It was 10:00 a.m. on April 5, 2014, and Dr. Kate Minter was driving to see her Aunt Jane in the West Side of Chicago. These trips were always a highlight of Kate’s visit to family in the area but not on this occasion. Aunt Jane had recently been diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer and was struggling to deal with it. She had been a strong guiding hand in Kate’s life growing up, and it killed her to know Aunt Jane was suffering.

Kate had brought her close friend Evot, an artificial intelligence, or AI, from Inspector Dalton Kingston’s team, along for the trip. The Earth Ward was the nonhuman organization that protected Earth, and Evot had on her official outfit. She passed as a human with her pale skin, green eyes, and red hair.

They both wore boots and a light jacket. Kate was glad for the company, as she didn’t want to go alone. Jake Melkins, another close friend, had flown her, Isaac Barret, and Evot out to Chicago. Once they arrived, the Earth Ward had given them two cars.

Kate wasn’t an official Earth Ward member, but traveling with Evaran gave her access as if she was a high-ranking employee. She had hoped she might spend some time hanging out with Isaac, but he had his trip already planned out.

The weather was colder than usual. That wasn’t an issue for Kate, as she had on her survival suit underarmor, which kept her warm. She also had nanobots inside her. Although she would normally use a holoshell that projected boots, jeans, and a brown jacket, she had decided to use the actual items for this trip.

It still amazed her that on her last trip with Evaran and M, she had been given universal energy, which allowed her to heal organics and repair inorganics. Evaran called her a universal energy conduit.

Kate’s pulse quickened as they drove within a few streets of Aunt Jane’s house.

“Are you okay?” asked Evot. “Your heartbeat has increased.”

Kate sighed. “Yeah. I just wish this visit was under better circumstances.”

“I hope my analysis of her scans will help you heal her.”

Kate wasn’t sure how Evot got a hold of Aunt Jane’s medical scans, but Evot had analyzed a solution. If Kate removed half of the cancer, then upgraded Aunt Jane’s immune system to target specific proteins on the cancer cells, it would remove the cancer and make it look like her body fought it off without the need for chemotherapy or radiation. The aggressiveness of the cancer didn’t help things, but she was confident she could reverse it.

“I think they will, and thank you for the analysis,” said Kate. “I’ll need to sneak it in, but I’ve never tried to heal cancer before.”

Evot studied her. “M and I have calculated a high probability that you can. Your recent change in seeing dots instead of lines will also give you a more comprehensive view.”

She was right. Kate wasn’t sure why she stopped seeing lines and began seeing dots. Evot had theorized it was the same lines, but Kate could see them as dots now due to better focus. Since returning to Earth, she had been shocked at how many people had yellow dots in them. There were a lot of people with untreated diabetes.

It was extremely rare to see anyone with all green, and so far, only Inspector Dalton Kingston, Isaac, and Dylan Townsend had that. Most ancient vampires were mostly green as well. That was most likely due to their having some form of regeneration via super cells, blood, or nanobots.

Kate pulled into the driveway of Aunt Jane’s two-story house. It reminded Kate of coming back to visit when she was in college. She had done so often and stayed weekends there. There was so much she wished she could tell Aunt Jane, but she was not wisened. Given her very religious views, she probably wouldn’t take it well.

Kate and Evot got out of the car and walked through a curved path between two gravel pits with bushes. The house had dark-gray slats with white trim, and concrete steps led to a spacious front porch.

When Kate was younger, she loved sitting outside and drinking sweetened iced tea with Aunt Jane, and they had covered many topics about life. She had supported Kate’s desire to become an astronomer.

Kate and Evot went to the front door and rang the buzzer.

Heather, Aunt Jane’s sixteen-year-old daughter, opened the door. She was fit and had fair skin and long brown hair with brown eyes. Her sweatpants and loose shirt appeared comfortable.

Heather rushed out to hug Kate. “Kate!”

Kate rubbed her back. “Hey, Heather. How’re you doing?”

Heather stepped back and frowned. “As good as I can be.”

Kate had known her since she was born, and it was evident she was struggling with Aunt Jane’s cancer diagnosis. Her usual smiling face was restrained, and Kate could see inside her that she was stressed.

“I get it.” Kate gestured at Evot. “This is Evot, my close friend from work.”

