Badasses Of The Multiverse: Book 4: “The Jock, The Nerd, The Bounty Hunters, And The Crazy Chicks.”

Chapter Ten: Epilogue: “Windows of Opportunity.”

By Paul Cousins.

Copyright Disclaimer: All copyrighted places, characters, items, and events, within the story, are held by their current owners. No profit is being made on this work of fiction.

(_)

Reality, Cowboy Bebop Reality. Date, Sunday, October seventeenth, twenty-one hundred. Place, Mars, Tharsis City. The front yard of the Lowe Residence. Time, three PM, local time, in the middle afternoon.

It has been ten minutes since Spike arrived Julia had arrived in the front yard of the Lowe residence.

Spike was in her leisure suit, and Julia, in a simple yellow sundress and yellow slippers.

Julia was a cute, five year old girl, with long green hair, that went down to her shoulder blades.

Currently, mother and daughter wear sitting beside each other, at the bottom step of the outside staircase, leading up to the second story living room of the home, on the left side of the building, from the street. With Spike sitting to Julia's right side.

Julia looked up at her mother's face, as she asked, in english, “Mommy, how long until your friends will show up?”

Spike looked down at her daughter, as she answered, in a happy tone of voice, in english, “A little while more, sweetie. Then, we will get something to eat.” She thought, 'I am glad I taught my daughter to speak both chinese and english. And she was more than happy to speak english for me, while here. It makes things easier in dealing with the others.'

The girl smiled, at her mother's face, as she said, “Thank you, mommy.”

Just then, they watched as Ed and Bob suddenly appeared in front of the Lowe residence, in the front yard, on an empty part of their driveway.

Spike looked up and saw Ed and Bob standing by each other, with the redhead holding her reality device in her right hand.

Spike then saw Ed look down at the reality device in her right hand, as she overheard Ed state, “I am going to study this device, and figure out how it gets around that protective field that Scorpius has.”

Bob turned to his wife, as he agreed, “Good idea. But, be careful. That device could be booby-trapped.”

Ed responded, “I will.” She then pocked the reality device.

Spike coached her daughter stand up, onto the ground, as she stood up, as well. She then used her left hand to lightly gripped her daughter's right hand, as she led Julia over to Ed and Bob.

As they walked towards the married couple, Spike casually asked, “So, how did the rescue go?”

Ed and Bob looked over at the mother and child. Both of them smiled, as Bob stated, “It went great. We are going to see the boys later, today.”

By then, Spike and Julia stopped within a few feet of Ed and Bob.

Spike said, “I am glad to hear that.”

Bob responded, “We will formally introduce to Lewis and Stan, later.”

Spike replied, “I look forward to it.”

Ed looked down at Julia, as she complimented, “What a cute daughter you have, Spike.”

Spike smiled, as she said, “Thank you. And she is well behaved for her age.”

Julia looked up at Ed, as she said, “Hello.”

Ed replied, “Hi. I'm Ed. This person with me is Bob.”

Bob just waved at the girl, with his right hand.

Julia responded, “Hi Ed. Hi Bob. I am, Julia.”

Just then, Annie appeared, a few feet from them.

Annie looked around, as she pocketed the reality device in her hand.

The other four people looked over at Annie.

Annie commented, “You have a nice daughter, Spike.”

Spike replied, “Thank you.”

Just then, Violin appeared a few feet near Annie, to Annie's right side, with a reality device in her right hand.

Violin looked around. She waved at them, with her left hand, as she said, “Hi everyone.”

Bob turned to Violin, as she replied, “Hi Violin. You look good, considering you just confronted Scorpius.”

Violin shrugged, as she replied, “Actually, things went a lot better than I expected.”

Bob said, “That is good to know.” He then turned back to look at Ed, Spike, and Julia.

While the rest of the group was to far away to notice, Annie was close enough to see the slight sheen wetness on Violin's hair.

Annie walked over to Violin, as she whispered, “Why is you hair wet?”

Violin softly replied, “I will tell you later, in private.”

Annie quietly said, “Okay.”

Violin and Annie then walked over to the group.

When they reached the group, and came to a stop, near them, Violin looked down at Julia. She said, “So, this is Julia. She is cute.”

Spike replied, “Thank you.”

Violin then looked up at the adults in the group, as she asked, “So, what is everyone going to do, now that we won the battle?”

Ed looked over at Violin, as she answered, “Bob and I are going to contact Faye and Jet, and stage a reunion with Spike, and Julia here. Then later, Bob and I are meeting our boys to at a restaurant we all like, to have some dinner... And a long talk. What about you, Violin?”

Violin answered, “I am heading over to the crew of Moya, to deal with my personal matters.”

Ed replied, “Good luck.”

Bob offered, “If you need someone to talk to afterward, look us up.”

Violin smiled, as she responded, “If I need to, I will.” She then turned to Annie, as she asked, “And what about you, Annie?”

Annie stated, “I have some people I intent to speak to, about a few things. But, nothing too serious.”

Ed said, “Good luck with that.”

Violin put the reality device that she had in her hand, into one of her pockets. She then pulled out her personal reality device, from another pocket.

Violin stated, “Well, see you guys later.” She turned to Spike, as she stated, “And Spike, I wish the best for you and your daughter.”

Spike nodded in her direction, as she responded, “I appreciate that.”

Violin turned to Annie, as she said, “Some time, we will have to battle together, and see what what we are really capable of.”

Annie looked over at Violin, as she smirked. She stated, “I agree. And we will invite, Aeryn along, and make it a trio.”

Violin returned Annie's smirk, as she responded “Great idea. We could always use the range firepower. And Aeryn does like her big guns.”

Annie giggled for a few seconds. She then said, “Exactly.”

The other adults overheard their conversation, as Bob thought, 'Those, two working together, could cause a whole lot of trouble. Throw Aeryn into the mix, and I don't want to be on the same planet, when those three cut loose, together. I am glad my family and I are not some of their enemies.'

Violin went into say, to Annie, “Until next time, Annie.”

Annie whispered into Violin's ear, “See you, John.”

Violin smiled, and nodded towards Annie. Next, she took a number of steps, back away from the group, She then came to a stop, and used her reality device to leave.

As Violin disappeared, Annie pulled out her own personal reality device.

Annie turned to Ed and Bob, as she stated, “Please, let Lewis and Stan know that I wish them the best, and I apologize for the confusion at the beginning. Also, when you tell them who I really am. Please, do so, gently.”

Ed replied, “We will.”

Bob said, “Thanks for the help, Annie. We might not have been able to do this with out you.”

Annie smiled, as she responded, “You're welcome.” Annie then took several steps back from the group as well. After she came to a stop, she used her reality device to disappear, as she jumped realities.

With Anne and Violin gone, Spike turned to Ed and Bob, as she inquired, “I got to ask. Who are Annie, and Violin?”

Ed and Bob turned to Spike, as Ed answered, “Violin is complicated. Very complicated. We will talk about her, later. After I get her permission to do so. But, Annie is okay with me telling people about her. Annie, as she personally stated, is like you. Only she was rescued before she was impregnated.”

Spike sarcastically replied, “Lucky her.”

Ed commented, “In more ways than one. Annie's full name is, Annie Skywalker. But, you likely know her better as, Darth Vader of the Star Wars realities.”

Spike just silently looked at Ed, as her jaw dropped, in shock.

Bob stated, “To be fair, Annie has become quite a nice woman. And she is a wonderful friend, and a pleasant guest to have over. I guess having her limbs, skin, head hair, and lungs regenerate, to the point of having a healthy body. Even though it is a woman's body. Along with learning she did not murder her wife, and she has two children, has mellowed her out a bit.”

Ed said, “Bob is right about this. You can relax about Annie. She is not evil anymore.”

Spike collected herself, as she replied, “Okay. I see the vat process went into overdrive with her.”

Ed stated, “Yes. The vat process regenerate her body, much like your right eye.”

Spike questioned, “How did you know about my right eye?

Bob said, “Nobody told you? Did they?”

Spike flatly asked, “Told me what?”

Ed stated, “All realities are works of fiction of other another realities in the multiverse.”

Spike commented, with skepticism in her voice, “I find that hard to believe.”

Ed responded, “And given everything we have been through, when I was younger, I found it hard to believe that you were stupid enough to sleep with Vicious' girlfriend, behind his back. No wonder he was upset with you.” She mentally added, 'Julia does not need to know that this is the same woman she was named after.'

Spike demanded, “How did you know that, Ed?”

Ed explained, “As I said all realities are fiction. As well as this reality. Our home reality. And we were the stars of our own anime series. I have seen it. It is pretty good. It covered our time on the Bebop, from twenty seventy-one to twenty seventy-two. When you went to confronted Vicious for that final time.”

Spike was quiet for a few seconds. Even Julia could tell something was wrong, as Julia gently tugged at her mother's blue coat.

Spike looked down as her daughter, as she padded Julia lightly on her head, which calmed her daughter down.

Spike then looked up at Ed and Bob, as she said, “This is insane. Even for what has already happened to me.”

Ed responded, “Don't feel bad about it. The shock of the revelation will wear off in an hour, or so.”

Bob said, “The series, and movie, are both titled, Cowboy Bebop. We have a copies of both the series and movie. Though, we hid them, so our boys wouldn't accidentally find them. We will show the entire series to you, later. Jet and Faye got a kick out of watching the copies we gave them.”

Spike inquired, “So, they know about the affair?”

Bob replied, “Yes.”

Spike said, “I am having second thoughts about meeting up with them.”

Ed responded, “Don't worry about that. They will be happy to see you. And they will enjoy meeting Julia, here. We will all have a wonderful tone, together.”

