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Mutant X had only stepped through the portal for a second or two when they returned. Brennan was holding Holly in his arms while Emma, Jesse, and Shalimar were carrying Nissa's avatar. Adam was bringing up the rear.

"That was...quick," Nogard said as the portal closed.

"What happened?" I asked as Adam directed the others to take the girl and the avatar into the house.

"When we got over there," Adam said, "time was literally frozen. All of them were facing Holly like they expected something to happen and Holly was tensed up like she was going to attack."

"What about that person who opened the portal?" I asked as Brennan put Holly on the kitchen table. "Did you see any sign of her?"

"No," Shalimar said as she, Emma, and Jesse placed Nissa's avatar on the floor next to the table. "But what's odd is that YOUR scent was all around the portal."

"My scent?" I asked.

"Yeah," Shalimar replied. "You and Nogard smell exactly the same; and the portal smelled like you two."

Nogard and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows while Adam began checking Holly's pupils.

"Sooo," Nogard asked, looking back at Mutant X, "is there a chance that they'll be able to come back?"

"No," Nissa's hologram replied as her avatar sat up and looked about. The avatar said, "I planted a virus in their system the minute Charlie had leapt out of me and into the girl."

"Some guy transferred himself between you and Holly?" LeRoy asked, looking at Holly worriedly.

"I'm fine Leo," Holly said, sitting up. "Although that guy Charlie's going to be needing adult sized diapers for the rest of his life."

"What do you mean?" Jesse asked.

"She destroyed his psyche," Emma said, looking at Holly. "In a rather...unusual way."

"Dragon," Nissa's hologram said, appearing next to me. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure," I said. Leaving the others to discuss what had happened, I went outside. "What's up?"

"Three things," Nissa replied. "First is that my sister, the Andromeda Ascendant, will be arriving."

"The Andromeda Ascendant?" I asked. "Isn't she the ship you told me got trapped on the edge of an event horizion of a black hole before the Commonwealth died?"

"Yes," Nissa said. "I don't know the full story but she is on her way here."

"This seems to be the year of family reunions," I replied; half joking half serious. "First I find out my mom's alive, then Nogard is forced out of me and made good, and then you find your long lost sister. Not to mention all the reunions with the rest of my friends."

"The second thing is I cannot find Moochi," Nissa explained. "I cannot track him on any of the grounds sensor grids."

"The stupid dog," I muttered. "Is his tracking chip still active?"

"No, I looked for that right after. I am picking up a faint bio signature somewhere to the north of here."

"Send your avatar with Shalimar and Wynn," I replied. "What's the third?"

Nissa replayed her conversation with ANTIE. "And I can't track her at all--and I'm using every array I have to find her."

"Check at Chazu, Koopa's, and Sephrain's," I replied.

"ANTIE's already--"

"I'm not asking you to check to see if Rose is at any of their places," I replied. "I want to know if she's attacked anyone yet."

"Processing," Nissa said. A split second later, she said, "There was an EMPD blast at Chazu's. All of his equipment is destroyed."

Swearing darkly and heavily in my native Draconic language, I said, "Knowing Chazu, he's probably stuck somewhere since he likes to use a lot of time space jump module things. See if you can replicate one to get him home."

"Aye."