Rei scoffed, "I'm sorry, lieutenant, that's classified."

"Alright, that's it, get out.  Get out of here at once," he said in disgust,
pointing a finger at the door, "I'll go to the Director-General myself, put
a stop to this nonsense."

The major took her papers and walked towards the doorway.  Mike quickly
followed behind.  But on her way out, she turned around and asked in his
face, "Tell me, lieutenant.  Where is Junior Director Tyler?"

Mike looked at her, eye to eye, and replied, "I'm filling in for him today."

"It wouldn't be because he's laying in a hospital bed at NYU Downtown, would
it?  Just hours after he came in contact with the alien, I gather."

He froze.  Mike searched for an answer and found empty replies that he found
unusable.

"You are correct, lieutenant," Rei said, "I don't ask any questions unless I
know the answers."

The Reality Jumper watched the major walk out, apparently not for the last
time.  Left by himself, he found that Jake's shoes were suddenly too big to
fill.

TO BE CONTINUED...
---
I had absolutely nothing to do tonight, so I decided to get typing.  I am
hanging over Only Human at the moment, so it is the Onegai Teacher crossover
right now.  I have hyped up my original universe a lot in this chapter, but
fear not, I'm setting everything up, so please have some patience.

Until next time. :)
---
Roehl Sybing - (917) 741-5355
infiniteDeferral - http://www.infinitedeferral.com/

"All the world is yours, minus what you can't take with you in a small
carry-on when you leave"


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