Spike stated, “Okay. I am trusting you one this, Ed. Please, don't disappoint me.”

Ed replied, “I won't.”

Bob mentioned, “And to be fair, you are also considered one of the most interesting people in anime.”

Spike shrugged, as she replied, “That is nice to know.”

Ed suggested, “Let's go inside, so I can call Faye and Jet, and find out where they are. And the entrance we use, to enter our home, is up the outside stairs, leading to our living room.”

Ed then walked to the stairs, as she pulled out her house keys. Bob, Spike, and Julia were walked right behind her. With Spike slowly walking with Julia. To prevent Julia from accidentally slipping. As they took their time up the staircase.

Less than a minute later, they were all inside the Lowe family's living room.

As Spike looked around, with her daughter standing beside her, to her right side, she saw a well cleaned living room, except for the windows facing the front yard, which were broken, and boarded up.

Bob noticed Spike looking at the broken windows, as he stated, “Sorry for the windows, but some distance relatives stopped by. We plan to have a word with them, later on, concerning the repair bills.”

Spike turned to Bob, as she replied, “I can sympathize.”

Bob thought, 'I need to know something, before it becomes an issue.' He asked, “I have a question for you. If you ever found out who was responsible for changing you into a woman, and making you pregnant, what would you do?”

Spike thought over the question for a few seconds. She then answered, “Likely nothing. I have thought over that battle with Vicious, and the aftermath, a dozen times over. I was dead, no matter what happened. So, waking up as a woman was not that bad a situation. Compared to the alternative. I have a feeling, given the life I led, that I was not going upstairs.” She then placed her right hand over Julia, and gently, onto Julia's right shoulder, pulling her daughter closer to her, as she continued, “Besides, I love my daughter.”

Bob complimented, “You are a better person, than I thought.” He mentally added, 'And I don't have to worry about Spike starting a war between the Bebop crew, and the Serenity crew, when she eventually learns that Chang was the person in charge of this entire mess.'

Spike replied, “Thank you.”

Meanwhile, Ed went to the vidphone, on a table, in the room. When she reached the vidphone, she dialed the number encrypted communication line which only she personally created, and only a few people knew. Including her family.

Ed set the vidphone audio for conference, so the others in the room could listen to the conversation.

A few seconds later, the vidphone was picked up on other end.

And on the screen, Ed saw Faye's face.

Ed greeted, “Hi Faye.”

Faye replied, in english, “Hi Ed.”

As Bob, Spike, and Julia heard that Ed was on the phone, they quieted down, as they listened to the conversation. They then took a few steps close to Ed. Though, they stayed out of the camera view, as they stood and listened to the conversation.

Ed requested, “Could you put Jet on the phone as well.”

Faye replied, “Sure. Just hold on a sec.” Faye then left the screen.

A few seconds later, Faye came back to the screen, as the screen splitting, vertically, to show both Faye and Jet's faces. With Faye on the right side of the screen, and Jet on the left side of the screen.

Jet said, in english, “Hi Ed. How are you doing? We got the phone call from Stan. I'm sorry we could not help him, and Lewis. Is everything fine with them?”

Ed replied, “Don't worry. We got it all worked out.”

Jet responded, “Good. I hope family life is treating you well.”

Ed smiled, as she said, “I am doing great Jet. And I have some great news. You are not going to believe who is with me.”

Jet replied, “Knowing you. It could literally be anyone.”

Faye asked, “So, who is it?”

Ed simply said one word, “Spike.”

Faye inquired, with excitement in her tone of voice, “Spike is alive?”

Ed replied, “Yes.”

Jet asked, “What rock has he been hiding under, for most the last three decades?”

Faye requested, “Can I see him? Please, put him on the phone.”

Ed sadly said, “Not just yet. We need to talk, first.”

Jet realized, “Something is wrong.”

Ed responded, “Yes.”

Jet inquired, in a calm tone of voice, “How bad is it?”

Ed coyly answered, “It depends on your point of view of, bad.”

Jet responded, “Let me rephrase that. Is Spike able to speak with us?”

Ed turned, and she saw that nearby, outside of the camera's eye on the phone, Spike, Julia, and Bob, were listening to the conversation.

Spike took a step towards the phone, when Bob gently caught her left forearm, with his right hand.

Spike looked at Bob's face. Bob just shook his head, for her to stop walking towards the phone.

Spike nodded, and Bob let go of her.

Ed turned back to the vidphone screen. She answered, “Yes. Spike is able to talk. But, I have a question for you both, before you meet with, Spike. Do you remember what Bob told you, years ago, when you first met him? He told me about your conversation. And I was wondering if you still remember that discussion.”

Jet replied, “Of course.”

Faye commented, “Learning you are a fiction characters by someone from another reality, and you believe them, is not a conversation you forget.”

Ed said, “And do you remember what he told you, besides the reality is fiction situation?
About that multiversal war?”

Jet answered, “Yes.”

Ed went on to say, “And do you remember what we told you, in private, about what else we learned about that war. About those victims that had their gender bent, and impregnated?”

Jet stated, “I remember you two talking about that... Oh no.”

Ed replied, “Yes.”

Faye quietly asked, “And was she?...”

Ed answered, “Yes. She has a five year old daughter with her, right here with her.”

Jet questioned, “Is Spike still sane? Or, is she now as crazy as you sometimes are?”

Ed responded, “I have gotten a lot better since the day we met.”

Jet conceded, “True. And back then, I chalked up a lot of your insanity to going through puberty.”

Ed replied, “Thank you. And yes, Spike is still sane. And her daughter is a sweetheart.”

Jet said, “That is nice to hear. And speaking of Spike's daughter. Since her daughter is five years old, how long has it been for her?”

Ed stated, “Best I can figure, it has only been around six years for her, since she last saw us.”

Faye commented, “It has been so long, I wonder if she will even recognize me.”

Ed complimented, “Trust me, Faye. You are like wine. You have had aged gracefully.”

Faye smiled, as she said, “Thank you, Ed.”

Ed smiled, towards Faye, on the screen.

Jet asked, “What does Spike look like as a woman?”

Ed said, “She looks like her own, younger, twin sister.”

Jet joked, “If that is the case, she must be hot. Do you think she would take offense if I hit on her?”

Ed turned to Spike, as she saw the dark green haired woman burst out laughing at Jet's joke.

Jet commented, “From that feminine laughter I hear in the background. I will take that as a, no.”

Ed turned back to the vidphone, as she replied, “Yea. She got the joke.”

Faye asked, “So, what is Spike's daughter's name?”

Ed smirked, as she replied, “Guess.”

Faye and Jet casually stated, in unison, “Julia.”

Ed said, “Got it in one.”

Jet suggested, “It might be best if you just teleport here, with Spike and Julia.”

Ed replied, “I agree. So, where are you?”

Jet answered, “We are in orbit around Neptune.”

Ed inquired, “What are you doing near Neptune?”

Jet explained, “We are getting a line on a bounty. We got the information, but it is worth letting go of this lead, so we can meet with Spike and Julia.”

(_)

Faye agreed, “Jet is right. Meeting Spike and Julia is more important.”

Ed responded, “I am glad you both feel that way. We will come to you. We will meet you in the hanger of the Bebop, in a few minutes.”

Jet said, “We will be there.”

Faye and Jet them disconnected the vidphone communication line.

Ed turned off her vidphone, as she turned to her husband, Spike, and Julia. As she stood up straight, she asked, “You guys get all that?”

Bob answered, “Yep. I am ready when these two are ready.”

Spike looked down at her daughter, then back at Ed, as she answered, “Ready went you two are.”

Ed stated, “Then, let's go.”

(_)

Cowboy Bebop Reality. Place, in orbit of Neptune.

A few minutes later, Ed, Bob, Spike, and Julia teleported into the enclosed, sealed, hanger of the Bebop.

Ed pocketed her personal reality device.

They stood, together, in an empty space in the hanger. They saw the ceiling lights were on, as they looked around.

Spike thought, 'This place hasn't changed a bit.'

Spike then looked over at the zipcraft in the hanger. She saw the Hammerhead, and the Red Tail, beside her old zipcraft, the Swordfish II.

Spike thought, 'It is nice they decided to keep the old beauty.'

Bob noticed Spike looking at her own zipcraft. He commented, “It still runs like dream. ”

Spike looked over at Bob, as she smiled. She said, “Nice.”

Bob stated, “We have all flown it, at least once. I hope you don't mind.”

Spike replied, “I don't. Considering, as far as you all were concerned, I was dead. Honestly, I am glad you guys didn't junk it.”

Bob agreed, “I am to. Jet, Faye, and Ed, were even the ones that taught myself, and later my sons, how to fly zipcraft.”

Spike said, “It is always nice to learn something new.”

Bob replied, “You are preaching to the choir.”

Spike asked, “By the way, how is there gravity in the hanger?”

Bob commented, “Ed and I helped Jet and Faye, install some gravity and inertia dampeners, in the Bebop. The technology is from the Star Trek reality, and they do not required that much energy to use. This ship now has full artificial gravity, without use of centrifuge technology.”

Spike said, with astonishment in her tone of voice, “Eh, nice.”

Bob replied, “Thank you.”

Just then, Faye and Jet entered the hanger from the common area of the Bebop. With Jet being to Faye's left side.

As they approached the group, Ed, Bob, Spike and Julia, turned to look at them.

Spike said that both of Faye and Jet were both still in great physical shape. Though, while Faye was still slender, Jet had to trim down in muscle bulk, due to his age.

While Faye and Jet approached the group, Jet said, “Welcome to the Bebop.”

The two adults stopped within a few feet of the group.

As everyone remained silent, Faye looked more closely at Spike, for the next few seconds.

