Things were getting distinctly boring for Lucas Amato and Adrian Seidelman. Two months' vacation was a very good deal, but there was only so much to do, and only so much money to do it with before they were scraping by come the beginning of the school year. Lucas was fortunate to be able to fall back on his second job, but Adrian had to make his one income stretch.

Adrian, of course, was really Cybersix. The truth had been revealed the year before to Lucas and Lori, shortly before the Isle of Doom sent a chunk of the coastline into oblivion. Finding herself and Data 7 alive but battered, Cybersix had made the decision to return to her routine out of safety and a need for steady income, among others. Lucas was becoming used to the situation, and would certainly keep her secret. Lori was unlikely to let it be known that the man she had been in love with was really a woman in disguise. She had gained a lot of respect for her two teachers after the disaster in any case, although she kept her rebel act up in public. Couldn't disappoint her fans.

Lucas and Adrian wandered the city streets one hot afternoon, faintly hoping to come across something to do. Frying themselves on the makeshift "patio" of Lucas' apartment building roof was getting old. Yes, it was somewhere Cybersix could freely dress as a woman, but there was often no privacy as many other tenants decided to come up as well. Besides, they had "both been sunburned enough for one summer."

"Next summer, I'm definitely saving up for a vacation," grumbled Lucas as he and Adrian rounded a city corner.

"It would be great to have a change of scenery," his friend agreed. "I'd love to go to Europe, maybe to - hey, what's going on up there?"

Lucas looked up the street. A polished black limousine shimmered next to the curb, pointed at and admired by passersby. A back door suddenly opened and a man emerged, only to stand and hold it. Presently, from the shop in front of the limo, came a well-dressed young woman carrying a shopping bag and two men who appeared to be bodyguards. None paid much attention to their audience as one by one they entered the car, and soon drove off.

Lucas and Adrian had continued to walk during the scene and by this time had reached the shop the party had come out of. As they stopped to watch the limo drive off, Adrian was pale under his tan.

"Well, that was pretty interesting," remarked Lucas.

"I wish we were still bored," Adrian said quietly.

"What do you mean? What's wrong?"

"That was Jose's limo. And every one of them was a creation. Every single one."

"I shouldn't be allowed in these stores! I saw three pairs of shoes I loved and bought every single one!"Laughed Genesis. It was the fifth evening of her vacation, and she and Helmut were on their way to Jose's study for a call from von Reichter. He had made several calls already that week, requesting updates.

The door to the study was closed and Helmut opened it courteously. He liked Genesis. She was always friendly and quiet with him, and they had talked often throughout her stay. Jose made her very uncomfortable and occasionally angry, which in Helmut's book only added another point in her favour. He could tell that his father didn't like her very much, but it was probably just annoyance at the amount of attention she took from the doctor. Helmut didn't mind. Anyone who made his master happy was fine with him. (Besides, she had said he was cute.)

Jose looked up as the door opened but pretended not to care."Oh, it's you," he grumbled. Genesis gave him a toxic look.

As if on cue, the towering portrait on the back wall began to glow and, with a flicker, changed into a video stream of von Reichter at his keyboard. Jose and Helmut jumped to attention. Genesis smiled and walked closer. The first time she had communicated with the screen she had been startled by it, but now it was just routine.

Von Reichter returned her smile briefly.

"So. Are we all having a nice day?" He asked in an articifially friendly voice.

"Yes, Father."

"Yes, Master!"

"Yes, Max."

Jose shot Genesis an exasperated look. Showoff.

"What did you do today, dear?" the doctor asked her, amused.

"Well, I went shopping...I bought some shoes...then I came back here."

"It sounds like you had fun. Now Liebschen, I need to talk to Jose about some things, so I'll say goodnight and we'll see each other soon, all right?"

"Okay. Goodnight." Genesis waved as she left the study.

Von Reichter's face hardened as he turned his attention back to Jose and Helmut.

"Now then, boys..."

Genesis changed into a pale pink nightgown and took out her earrings. She felt comfortable, but not very sleepy, and wandered to the guestroom window. She flipped the latch and pulled the bottom pane up to let the fresh night air into her rather stuffy room. It was nice to be able to open an unscreened window without something big and ugly flying in. Once at the compound she had seen a tarantula crawling onto the window sill which she could have sworn was a foot across.

Genesis leaned out the window and looked around. The lights of the city were strong and lit the night sky to a deep blue, obscurring many of the constellations she could normally see at home. The glow was reflected in the water of the bay. Somewhere the siren of a police car wailed. Genesis looked down into the yard, with its pruned shrubs and high fence. A Fixed Idea came walking along the side of the mansion, on watch for intruders.

"Hey!" Genesis called once he was under her window. The creature was startled and looked around to see where she was.

"Up here!"

He complied, and for some reason looked relieved to see that it was her.

She waved. "Hi!" The Fixed Idea aped her movements happily before continuing his patrol. Genesis smiled to herself and rested her arms on the windowsill.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, something darted across a rooftop. She snapped to attention. The being was about a block or two away and was wearing a black bodysuit, a wide-brimmed hat, and a long black cape with red lining. It was very obviously female. Genesis was puzzled when the figure stopped jumping and stood still, but soon understood when a huge cat appeared on a nearby tower and darted to the figure's side. It rubbed itself against her as she embraced its huge neck. Presently the two shot into the air and were off again.

"Wait a minute!" cried Genesis, although too quietly for the woman or the cat to hear. She pulled herself up into a crouch on the window sill and, making sure the Fixed Idea had gone around the corner, leapt into the air. She rebounded off the top of the fence and flipped up onto the roof. The strangers were far away now. "Come back!" Frustratedly she jumped onto a street light and across a few rooftops before giving up the chase. There was no way she would be able to catch up to them. Genesis turned back in disappointment.

Staring up at the canopy of her bed, she lay awake wondering about the mysterious pair. The woman was undoubtedly one of von Reichter's creatures; possibly the cat was too. The question was: what were they doing jumping around the skyline at night? Maybe they were on some kind of lookout duty. But if that was the case, why had she never seen them come into the mansion, or even close to it? She wondered why they could jump the way she could. Von Reichter should have told her about them, shouldn't he? Unless...maybe...they were rebels.

*But why would a creation want to rebel against him?* puzzled Genesis. Especially those two.They were affectionate in a way other creations seemed not to be. Wouldn't it make sense that they would love their creator too? She wanted badly to have her questions answered. She realized, however, that mentioning the pair wouldn't be a very good idea. That would mean revealing that she had left the mansion unsupervised, which she was not allowed to do. No, it was better for all involved, Genesis told herself, not to say anything about what she had seen.