“Hello,” said Evot, extending a hand.

Heather giggled as she returned the handshake. “Hi.”

Kate adored Heather’s personality. She was an extrovert and often savored meeting new people. The giggling was probably due to Evot’s being formal.

“Your mom around?” asked Kate.

“Yep,” said Heather. She turned her head back inside. “Mom! Kate and a friend are here.” She beckoned for them to follow her.

Once inside, Kate and Evot took off their boots and hung their coats on a rack, then followed Heather into a comfortable living room. It had two soft, brown couches perpendicular to each other, with two love seats and a table between them on the opposite side. A light-beige carpet covered the floor.

Aunt Jane stood and embraced Kate. “My little Kate! I’m so glad to see you!”

“And you as always,” said Kate. After stepping back, she introduced Evot.

Aunt Jane sized her up. “Any friend of Kate’s is a friend of mine.”

“Thank you,” said Evot.

Aunt Jane glanced at Heather. “Maybe Evot can help you make lunch.”

“Oh, yeah. No problem,” said Heather.

Evot smiled and followed her out of the room.

“Please sit,” said Aunt Jane, tapping the cushion next to her.

Kate complied. “I wanted to come earlier.”

“I know. I know. You’re a busy bee.”

Kate took a moment to check out the colored dots inside Jane. The cancer stood out as red, with affected areas as yellow. Outside of that were various shades of green that indicated she took care of herself.

“I’m here now, though,” said Kate. “You said it was stage two?”

Aunt Jane eased back. “Yeah. Surgery and radiation therapy, with chemotherapy thrown in there. That’s a mouthful.”

She knew Aunt Jane was trying to make light of it, but her increased heartbeat and slight frown revealed her fear.

“At least they caught it before it got worse,” said Kate.

“Yeah. Perhaps this is God testing me.”

Kate smiled but didn’t want to say what she thought of that. Aunt Jane was a very devout Christian, and she believed there was a plan for her and that anything that happened was due to that. Cancer didn’t really care about plans, but Kate wasn’t going to belabor the point.

“How’s Heather taking this?” asked Kate.

“She’s scared for me, but I think she’ll be okay long term,” said Aunt Jane.

Kate held her hand. “You’re a good mom to her and a great aunt to me.”

“Aw, come here.”

Kate hugged her. This was the chance she had been waiting for. She focused on the red areas and halved them, then made the yellow areas green. It didn’t take much to upgrade her immune system to handle the cancer.

Aunt Jane drew back and massaged her back. “Well, that was weird. Felt like a shock.”

“I can be electrifying,” said Kate.

Aunt Jane laughed. “Well, whatever it was, it’s gone. I hope there isn’t something else going on. That’s the last thing I need.”

Kate checked the colored dots inside her and verified that she would probably surprise her doctors with her next set of scans. Kate exhaled and relaxed into her seat. This was much more preferable than trying to explain what a universal conduit was and what she could do.

Aunt Jane shook her head. “I still can’t believe you’re single.”

“Aunt Jane…”

“I’m just saying. You’re smart, beautiful, take care of yourself, and fun to be around.”

Kate puffed her cheeks. “Well, when I was gone for those six months, I did meet someone, but it didn’t work out.”

“We were so worried about you,” said Aunt Jane. She eyed her. “Is Evot…?”

Kate chuckled. “Oh, no. She’s becoming my best friend, though. She’s one of the most selfless people I know, outside of you, of course.”

“Of course,” said Aunt Jane, grinning. “Then are you seeing anyone now?”

“No, not at the moment.”

Aunt Jane arched her eyebrows. “I’m sure you have your eye on someone at least.”

Kate smirked. “Maybe.”

“Let’s see him. I know you have a picture of him.”

Kate knew she wouldn’t let this go. She had always tried to play matchmaker but usually with someone from her church. Kate had humored it when she was younger, but the dates went nowhere and were sometimes hostile. Some men had thought she owed them something and were not happy when she refused. She grabbed her phone and pulled up an image, then showed it to Aunt Jane.

She leaned in. “Wow. Handsome, looks like he works out, and he looks smart. What’s his name?”

“Isaac Barret,” said Kate. “But he lost his wife five years ago and recently got closure. We’re just really good friends at the moment.”