Faye to a few steps close to Spike. As they stood looking at each other, Faye used her right had to slap Spike across her left cheek. The next thing Spike knew, Faye was hugging her, as she joyfully said, “It is good to have you back.”

Faye let go of Spike. As she took a step back from Spike.

Faye and Spike looked at each other, as Spike replied, “It is good to be back.”

Jet extended his right hand, as he stated, “I am happy you are here, Spike. Though, it seems that life just keeps getting weirder, and weirder.”

Spike shook Jet's hand, with her own right hand. Both gave the other a firm group, for a few seconds.

After they broke their handshake, Spike replied, “No kidding. Think about it from my perspective.”

Jet said, “I am.”

Faye looked down at Julia, as she said, “Hi Julia. I am Faye. And the man with me is, Jet.”

Julia said, “Hi Faye and Jet.”

Jet looked down at Julia, as he said, “Hi Julia.”

Spike said, “So, what happened to you guys?”

Jet and Faye looked up at Spike, as Jet answered, “We got older.”

Faye pointed out, “While taking account of your daughter's age, you seem a little younger than you should be. Is that part of that super-soldier serum I have heard about?”

Spike answered, “Yes. Excluding the gender change, the other benefits to the vat process are nice.”

Faye asked, “How about regeneration of scars?”

Spike admitted, “I am not sure.”

Bob spoke up, “Actually, the vat process uses two formulas. The first is the gender change on men, that does the regeneration process. The other is the super-soldier serum, which restores one youth, health, even curing cancer, while enhancing the personal physical abilities.”

“And while the super-soldier serum will not remove old scars, and regrow limbs, it does have some minor regenerate properties. Such as maintaining health, giving the person extreme longevity, faster recovery time for injuries and exertion. And the serum allows the person to keep peak physical fitness, even when pregnant, and recovery from birth.”

Spike turned to Bob, as she asked, “And how would you know that?”

Jet answered for Bob, “One of Ed and Bob's friends went through the process.”

Bob stated, “Yes. We will have to introduce you to B, sometime.”

Spike replied, “I look forward to it.”

Faye said, “Now, that I think know more about the vat process. I might have to look into this vat process. I would like to be younger. And the added physical benefits are nice a touch.”

Ed stated, “If that is what you want, Faye, we have friends that have access to that technology.”

Faye turned to Ed, as she replied, “Thanks Ed.”

Spike turned to Jet, as she teased, “You know, Jet. That vat process would restore your left arm, and the hair back on your head. Though, you would be turned into a woman in the process.”

Jet lightly chuckled. He then said, “Actually, Faye and I were looking at the rejuvenation process that Ed used. And while, Faye may take the vat process. I will plan to use the process Ed used. That is because I know for a fact that it works on men, and allows a man to stay a man.”

Spike replied, “I understand.”

Bob mentioned, “By the way, Spike. If you want to be a guy again, temporally. We do have access some magical powder. Not joking. That will turn you into a man with cold water, and change you back into a woman with hot water.”

Spike turned to Bob, as she inquired, “Do I even want to know why you have such powder on hand.”

Spike look over at Ed, and she saw Ed face blush a deep shade red.

Meanwhile, Jet and Faye had started laughing.

Spike said, “You really have gone places, Ed.”

Ed looked at Spike. She smirked, as she stated, “You have no idea.”

Spike agreed, “You are probably right.” She turned to Bob, as she said, “And I think I will take you up on your offer.”

Bob said, “Okay. I will get you some packets, in a day or two. After you settle in. Wherever you plan stay?”

By then, Jet and Faye had calmed down. Jet stated, “Spike and Julia are welcome to stay here. You can use your old room. We even have a nice, comfortable, spare cot for Julia.”

Spike turned to Jet, as she asked, “What did you do with my old room.”

Jet answered, “We turned it into a guest bedroom for our friends, when they came over. The room is swept and dusted. And the bed sheets are clean.”

Spike stated, “That sounds great. And I accept your offer, Jet. As long as we are not just having only bell peppers, instead of bell peppers and beef. I have a growing girl to take care of.”

Jet noticed Julia looking up at Spike, while smiling.

Jet looked down at Julia, then up at Spike. He stated, “Don't worry. Our pantry, freezer, and refrigerator, are fulling stocked with food, and drink. We are no longer broke. Honestly, Faye and I are rich. Not super-rich. But, we could retire, if we wanted to.”

Spike commented, “I heard from Ed that this was now more of a hobby for you two.”

Faye said, “It is. We just got nothing better to do.”

Spike replied, “That is nice to hear.”

Faye commented, “When we finally hit it big a few times, and became rich, we realized we were still addicted to an exciting life. So, for us, it was a choice of either continuing to bounty hunt, or drugs and wild orgies. And we consider bounty hunting a more productive use of our time.”

The adults laughed for a few seconds.

As they calmed down, Spike inquired, “By the way, Faye, do you still spend as much time in the bathroom, as you use to, when I was here?”

Jet answer for Faye, “Yes. She does.”

Faye asked, “And why would that matter to you? The toilet is in another part of the ship.”

Spike conceded, “Good point. Though, now that I am a woman, I know it does not take you that long to wash up.”

Faye looked more intently towards Spike, as she replied, “So, I like to enjoy a hot soak.” She then smiled, as she teased, “And on that matter. Who is the woman with the attitude now, Spike?”

Spike chuckled a little. She admitted, “You got me there. Though, at least I refuse to be a bitch during that time of the month. Though, you were not that bad during that time, yourself.”

Faye smiled, as she said, “Thank you. It is never wise to be a bitch, while sharing close quarters with someone you have to trust your life too.”

Jet spoke up, “Wiser words were never spoken.”

All the other adults nodded in agreement.

Jet then looked down at Julia, as he offered, “Julia, would you like a tour of the rest of the ship.”

Julia said, “Sure.” She looked up at her mother, as she requested, “Can we do that, mommy?”

Spike looked down at Julia, as she stated, “We will do that in a minute, dear.”

Ed pulled out her reality device, as she stated, “Well, it has been fun. But, we have a dinner engagement with our sons, in a little while, that we have to get ready for. Though, we will check in on all of you, later.”

Jet said, “That is fine, Ed. You and your family are welcome here, anytime.”

As Bob and Ed turned and took several steps away from the group, Faye asked, “By the way, when are you going to tell you sons the truth about your secret? They are almost adults, now.”

Ed and Bob came to a stop, and turned around to face Faye, Spike, Julia, and Jet. Ed answered, “They already found out. That was why they called you Friday night.”

Bob said, “Their cousins. The trio sisters came to visit, while Ed and I were out of town.”

Faye teased, “I bet that was an interesting meeting for the boys.”

Jet whispered into Spikes ear, “I will tell you later, who they are.”

Spike softly replied, “Okay.”

Ed stated, “Yes. We are sure that it was. Anyway, it has been a very long weekend for our family, in many ways.”

Bob commented, “We are likely about to catch hell over that, during dinner, tonight.”

Faye said, in a mischievous tone of voice, “Good luck with that.”

Jet requested, “Please, let us know what happens.”

Ed replied, “We will.”

Spike spoke up, “Ed, before you leave. I just have one question for you. Whatever happened to, Ein. Being a dog, I guess he is dead. But, how did he live the rest of his life?”

Ed mentioned, “Actually, Ein is still very much alive, and healthy. He is doing great at his job, that he has had for years. I check on him, now and again. Remember, he was genetically engineered. And where he is, and what he is doing. Well...”

(_)

At that moment, on Mars, in Tharsis City, in the skyscraper building of one of the major internet, and telecommunications companies for the entire solar system, the CEO of the company was in his highrise office.

Inside the CEO's office was a very small, low lying desk, without a chair. The desk had a build in keyboard, touch pad, monitor, and speakers, that the CEO could use.

Currently, the CEO of the company, Ein, the data-dog, stood on his desk, as he happily barked, “Life is good.”

(_)

Elsewhere in the multiverse, on another Earth, in a modern civilization, it was an evening in a medium size city.

Six women, all wearing various nice dresses, of different colors, to go with their different hair colors, walked into a nice restaurant.

All the women had slender to athletic physical builds.

Three of the women were girls, in their late teens. Two other women were in mid-twenties. With the last women, a redhead, being in her late-twenties.

They had reservations in the restaurant, and when they had arrived, they were soon seated in their own private room.

The table in their room was round, and looked like it could seat up to eight people. Though, it had only six conformable cushion chairs surrounding it.

The younger members of the group sat across the table from the older members of the group.

After the women were seated, the waiter gave them all menus, and they all soon gave their drink and meal orders. Due to the six women having come to this restaurant often, they did not need to see a menu, and they gave their drink and meal orders, at the same time.

After the waiter left their private dining room, to fill their orders, the six women started talking in japanese.

Ranma inquired, “So, how long were you gone? For us, it was a couple of days.”

Nodoka answered, “Well mom, for us it was about a week.”

Akira asked, “So, how did the plan go?”

Yurika stated, “We were lucky your plan worked at all. But, it did. Lewis and Stan's dormant genes have been activated, and they are now gender benders, like us.”

Mikoto said, “It was wise for use to have waited until Bob and Ed were elsewhere.”

Natsuru agreed, “Yes, it was. To bad we could not have done it in a more civil way.”

Ranma said, “True. And I think I speak for all of us when I say that we never liked what Ed and Bob did in raising their sons. It was a farce what they were doing in raising their children.”

“The brothers being super-geniuses was more than enough evidence that they were destined for greater things. But, Ed and Bob, in their flawed wisdom, agreed that they wanted their sons to lead a so called, normal life. And given the situation, we could not directly interfere without starting a literal small war within our social circles. So, this was the only workable plan we could come up with.”