Aunt Jane wagged a finger at her. “That’s how it starts. What’s he do?”

“Data architect. He manages data for a software company.”

“I knew he looked smart,” said Aunt Jane. “If you two start dating, you better bring him here for dinner.”

Kate chortled. “I wouldn’t dream of letting him miss experiencing your lasagna noodles.”

They cracked up.

Kate relished visiting Aunt Jane. It was something Kate sometimes forgot when traveling to faraway places in space and time. However, she would make the time to do so more often. She still had to visit the rest of her family, but talking about Isaac made her want to see him. Maybe a change of plans after this visit was in order.

Although Isaac Barret wore gloves, it was still cold outside. It was 5:00 p.m., and he waited at one of the walkway entrances to a park where Kate had suggested they go for a walk. He would never pass up an opportunity to spend time with her, and although this had not been planned before coming to Chicago, he’d take it.

Most of his day had been spent with James Dexler, the chief information officer of the software company Isaac worked at before being abducted. The company had seen hard times in those six months, as one of Isaac’s big projects fell behind schedule. James was able to get others to step up and complete the project at the cost of others, and the company had gained a two-million-dollar contract.

James had been sent a message from the Earth Ward upon Isaac’s return to Earth after Evaran and M had rescued him, and Isaac had called and reiterated that it was top secret. Still, it was good to see James in person, and he had even offered Isaac a part-time consulting position. Isaac had been tempted, but there was too much going on with the WildHaven Institute and traveling with Evaran and M.

One thing he had learned about his ability was he could shake hands if he let his hand go limp and just barely moved it. He hadn’t intended for James to be the test subject, but there was no way to avoid it. There were definitely no back slaps like Isaac would have done in the past. James would have been knocked through the wall.

Despite the unusual day, getting a call from Kate to go on a walk was the highlight of it. She was only about an hour away, and he enjoyed the drive over. He had on his survival suit with a holoshell, and it was at the point where the suit was more comfortable on than off. Kate had also said she was coming over in hers.

Isaac wasn’t sure where Evot had gone, but he was sure there was no shortage of things for her to do. It was still light outside, and he wondered how Dylan Townsend was doing. He was with Evaran, M, and Dalton, practicing his enhanced speed and agility. Isaac wished he could have that time, and when he got back, he would make sure he did.

His pulse quickened when Kate’s car pulled in next to his. Dianne, his deceased wife, told him to move on with life during her last moments. If he had to do that with someone, it would be Kate. He had been attracted to her when they were quarantined on an alien moon, but he wasn’t the type to put himself out there.

Oleg Koval, who had been abducted alongside Isaac, was that type, and she and he had gotten together. With Oleg suffering amnesia and back to a normal life and Isaac finally ready to move on, he saw an opportunity to test the waters with Kate.

Kate walked up and gave him a hug. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself,” said Isaac.

“Sorry about the last-minute call. I just wanted to go for a walk and thought you might be free. I’m glad you were.”

Isaac motioned at the walkway. “Always. Our walk awaits.”

They headed off side by side.

“How’d it go with Aunt Jane? You heal her?” he asked.

“Yeah. Thanks to Evot, I knew what to target. I took away half of Aunt Jane’s cancer and boosted her immune system to handle the rest.”

Isaac grinned. “It pays to have nieces like you.”

Kate swatted his arm. “You’d better believe it. But seriously, I’m glad I was able to do it. How did your day go with James?”

“Well, he gave me a rundown on what happened while I was gone, then he offered me a part-time consulting gig.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” said Isaac. “I had to turn him down since I never know what my schedule will be at the moment.”

Kate nodded. “I get that.”

She was easy to talk with, and part of him never wanted to lose her friendship even if it meant not moving beyond that. The other part wanted to risk it, and it was a struggle to think about.

After fifteen minutes, they came to a stop.

One of the new aspects of becoming a universal energy conduit was that they could see dimensional and nonhuman auras. Isaac had spotted someone with a nonhuman aura behind a tree a bit ahead. He wasn’t sure what they were doing, but they stood perfectly still. The path Isaac and Kate were on went right by the tree.

“I see it too,” said Kate.