“And with Lewis and Stan now gender benders, and with them knowing what is going on. Or, on the path of learning what is going on. There is no excuse for them not to experience the greater life that Bob and Ed had previously denied them, through their childhoods.”

Akira agreed, “That is so true.” She then turned to the sisters, as she kindly said, “I want to apologize again, girls. About what we had to do at Lagoon Island. We had to act like we were surprised by what you did.”

Yurika answered, “It is alright, mother. We understand.”

Mikoto commented, “I am not upset.”

Nodoka replied, “And neither am I.”

Ranma stated, “Good. Because, it was necessary, given both River and Annie were there. We are just lucky, that years ago, I learned techniques in hiding our thoughts and emotions from being scanned by telepaths and empaths. And I taught you these techniques. Still, Annie showing up was a real surprise. If she had focused on our emotional states, she might have still figured out what we were up to.”

Natsuru inquired, “Yes. It is fortunate that she was in a hurry. So, since you did not trigger the change, do you know who caused the Lowe siblings to become gender benders?”

Mikoto answered, “We are not sure. But, it has to do with Scorpius.”

Akira suggested, “Maybe we should send Scorpius a thank you card.”

Natsuru countered, “Nice idea. But, it would tip our hand that we were the ones responsible. And that is something we should keep secret.” She then looked at the sisters, as she complimented, “Still, you three did a good job. And you came out of it alive, and unharmed. That is the most important part of this situation.”

All three sisters smiled at their parents.

Yurika pointed out, “Still, we are going to have to pay for some minor damage to the Lowe's living room windows.”

Akira shrugged, as she said, “Small matter. We will work something out with them in a few days.”

Ranma asked, “So, how do Lewis and Stan look in their girl forms?”

Natsuru requested, “Yea. What do they look like?”

Akira stated, “I would like to know that myself.”

Nodoka answered, “You would be surprised. They don't look anything like their male forms. It seems their mixed parentage has caused other changes between their genders. As male, they have nice physical builds, slightly above average height, with tanned skin, and black hair.”

“As girls, which are a few years younger than their male sides. Like my sisters. They have slender building. They are shorter than their male forms, but they are of average height for their physical ages. The have red hair that goes down to their shoulder blades. The same shade of red as their mother's hair. And they have caucasian skin tone, like their father.”

Natsuru commented, “That is an interesting change. That sounds like Akira's change. Do you think we need to worry about brain damage?”

Akira stated, “No. The threat of brain damage to me was from a forced female imprint of my female form into my brain, when my alien genes were activated. None of the others that we know of. Not our daughters here, my sister, Bob, have had any signs of brain damage from changing. And we have checked, over the years, just to make sure. It is safe to say that this is just a natural gender change for Lewis and Stan, and there is no threat of brain damage for them.”

Natsuru replied, “Good. And I guess that their younger female forms are cute?”

Mikoto commented, “We guess that is the case. Because, it gets better. They must have discovered what nattou does to the female sides. And even though we only saw Stan in her mature female form, and not Lewis. Though, we are fairly sure that both of them, in their younger female forms, are cute. And Stan, in her more mature female form, under the influence of nattou, is smoking hot. And it wasn't just her pheromones talking, on that matter.”

Nodoka said, “She is right. Stan was hot, and I am sure that Lewis would be just as hot, in that situation.”

Akira turned to Ranma, as she teased, “I hope you are not jealous with a few more redheaded babes showing up.”

Ranma looked over at Akira. She shrugged, as she responded, “Nah. And I am sure that River is not bothered, either. When she dyes her hair red. I believe she went back to her natural brown color, for her hair.”

“Though, River has always tried to have a laid back attitude, even with her mental problems. I have always admired that about her. But, I do wonder about Revy, and her two redheaded daughters?”

Natsuru said, “That goes without saying. Still, I wonder how cute Stan and Lewis' younger female forms are. And as girls, they are likely as cute as Akira's female form was at that age.”

Akira turned to Natsuru, as she said, “Thank you, Natsuru.” She then looked back at the rest of the group, as she commented, “It is going to be fun when we see the entire Lowe family as women.”

The other five women agreed, with rest of them nodding.

Yurika said, “Yea, mom. It is going to be fun.”

Ranma inquired, “So, anything interesting happen to you, while you were searching for Lewis and Stan.”

Yurika mentioned, “Actually, yes. There were a few events that we would like to talk you three about. Including, stopping a paradox, while meeting your younger selves. But, that is a conversation for another time, in a more private place. But, speaking of your younger selves, we even found Stan in the distance past of our home reality. In Tokyo, of all places. When tracking him, we even ran into your younger selves, as teenagers.”

Akira commented, “I bet that was an interesting experience. Seeing your mothers living as teenage boys.”

Mikoto stated, “It was. We found you three at a Koco concert. Aunt Ranma was on stage, as a woman. She was singing a song, with her friends, and doing a good job of it.”

Ranma said, “Thanks. I rarely get a chance to sing, anymore. Except in the bedroom.”

Akira teased, “I don't think screaming, counts as singing.”

The six women giggled for a few seconds.

As they calmed down, Mikoto went onto say, “We also saw my mother here, as male, with his old girlfriends.”

Natsuru commented, “I do not like to think about that time of my life.”

Ranma conformed Natsuru, as she said, “Don't worry about it. That is in the past. Let's enjoy the present.”

Natsuru looked at Ranma, as she smiled. She replied, “I agree.”

Mikoto commented, “And we saw dad here, was with his friends, as male. And Stan was with you, mom. We decided that it was better to leave, than to risk a paradox.”

Akira complimented, “That was a wise decision. Still, I probably need to look up my old friends, sometime. They will flip when they learn I am a mother. Though, Yurika, Anju, and Kikuchi would likely find my situation funny.”

Mikoto requested, “Can I come with you, mother? To visit them?”

Akira offered, “Sure. You can all come.”

Ranma said, “Sounds great.”

Natsuru commented, “That will be a fun trip.”

Akira said, “And I also need to talk to Stan, and thank him for his help with my english lessons.”

Ranma stated, “I am sure you will get the opportunity at a future bikini party. Because, I am sure we will see all four of them at the next bikini party.”

Nodoka commented, “I look forward to seeing Stan and Lewis at the next bikini party.”

Natsuru agreed, “That will be nice.”

Akira commented, “Though, knowing Bob and Ed, they probably won't immediately take their children to a Lagoon bikini party. They will likely wait a few months, until Lewis and Stan are use to their female forms.”

Natsuru said, “That would be an intelligent idea. Most of us were forced into the deep end of the gender bending situation, before we were ready. I hope that Lewis and Stan have better luck with getting use to their female forms.”

Akira stated, “Yes. That would be a wise thing to do. Though, we disagree with the Lowe parents raising their children like they were going to have normal lives. Ed and Bob do clearly love Lewis and Stan, and now that the cat is out of the bag. So to speak. They will likely help their children adjust to their gender changing abilities.”

Ranma replied, “Agreed.”

Yurika wondered out loud, as she said, “Still, Lewis stated they had not told their parents about their gender bending abilities. And I got the feeling that Lewis and Stan had something special in mind, in how they plan to tell their parents. I wonder how they will spring that surprise on their parents?”

Natsuru said, “I am sure it will be very funny.”

Mikoto stated, “And we can ask Lewis and Stan, the next time we see them. Though, it might be best not to visit their home on Mars until our parents here, come with us.”

Akira agreed, “Yes. We will keep things come. And we will pay for the windows. And make sure the windows are fixes. Still, it will be fun the next time we meet with the Lowe family.”

Just then, as the waiter entered the room, to serve them their drinks, the women quickly switched to a more casual conversation, they continued their conversation into the evening. With their meals soon being served, as well.

(_)

Black Lagoon Reality. Place, Lagoon Island.

It had been nearly a week since the Lowe brothers had literally dropped by, and a few days since the latest Lagoon bikini party had ended.

It was the middle of a sunny day, as the five teenage Lagoon daughters were currently sunbathing in their bikinis, on the dry sand of the beach, by the island's bay, near the treeline.

In the middle of the group was Kristina. To Kristina right was Yukio. To Yukio's right was Rebecca. On Kristina's left a Molly. On Molly's left was Sarah.

Yukio happily stated, “This is the life.”

Rebecca agreed, “Yes. It is. Sun. Surf. Beauty. Health. Wealth. Friends. We have it all.”

Kristina stated, “Yep. And now we are resting and relaxing after a week of violence.”

Sarah used her right hand to gently gripped Molly's left hand. She turned her head to look at Molly, as she smiled. She spoke up, “A perfect time for some vice.”

Molly turned her head to look at Sarah, as she smiled. She slightly tightened her right hand's grip on Sarah's left hand, as she said, “You are correct about that.”

Suddenly, all five of the girls were lifted up by some unseen force, and thrown into the water, about twenty feet out from the beach, which was waist deep for them.

As the five teenage girls stood up, in surprised, they looked back at the beach, where they had been.

Kristina demanded, “What the hell?!”

All five then saw Annie, in her full jedi clothing and robes, walk out from among the brush, behind where they had been laying on the dry sand.

Annie came to a stop on the dry sand. She looked at the five teenage girls, as she said, in a firm tone of voice, “You girls, and I, need to have a little talk. Since I am fairly sure your parents would do nothing to you, for your recent actions concerning the Lowe brothers. I will have to deal with this matter.”

Molly stated, “Annie, you have no right to do this.”

Annie conceded, “Perhaps. But, somebody has too. You five seem to not understand the difference between, accident, and intention. The Lowe brothers dropping on you was an accident. What I did just now was intentional. Even as Vader, I still understood the difference. As Vader, I did have a few people accidentally bump into me. It happens, and I did not immediately kill, nor seriously harm them for doing so.”

“And I realize that someone has to teach you the difference, before your pride gets you all killed, or worse. And I am one of those few people with the abilities, and skills, to do so, without having to worry about reprisals from you. None of you are crazy enough to take me on.”

Sarah pointed out, “Our parents might.”

Annie commented, “Actually, I did talk to your parents about this, right before I came here. That is how am sure they were likely not going to do anything to you over this. Because, they said as much. Though, they agreed that someone should. And as long as I was not too rough, I would not have to worry about Revy, Rock, and Dutch, going on the warpath against me.”

Rebecca questioned, “Really?”

Annie responded, “Yes. Because they understand the dangers out there, while some of you may have honestly forgotten what those dangers are.”

“You luck out, this time, in your recent adventure. On the other hand, it could have go very badly for you. And I am not talking about being killed. You could have been crippled. Or worse.”

“Such as during your visit in Roanapur, I checked, during that time period. Though, most are just prostitutes, there were a sex slaves, in that town, as well. If things had gone differently, you five could have ended up as such slaves. You have the bodies for it. Two of you were actually caught up in that in your previous lives. And none of us, your parents, my friends, nor myself, want that to happen to you again, in this life.”

Annie saw recognition register on all five of the teenage girls' faces. Their facial expressions ranged from fear, to anger, to disgust, as they thought about what Annie has just said.

Annie continued, “I see you are beginning to understand what I am telling you. And with luck, this will not be to rough a lesson for you.”

Yukio asked, “You are not going to hurt us? Are you?”

Annie smirked, as she said, “No. I have already made my point. Only your pride has been hurt. And even though your parents decided to let me handle this matter. You are still going to have to face them. And that will be a punishment in of itself. For the disappointment you have brought to them.”

Annie could see the expressions of dread on the five daughters' face. She thought, 'At least they understand their situation. And they will be fine. Besides, I could use a snack.'

Annie began to chuckle, as she said, “Now, have a pleasant day, girls.'

Annie then turned and started walking inland, towards the mansion on the island. As she left the five teenage girls, with their thoughts, as they waded out of the water, and to the dry part of the beach.

(_)

Farscape Reality. Location, Uncharted Territories. Time, a few hours after John Crichton had left his family, to go with Annie, Ed, Bob, and Violin. Place, the bridge of Moya.

Violin teleported onto the command deck, of Moya. She thought, 'If I timed this correctly, everyone should be in the dining room, eating, except for Little D, whom should be taking a nap. I don't want my son to be here, in case things go wrong. And I hope that is not the case, but with my luck, I never know for sure. Now, to prevent a panic.'

Violin said, “Pilot. This is, Violin. Could you please inform the crew that I am here, on the command deck, and I only wish to speak with them, at their earliest convenience.”

The small monitor on the command deck came on, to show Pilot's face. Pilot said, “Welcome back, Violin. I will rely your requested.”

Violin calmly replied, “Thank you, Pilot.”

Pilot realized something, as he commented, “There is something is different about you, Violin. You seem less... Energetic.”

Violin responded, “A lot is different about me, Pilot. I will explain everything when the others get here.”

(_)

In the dining room, Aeryn, Dargo, and Chiana were having a quiet meal, when the small monitor in the room came on, to show Pilot on the screen. Pilot said, “Violin has returned. She is on the bridge, and wishes to speak with you, when you have finished eating.”

Chiana thought, 'I look forward to seeing, Violin again. She is fun to be around. Still, I also look forward to John's latest, strange tale of adventure.' She said, “It will be fun to hear what happened to John. This time.”

Aeryn replied, “I agree. And it will be nice to have him back here, safe with us.”

Pilot pointed out, “John is not here. Only Violin is.”

They all stopped eat, as they realized the subtext of what Pilot was saying.

Dargo commented, “Something is wrong.”

Aeryn stated, “And I intent to find out what it is?”

All three adults got up from their seats and rushed out of the dining room, as they headed for the command deck.

(_)

A few minutes later, on the bridge, Violin turned to face the door to the command deck, as she watched as Aeryn, Dargo, and Chiana walked into the room.

Violin standing by the podium with the manual controls to Moya.

As the three adults approached Violin, she mentally noticed, 'I don't see Little D, so that means he is taking a nap. As I thought. But, I will ask, soon enough.'

While the three other adults came to a stop, about fifteen feet from Violin, they stood beside each other. With Aeryn in the center. Chiana to her left, and Dargo to her right, Violin saw that all of them had their weapons holstered. Or, sheathed, in Dargo's case.

The three were by the large table in the room. With Chiana was sitting on the table, as she faced Violin.

Pilot's face was on the small monitor in the room, as he watched, and listened, to what was going on.

Violin thought, 'I need to be careful not to start a fight.'

Dargo ordered, “Disarm yourself, now.”

Violin careful removed her deactivated pulse pistol, leaned down. She set the pistol gently on the ground, and slid it to the others. She leaned back up straight, as she responded, “Yes, Dargo. I did not come here to fight.”

Aeryn picked up the pulse pistol. As she stood up, she looked at the weapon. She then frowned. She set the pistol down, on the table, by Chiana. She turned to Violin, as she stated, “This is John's weapon. He would not leave without it. Where is, John?”

Violin responded, “It is complicated. I am still trying to work out how I am going to tell you what happened. The explanation pushes the limits, even for our lives.”

Aeryn was not in the mood for cryptic statements, as she asked, in a more serious tone of voice, “Is my husband dead?”

Violin stated, “It depends on your point of view, Aeryn. First, where is Little D?”

Aeryn warned, “Taking a nap. Now, explain fast, Violin.”

Violin quickly stated, “Okay. It involves time travel, reality jumping, meeting oneself, and reincarnation. In short, I am John. This body is my next reincarnation. I was killed, and when I witnessed my death, as John, while as Violin, I got all my memories of my life with you.”

The other four adults were not sure how to response, as Dargo flatly stated, in a slightly dumbfounded tone of voice, “That is quite a claim.”

Chiana chirped, “Either she is looney, or things are going to get a lot more interesting here. I'm pulling for the latter”

Aeryn was mentally grasping for straws, as she inquired, “Can you prove this?”

Violin said, in Sebacean, “Yes. You may notice, I have no translator microbes in my body. Yet, I am able to understand each of your languages. And I speaking Sebacean fluently, right now. A language you taught me, Aeryn.”

Aeryn had a minor glimmer of hope, as she softly said, “John...”

Dargo commended, “Okay. That is definitely helps your case. But, we are going to need more.”

Violin smirked, as she replied, “Alight.”

Violin walked over to Dargo, as she said, “Well Big D, you one time told me that what you could do with your tongue was...”

Violin then whispered the rest in Dargo's right ear.

As Violin took a few step back from Dargo, Dargo looked down at Violin.

Dargo turned to look slightly down, at Violin's face, as he blunt stated, “She's John.”

Chiana requested, “Do me next.”

Violin turned to look at Chiana. She said, “You took my virginity as a teenage boy, that time we when into my Earth's past. Sorry, about that promise earlier. But, learning that was me, whom you did that to, negates that promise. And I was going to tell Aeryn, anyway.”

Chiana suddenly frowned, as she realized Aeryn was in the room.

Aeryn turned to Chiana, as she stated, in a very controlled, even tone of voice, “Chiana, we are going to talk about this, later.”

Chiana chirped, “Eep.”

Aeryn looked over at Violin. Next, she walked slowly towards Violin.

When Aeryn reached her husband, that had been reborn into a woman, she softly placed the palm of right hand on the left side of Violin's check. After which, she gently moved Violin's face closer in line with her own.

Aeryn then deeply kissed, Violin on her lips. Violin did her best to return the kiss.

A few seconds later, as Aeryn broke the kiss, as she let her right hand dropped to her side.

Aeryn and Violin look at each other in their eyes, as Aeryn mentally realized, 'She is, John. They kiss the same way.'

Aeryn smiled, as she said, “John. It is you?”

Violin replied, “You know that, death do us part, of marriage vows. Forget it.” She then hugged her wife, as she kissed her on Aeryn's lips.

Aeryn returned the hug, as they kissed for a solid minute.

When their lips broke, they continued to embrace each other. They shared a smile, as Violin said, “I would come back from the grave for you a thousand times over.”

Aeryn replied, “And I, for you.”

Both lovers continued to smile warmly towards each other.

A few seconds later, the two women broke their hug, and took a couple of steps back.

Aeryn smirked, as she teased, “Oh, the fun we are going to have tonight.”

Violin responded, “I am looking forward to it, love.”

Dargo asked, “So, how did you die?”

Violin said, “The short answer is I got myself killed by being stupid.”

On the view screen, Pilot spoke up, “Well, as you, John, would say. This is par for course for our lives.”

Violin turned to the monitor showing Pilot, as she agreed, “True. Also, Scorpius found my old body. You should see a copy of the funeral she hosted for me. It was incredible.”

Chiana commented, “Scorpius always did seem a little too interested in you.”

Violin blushed slightly, as she replied, “No arguments there.”

Aeryn asked, “So, what name do you want to go by, now?”

Violin turned to look at Aeryn, as she answered, “John is fine for you, but I would prefer if those that don't know me, call me, Violin.”

Aeryn replied, “That works for me, John.”

Violin commented, “And I do have some more good news. Though, I am now a woman, and my new father was human, my new mother is an alien, bio-engineered super soldier. And among other things, I inherited her longevity. I might outlive you.”

Aeryn smiled, as she stated, “That is good news.” She thought, 'And that means we have centuries more together. Instead of decades.'