A man in an advanced light-armor suit moved out into the open. His shoulders and legs from the knee down were black. The rest of the suit was silver. He stood about six feet tall but weighed almost five hundred pounds. His aura indicated he had an exotic energy, but it wasn’t one Isaac was familiar with. His silver, metallic, open-faced helmet revealed his pale skin and orange eyes.

Thanks to Isaac’s cyborg ability, he could now scan people internally without needing to use the PSD. The man had an unusual skeleton that registered as a mix of bone and metal, similar to what Isaac had. However, the spine resembled a centipede clutching tightly to other body parts. He had a lot of augments, but the most surprising one was his brain was encased in a shell of some type.

The man clapped and said in a slightly digital voice, “The great Isaac Barret and Dr. Kate Minter.”

“And who are you and what do you want?” asked Isaac, standing in front of Kate.

“Mazarik’s the name. As for what I want…” He sneered. “Why, you two, of course. You’re considered two of the most powerful beings on this Earth. Mmm. I can sense your energy, whatever it is. It’s powerful. Oh, I love it.”

Isaac narrowed his eyes. “And why do you want us?”

Mazarik snickered. “To take you out. See, here’s the plan. I get rid of you two, Evaran, Dylan Townsend, M, Inspector Dalton Kingston, and Evot, then this Earth is mine.”

Kate snorted. “Then you haven’t done your research. There’s a lot of powerful beings here.”

“Sure, sure. However, they aren’t as powerful as the ones I mentioned. Oh, I see you tried to contact Evaran. Sorry. I sorta jammed the area, at least for you two. No, you’ll have to fight me by yourselves. I hope you give me a challenge.”

Isaac grunted. “I’d leave if I were you.”

Mazarik guffawed. “And why would I do that? When you get to be my age, you seek out challenges. Something new. Something fresh. I haven’t been tested in a long time. I hope you fare better than the others have.”

He shot a laser at Isaac, who spawned his shield and blocked it.

“Nice!” said Mazarik. “I didn’t know about your energy shield. I guess it’s time to get friendly.”

He charged toward Isaac.

Isaac could tell Mazarik had speed, but Isaac could analyze data fast. There was a pattern to Mazarik’s movement, and when he drew near, Isaac punched him in the chest, which sent him smashing into a nearby tree.

Mazarik took a moment to stand. “Impressive. Not many could have done that. Let’s try that again.”

He dashed over, dodged Isaac’s punch, then side-kicked him into another tree. He fired a laser at Kate, who blocked it with her shield.

She shot a repulsion beam at him, but Mazarik held his ground. As she moved to help Isaac get up, she blasted a mist and stun beam, which Mazarik shrugged off.

The last time Isaac had been hit that hard was by a powerful creature during their last summons. He tasted blood, not something he thought was possible given his new state. Mazarik was powerful and acted crazy.

Mazarik jumped over and tried to land on Isaac, who rolled out of the way.

Isaac concentrated and fired four powerful stun beams from his forearm, which caused Mazarik to cry out.

Mazarik ran behind a large rock. “Now, that was a surprise. Oh, this is fun!”

Isaac stood, and he and Kate presented a wall of energy shields toward Mazarik.

He ran, then leapt behind them and kicked both in the back, which sent them sprawling. He tackled Isaac.

“No!” said Kate.

She gripped Mazarik’s arm as he went to pummel Isaac.

Mazarik howled as his suit began to fritz.

He jumped off Isaac. “How? How is that possible?”

Isaac stood. “Why don’t you just stop this?”

Mazarik grabbed an orb from his belt. “I don’t know what she did, but it’s caused more damage than anyone has before. Excellent. While I’d like to continue this fight, you’ve put me at a disadvantage. Bye-bye. Enjoy…wherever you go.”

He tossed the orb on the ground in front of them.

Isaac flinched when a rectangular, shimmering blue door spawned from the orb. He and Kate raised their shields, but the large moving door swept over them.

Isaac’s heart thundered as he surveyed the new environment. The park they had walked through had been replaced by a large, wild forest, and they were on a hill with rocky outcrops. There was no sign of Mazarik, and Evaran, M, and Dylan were grayed out in Isaac’s ARI. He did a quick analysis and saw that he and Kate were okay. The sun had started to set, and he didn’t detect any technology around them.

Kate checked around. “I don’t think we’re on our Earth anymore.”

Isaac stared up the hill. “Shit. And we’re not alone.”