Chiana said, “Well. That is that. Welcome back, John. So, let's got back to the dining room, and continue our meals.”

Violin complimented, “Good idea.”

As they began walking out of the bridge, and towards the dining hall, Violin walked by the large table in the room. She then picked up her deactivated pulse pistol, and holstered it.

Violin then turned to her wife, as she inquired, “So, how are we going to break this news to Little D?”

Aeryn said, “We will figure out something. He is young. He will likely adapt. But, at least he still has his father in some form.”

Violin smiled. She then inquired, “That is my hope as well.” She turned to Chiana and Dargo, as she asked, “So Pip, and D, I know you guys are getting married. Did you do any more planning on that, while I was gone?”

Chiana answered, “We are planning to have the wedding in about a month. But now, there might be a small problem.”

Violin questioned, “What?”

Dargo joked, “Well John, I was hoping you would be my best man. But, it is looking more likely you are going to be a Chiana's bridesmaid.”

As they left the bridge, and entered the hallway, Violin laughed a little at Dargo's joke.

(_)

Farscape Reality. Place, the Peacekeeper Fleet, in Peacekeeper Space.

Three days after the last attack by Ed and Bob's group, in the mid-morning, fleet time, in Scorpius's Peacekeeper Command Carrier Flagship, inside Scorpius's office, Scorpius sat behind her desk, in her new cushioned armchair, while clothed in her usual black clothing, with face and short white hair being the only exposed parts of her body.

Scorpius' office had been completely repaired, and restore the day before. Even the undamaged vase with white flowers, sitting on top of her desk, was back where it had been on her desk.

As Scorpius looked around her office, she thought, 'The repair crews did a marvelous job of repairing my office. If I didn't know better, I would think that nothing had happened in here, a few solar days ago. I will think of a way to reward their skilled labors. Skills like this needs to be commended.'

Just then, Scorpius' attention was drawn to the far wall of her office, directly in front of her. As she heard the door, located there, slide open.

Commander Meka, in her peacekeeper uniform, walked in the room.

As Commander Meka continued walking further into the room, towards Scorpius, the door slid closed behind her.

When Meka came within ten feet from the front of Scorpius, she stopped, and stood in place, while looking at her commanding officer.

Scorpius looked over at Meka, as she inquired, “Good morning, Commander. How goes the vat process with your younger, temporal counterpart?”

Meka answered, “Everything is going well, Grand Chancellor.”

Scorpius asked, “So, what brings you here this morning?”

Meka stated, “You requested to be informed that Cad Bane has been paid, and sent on his way.”

Scorpius thought, 'But, you could have just contaced me by the communications equipment. No. You wish to discuss a personal matter with myself. And I am more than happy to do so.'

Scorpius responded, “Yes. He played his part well. And he made for such a convincing actor. He went easy on the Lowe parents, and then he feigned defeat, right before his escape, by teleporting, to another part of the ship. For him, a job is a job. And we paid him well for such a fine performance, on his part.”

“And I am happy with that results. The Lowe family is alive, uninjured, and reunited. As I planned. And Bane knows that I have future jobs for him, that will pay even more, so he is happy, as well. I feel that most everyone will be satisfied with their current situations, from their points of views. I even plan for Spike and her daughter Julia, to be left alone. Because, they will only brighten the lives of my students and their family.”

Meka pointed out, “Still, we lost much in what Ed Lowe hacked, and deleted, from our data base.”

Scorpius said, “Not to worry, Commander. I will inform you of my plan on that subject, before you leave my office, today. I am sure this is one of the reason you came to see me, personally. Though, I feel that you have more important matters to discuss with me, on recent events.”

Meka commented, “Yes. I have been thinking over the events of the last few days, and I need a few things clarified.”

Scorpius responded, in a casual tone of voice, “By all means. Ask your questions.”

Meka stated, “Unlike you, I do not think about the past that much. But, for obvious reasons, the last few days have made me think about my past. And a few things occurred to me. When I came out of the vat process, and woke up as a woman, I spent the next few months in this time period, adjusting, before I went back in time.”

“During that time, I will come to learn the basics of the events that had transpired during the last few solar days. Some of these events I will even tell myself about, when I wake up. Some, you will tell me.”

“When I went to the past. I told you about these events, to help in resuming my commission with you. You knew of my capture, and the gender change. Also, you knew that the boys would become gender benders, as well.”

“You knew that the brothers parents would erase the data the Peacekeepers had on the multiversal hyperspace gate technology.”

“You knew that John Crichton would be reincarnated into that dark blue haired girl, Violin. And that Violin would regain her memories, and personality, of being John Crichton. And finally, you knew, in advance that you would have sex with this female John Crichton.”

Scorpius admitted, “Yes. I lied to your past self, about not knowing that. But, I did not want to upset you at the time of your capture. There was no point in doing so.”

Meka commented, “I agree. There was no reason in stating such matters, at that point in time. Besides, the guards were there, and I am sure you did not want others to know how much you knew, and when you knew it.”

Scorpius said, “Exactly.” She then teased, “Still, concerning John, I hope that is not jealously I hear in your tone of voice.”

Meka flatly replied, “No, Grand Chancellor. I am just concerned that you may have misappropriated Peacekeeper resources for personal gains.”

Scorpius calmly responded, “I can see how you might think that, from an outside point of view. I shall explain my reasoning, in detail.”

Scorpius pushed a few buttons on her desk, and a hologram appeared above the front of the desk.

It was an image of John Crichton, in his usual black and red clothing.

Scorpius pressed another button, and John clothing and skin disappeared, to show his internal organs, tissues, and bones.

Scorpius explained, “As you may remember, John spent some time with us, on my previous Command Carrier, before he, and Bialar Crais, had Talon do a suicidal starburst, which destroyed our previous ship.”

Meka flatly stated, “How could I forget?”

Scorpius said, “Yes. It was quite a memorable experience for everyone involved. When John first arrived there, after we put on those empathic I-Yensch bracelet, I convinced him to have a complete medical physical, with our doctors scanning his body, and taking DNA samples. My excuse for these medical tests were simple. I did not want to have him drop dead of an unknown medical condition, with the bracelets on, thus taking me, with him, into death.”

Meka complimented, “That is proper reasoning. Still, did you find any information on wormholes, from John's DNA? I regret not asking you before. But, given the Scarrans were obsessed with trying to recover such knowledge from John's DNA, I thought it best to inquire.”

Scorpius answered, “No. I found the wormhole knowledge that was in his DNA to be garbage. The data is completely fragmented. This is why I was not concerned with the Scarrans retrieving John's DNA. It would have been useless to them.”

“And I wisely did not try to clone him. This reality can barely handle one John Crichton, as is. It is scary that two, or more, of them have existed in parallel with each other for a while, on three separate occasions. The most recent being John, with his future incarnation, Violin.”

Meka admitted, “That thought does worry myself, as well. Still, I have a feeling that you found something in your medical scans of him?”

Scorpius calmly responded, “I found plenty. And all of it was troubling. Spending much of my life as a hybrid has taught me the dangers of genetic flaws. In my previous male form, my thermal problems was only the tip of the iceberg for me. While, I did not disclose this to anyone else, outside of the doctors I went too. To stay alive, I had to have gene therapy, to prevent cancer. I had to receive organ regeneration treatments, and surgery, to repair internal birth deformities.”

“These are some of the numerous reasons I was more than happy to become a woman, in exchange for a much more healthier body.”

“The reason I am mention this is that for John's people, at the time he born on Earth, they only had basic genetic screenings for the most obvious of genetic problems. And while, for a human, John was very healthy. Compared to the rest of the galaxy's spacefaring species, he was not.”

“Before John was killed, he was around fifty cycles old. Nothing for a Sebacean, whom can live for centuries, without medical aid. But for John, his lifespan was likely passed the halfway mark. Peacekeeper doctors that had looked over John's medical scans and DNA samples built a profile for how he will age, and what problems he would have someday faced.”

Scorpius pushed a button, on her desk. And the hologram highlighted the internal problems with John's heart. She continued, “What you are seeing is John's heart when he would have been in his mid-seventies. As you can see, by then, his heart will start to fail.”

Scorpius pressed another button. The insides of John's body start to show development small growths. Scorpius said, “When John would have been in his mid-eighties, his DNA would start to breakdown, causing him to develop cancer through out his body.”

Scorpius then press another button. The top of John's skull disappeared, to show problems development in his brain. Scorpius went on to say, “And when John would have been in his mid-nineties, he would have started to develop mental problems in his brain.”

Scorpius then press another button, that caused the holographic image of John to disappear.

Scorpius commented, “That is not the worst of it. Even with medical resources, which could have saved John from those problems, his body would have started shutting down when he reached around a hundred and twenty-five cycle in age. Meanwhile, his family and friends will live on for centuries. Even his hybrid son, Little D. It is unfortunate, but the human body is just not made to last.”

Meka asked, “What about the vat process? It restores youth, and gives extreme longevity to humans.”

Scorpius answered, “While that would have extended John's lifespan by centuries. After everything between us, John would have never trusted me to do the vat process on him. And John would not likely put his life into the hands of lunatics of the Black Lagoon reality. John likely would see himself dying of old age as a nature course in his life, and he would accept his death.”

“Still, John's slow death would served no purpose. John has always been more an asset, than a liability. It is just that the Peacekeepers started on the wrong foot with John. Even from the beginning, with Bialar Crais' madness. And I admit, that I made things worse by capturing John, and using the Aurora chair on him. I deeply regret doing that.”

“Also, if Little D, is anything like his parents, with him grow to become as dangerous as his parents, by the time he reaches adulthood. Having John die would be only cause problems, as Little D and Aeryn would mourn John.”

“So, I had to find another option in saving John's life. Along with figuring out how to approach John on the matter. And when you came to me, as Meka, and told me of the future, I realize had a window of opportunity. Though, I knew it was a gamble. Because, I was not sure of the how all this would happen. Only, the results. But, it was the only option. And it paid off... In so many ways.”

“John now has a new, healthy, young body, that is so much superior, in so many ways to her old body. And even unaided, her new body's lifespan is measured in centuries. She will likely be with us for a very long time.”

“And she really knows how to use her body. That was some of the best sex I have ever had in my entire life.”

“It was so nice, for once, to thrown caution to the wind, and not have to hold back, in fear that I might accidentally injure my partner. That was why I was almost always the submissive one in my sexual relations with others. Because, if I let go of my control in such a situation, someone could be harmed, or killed. And I was pleased to find that John, in her new body, could give as good as she could take.”

Meka sarcastically replied, “I am sure of that.” She inquired, in a more serious tone of voice, “But, what if John's family rejects her? Not just the crew of Moya, but John's new family, as well? Whomever they are.”

Scorpius smiled, as she said, “All my trusted Peacekeepers profilers, and psychologists, whom I showed my data to, state that in this situation, John's, or should I say, Violin's family and friends will accept her. Both her new family, and her old family and friends.”

Meka pointed out, “As wonderful as that is for an outcome. We still have lost much, when the Lowe parents erasing our data on the multiversal hyperspace gate technology.”

Scorpius grin turned wicked, as she stated, “Commander, you are still working under the false assumption that I did not achieve both my goals in this operation. I make it a habit to have back-ups made of my projects. And back-up of back-ups made of all my works. With regular updates.”

“I have done so, since I lost much of my research data, but not all of my data, in the Gammak base explosion. Ed and Bob Lowe destroyed the copies that were on the ship's mainframe. They did not delete the data I had hidden on the projects, that I had on standalone systems, which are not listed in the mainframe. Nor, the data on hard copies that I have made, that I keep in several hidden places.”

Meka complimented, “Brilliant as ever, Grand Chancellor. Will you be able to continued work on the gate project without the Lowe siblings.”

Scorpius said, “As I have stated, on a few occasions. Human technology is simple to understand. And the Lowe brothers' work are no exception to that. Lewis and Stan already solved the most difficult parts. From the mathematical formula, to solving the feedback problems for the gate system. Because of that, I will leave them be... To enjoy their new gender abilities, and longevity. All that is left is development, and refinement,”

Meka inquired, “What about the rest of those that attacked us?”

Scorpius stated, “There will be no reprisals on anyone else that was involved in this operation. The Lowe family, their friends, and the crew of Moya should be left alone. I have all that I wanted. Including, a new army of freelance operatives, which I did not originally plan for. That was my bonus in all of this. Now, I intend to enjoy my spoils.”

“Still, we will be doing things slowly. I promised John, as such. And in so doing, no one outside of this ship will notice what we are doing.”

“Besides, there is no rush. We have time. All the time we could ever need. And more.”

(_)

Reality, unknown. Date, unknown. Place, unknown. Time, unknown.

In another reality, on a civilized, alien world, inside a bar, in the back corner table, hidden in the shadows of the establishment, sat a very satisfied, and happy Cad Bane.

Currently, Cad Bane was sitting in a chair, with his back to the corner of the room. So, he could see the rest of the room, and the entrance, as he drank from his bottle of a quality alcoholic beverage.

Cad Bane picked up his bottle, and took a drink, as he thought, 'This last week might have been the more profitable in my entire life. And likely the easiest money I have ever made. I just capturing the same boys, twice, over and then Scorpius paid me to throw the fight with that old man. Still, that old man did give me a workout. Still, too bad my team died, but that is a small matter. Though, I will toast to their memory.”

He then took another swig of his bottle, as he continued his train of thought, 'Talk about how things had turned around for me. Last week I was in hiding, while running a dump like this. Now, I am rich beyond my wildest imaginations. Wealth I have placed in several, very protected places. I am beyond the reach of my enemies. I can now go literally anywhere, or any when, I can imagine. I can understand almost any language spoke to me. The multiverse has literally opened up for me, with a near infinite number of opportunities.'

'I will always be grateful to my Peacekeeper agent, for finding me, and offering me that job. Choosing to work for Scorpius was the be decision of my life. And while I plan to continue to work for Scorpius.'

'I also intend to find other jobs. And I have found that reputations are harder to gain across the multiverse, because most of the various populations of the multiverse are cut off from each other. So, using my reputation will have its limits. Still, my skill will soon speak for itself. So, the only question now is, where am I going to go to, next, in search of a job, adventure, and more wealth?'

Just then, Bane noticed what look like a tall, muscular human was was walking towards him.

The person appeared to be a middle-aged human male, with fair skin, blond hair that was cut short on his head. He were sunglasses over his eyes, a green business suit from the turned of the second millennium on Earth, and dress shoes.

When the man reached Bane's table, Ban placed his bottle on the table. He then lowered his hands below the table, as he slowly drew both his blasters, in case he needed to fight.

Bane calmly said, in galactic basic, “Hello. Is there something I can do for you?”

The man answered, in a relaxed tone of voice, in english, “Yes. My name, Gomez. I know you are the bounty hunter, Cad Bane, and I have a job offer for you.”

From under the table, Cad Bane continued to point both his blasters pointed at the man. Bane casually replied, “I'm listening.”

Gomez politely requested, “May I please sit down.”

Bane said, “Sure.”

Gomez mentioned, “And there will be no need for your blasters. I am unarmed. And I have no intention of resorting to violence. Should you decline the offer, I will simply leave.”

Bane holstered his blasters, as he complimented, “Very perceptive. And very professional. I like both those traits.”

Bane mentally reflected, 'I will have to keep on my toes with this one. This guy is clearly also a multiverse traveler. Still, if he is this good, he might have a job worth my time.'

'And it seems that those that travel the multiverse are of a much high quality of competence, than most of the people I have worked for, and worked with, back home. I think I am going to like being a bounty hunter of the multiverse.'

As Gomez sat down in the chair, which was across the table from Bane, he replied, “Thank you, for your consideration, Mister Bane.”

Gomez then made his pitch to one of the most notorious bounty hunters in the known multiverse.

(_)

Cowboy Bebop Reality. Location, Mars, Tharsis City. Date, Sunday, October seventeenth, twenty-one hundred. Six PM sharp, local time.

Ed and Bob entered the barbeque restaurant.

They were dressed in their casual wear, with Bob in his male form.

The restaurant itself was a fairly popular restaurant. With the establishment being known to fix some of the best barbeque on the planet. But, their prices were fair, the service from the staff was good, with the restaurant and both restrooms, being clean.

The barbeque restaurant has been open for decades, and the Lowe family had enjoyed going there to eat, as a family, since before the Stan and Lewis were born.

Bob liked the motif of the restaurant.

The barbeque restaurant went for a late twentieth century, american western style steakhouse, set around the lat twentieth century. The motif included wooded tables, chairs, booths, walls, and flooring. Though, the chairs and booth seats were cushions, and conformable to sit in.

Bob honestly thought those that furnished the restaurant, nailed the look completely. He knew of barbeque restaurants, back in his home reality, on his Earth, in his america, of his time period, that were nowhere near a good, in both food, and style, as the one that Ed and he were currently inside of.

As they walked further into the eating area of the restaurant, they looked at the tables and booths, for their two wayward teenage sons.

Ed asked, “Do you see them?”

Bob answered, “No. You?”

Ed replied, “I don't either. Let's get a table, while we wait for them to show up.”

Bob complimented, “Good idea. Let's get a booth table.”

Ed responded, “Okay. And we will sit on one side, so the boys can sit on the other side.”

Bob replied, “I agree with that idea. I will sit on the inside.”

Ed commented, “Thank you. And we will wait to order, until they get here... That is, if they feel like eating.”

Bob agreed, in a sober tone of voice, “Yea. This is going to be one of those conversations.”

The married couple then walked over to one of the empty booths, and seated themselves.

Bob slid into the boot first, with Ed to his left side.

As one of the waitresses walked up to them, she said, in english, “Hi guys. How are you two doing?”

Bob turned to the waitress, as he responded, “Great actually. It has just been a long weekend.”

Ed commented, “Too long.”

The waitress giggled. She then agreed, “I hear that. So, what can I get for you two? Your usuals?”

Bob answered, “No. We are waiting for the boys to meet us here. At the moment, we are not sure if we are eating here, or not.”

The waitress responded, “Ed, Bob, I understand. You two are some of our best customers. And we appreciate your business. You two can sit here for as long as you want. I know the boss won't mind.”

Bob replied, “Thank you.”

The waitress said, “Just let me know if you two want anything.”

Ed said, “We will.”

The waitress then turned, and went to check on her other customers, as Ed and Bob patiently waited for their two sons to show up.

A few minutes later, Ed and Bob saw two, very beautifully, redhead teenage girls approach them.

As Ed and Bob looked at the two teenage girls, they saw that the girls were in their later teens in age. They had long red hair, that went down to their shoulder blades, and they had fair skin. They had slender physical builds, moderately large breasts, and they were of average height for their race. Given the similar physical builds, height, hair, skin tone, they were clearly sisters. And the way the two teenage girls walked in lock step with each other showed they were emotionally close to each other.

The two sisters both wore the same clothing. A short sleeved red blouse, short white skirts, white socks, and red tennis shoes. With their blouses, and tennis shoes being the same color of red as their hair.

The only real difference between the two teenage sisters, besides their slightly different, yet pretty faces, was that one girl wore her hair loose. While, the other girl had her hair in a ponytail.

As the two teenage sisters came to a stop in front of Bob and Ed's booth, they turned to looked at the husband and wife.

The girl with the loose hair looked over at the empty seat, and then back at Ed and Bob. She inquired, “Is this seat taken?”

Bob and Ed look at the two girls, for a few seconds.

Ed thought, 'I cannot put my finger on it, but I have a feeling that I know these two young women from somewhere. And I want to know from where.' She said, “We are expecting company, you can have a seat for, now. Until they show up.”

The girl with the ponytail replied, “That will be fine.”

As the girls slid into the empty booth beside Bob and Ed, the girl with the ponytail was first, with the girl with the loose hair being to her right side.

After the teenage girls were seated, the girl in the ponytail asked, “So, who are you waiting for?”

Ed answered, “Our sons.”

The girl with the loose hair inquired, “What do your sons look like? Maybe we passed by them, as we came in.”

Bob answered, “They are around your age. Taller, more physically muscular. They have tanned skin, like my wife, but black hair, like I use to have.”

The girl in the ponytail replied, “You don't say?”

Both girls looked at each other other, as they grin mischievously to one other. They continued grinning, as they looked back towards Ed and Bob.

Through the conversation, Ed was continued trying to figure out why the two girls looked so familiar. Then, recognition dawned her her face, as her jaw dropped, and her eyes widened, while she thought, 'The family resemblance is uncanny. It is just the hair color and skin tones are reversed to our sons... Along with their genders!'

The two teenage girls noticed the look on recognition on Ed's face. In response, they their smiles took on a wicked tone.

Bob turned to Ed, as he noticed the looked on his wife's face. He asked, “What is it, Ed?”

Ed collected herself, as she answered, in the calmest tone of voice she could muster for the situation. “Bob, they're our daughters.”

Bob looked at the two teenage girls, as he commented, in a confused tone of voice, “Ed, we don't have daughters.... Oh....”

Stan and Lewis broke out laughing for the next several seconds.

Bob said, “Very funny guys... err girls...”

As the two sisters started to calm down, the girl with the loose hair said, “Oh, come on. You have to admit that was funny.”

Ed agreed, “Yes, it was.”

Bob complimented, “You are right. And it is a classic. And you both pulled it off nicely.”

Stan and Lewis continued smiling, as they responded, in unison, “Thank you.”

The one with the ponytail said, “Both of you are at fault for our genes being activated.”

Ed guessed, “The unstable gate? The electrical storm it created?”

The girl with the loose hair complimented, “Got it in one.”

Ed commented, “Oh, the irony.”

Bob said, “And we spent so much effort trying to prevent this very thing, and we ended up being part of the cause.”

The girl with the loose hair shrugged, as she replied, “I guess some things are meant to happen. And this ability doesn't seem to effect you to much, dad.”

Bob pointed out, “That is because I took precautions. We will get to that, later.”

Ed inquired, “So, I take it your normal female forms are a few years younger than your male forms? And that you used nattou to temporally physically mature you female forms?”

The girl with the loose hair answered, “Yes. We discovered what nattou does to us, by accident, Though fortunately, we found we are immune to the effects when we were both girls. And nothing happened between us, nor others, while we were girls.”

Ed commented, “That is good.”

Bob stated, with disappointment in his tone of voice, “Still, you two are foolish to use nattou to bump up the physical maturity of you female bodies like this, and then go out into public. Your pheromones could drive people to assault you. Do you realize that?”

The girl with the loose hair calmly responded, “Yes. We understand the dangers. And relax. We have that covered. First, we both retain our physical strength and endurance of our male forms, in our female bodies. We are a lot stronger than we look.”

Bob countered, “That is nice. And I have found that is true for myself, and others like us. Still, that won't help you much if you are vastly outnumbered.”

The girl with loose hair commented, “But, we also both took thorough showers after the nattou took effect. And as long as we don't physically exerted ourselves, and sweat, we will keep the pheromones to a minimum. Notice, how none of the men here have been looking at us.”

The Lowe parents looked around the room, and the married couple notice that none of the other people in the room were looking in their direction.

As Bob and Ed turned back to face their daughters, Bob said, “Okay. You both lucked out this time. And it is fortunate that I know from our cousins, that children's pheromones do not effect their parents.”

The girl with the ponytail replied, “That is fortunate.”

The girl with the loose hair agreed, “Yes. It is.”

Bob went onto say, in an annoyed tone of voice, “And I am shocked at what you are wearing. The blouses are fine, but the skirts are too short. I can almost see your panties. Your grandparents would be shocked at what you are wearing now.”

The girl with the ponytail smiled, as she said, “And we realized that. And that is why we are wearing boxer shorts made for women. I believe they are called, boyshorts.”

The girl with the loose hair giggled for a few seconds.

Ed giggled a little too, as well, until Bob glared at her.

As Ed noticed Bob's stern look towards her. She calmed down, took a more neutral expression, as she looked towards her daughters.

Bob also turned back to look at their children.

Ed said, in the most stern tone of voice she could muster, without giggling from the absurdity of the situation, “Still, boys... Err girls. We are going to have a long talk about this when we get home. About using nattou, dressing up like that, and fooling us.”

In response, both their daughters just giggled like a pair of school girls.

The girl with the loose hair stated, “Well mom, as least you admit that we had you both fooled.”

Ed admitted, “Yes, you did. Which is why I am only mildly annoyed, instead of angry.”

Bob requested, “So, which one of you is which? This isn't the Parent Trap movie. Ed, do you have any ideas?”

Ed replied, “Honestly, I could not tell you, Bob. Unless we spent more time with them.”

Lewis and Stan smirked, in unison, as they realized they finally beaten their mother in a game of wits.

The girl with the ponytail said, “We will tell you. But, there is one question we would like answered, first.”

The girl with the loose hair continued for her sister, “Which one of you gave birth to which one of us?” Most specifically... Dad, which one of us is your child?”

Bob became very uncomfortable, as he cursed under his breath, “Damn.” He asked, in a more normal tone of voice, “How do you two find out?”

The girl with the loose hair stated, “Scorpius told us. She got DNA from hair samples from us. She informed us that we had the same parents, but different mitochondria DNA. Meaning, we had two different mothers. Though, she could risk getting hair samples from you two. And being discovered. So, she does not know which is which.”

Bob grumbled, “That figures.” He sighed. He continued, “I might as well tell you both. But, not in this form.”

Bob looked around, and he noticed that no one was paying attention to them. He then force himself to sneeze by will alone.

Bob and Ed's children watched as their white haired, elderly father, became a pretty black haired woman lass than half her male form's age.

The girl with the loose hair said, “So, it is possible to learn to sneeze on command.”

Bob said, in a comforting tone of voice, “Yes, it is. It just takes practice. I will teach you both how to do it, later. And just so you know, the dual pregnancies was your mother's idea.” She looked over at Ed, as she continued, “And I am sure she got the idea from her friends.”

In response, Ed girlishly giggled.

Bob turned to her daughters, as she stated, “And honestly, the shared experience did bring us emotionally closer together. Still, I found it very awkward for my male ego to handle, but I got through it. Which is to say I still retained quite a bit of my male ego. Anyway, I know this is not going to be fun, but Stan, I'm your mommy.”

The girl with the ponytail lower her head onto the table, giving herself away as Stan.

Meanwhile, the girl with the loose hair, Lewis, turned to Stan, as she laughed a little. She then said, “I told you so.”

Meanwhile, Ed had a smug look on her face.

Bob turned to her wife, as she stated, “Don't look so smug. Remember, we agreed that if our boys ever became our girls, I had to tell them the truth, while you would give them the speeches on monthly periods, and unwanted teenage pregnancies.”

Lewis' laughter immediately died in her throat, as she turned to look at her parents, for a few seconds. She then joined Stan in lowering her head onto the table.

At that moment, the smug look on Ed's face instantly disappeared.

Bob could see the news about learning about their health as women, were bothering their children. She gently said to them, “Relax... girls. Every time you change back and forth, you it resets your monthly cycle. You won't have to worry about that for a very long time. But, if you get pregnant, you will be locked as female until you give birth to your child.”

Lewis thought, 'So, this is likely what Nodoka meant by them not having to worry about those two biological, female events.'

Stan thought, 'So, Mikoto and Yurika, were right.'

The two teenage girls began to raise their heads, as they heard proverbial small glimmer of hope.

Bob added, “But, you will still have to learn about it.”

The sisters heads dropped back down to the table.

Bob continued, “Fortunately, there is a book written on the subject of people that gender bend back and forth, at a moments notice. With the book detailing on how to deal with such problems, and how to hand relationships. Both for the gender bender, and the perspective partner.”

“The book was written by Natsuru Senou. She is one of the... parents of our distant cousins, that came to visit you. We have a copy of the english version of the book, in your mother and I's bedroom. When we get home, I will lend it for you both to read. I found the book very helpful, for myself.”

“And I am sure you both realize now, on the flip side, because of changing back and forth, you won't be able to grow a beard for very long... And I do I miss my beard... Though, when you change into a girl, the facial hair either all falls out, or, if it is very short, it completely disappears. Though, when you change from girl to boy, it takes almost a week solid as a boy for your facial hair to show back up. So, you don't need to worry about shaving your face, either.”

“Yet, even thought we don't have any body hair except for our head, and our groin, as girls, our body hair returns when we become male, just not our facial hair.”

Without raising her head from the table, Stan inquired, “And I was planning to grow a beard after graduation... Oh well... So, it is true? We will eventually lock as women?”

Bob calmly said, in a reassuring tone of voice, “Not for a very long time. When you are in your sixties, or seventies. I am due to lock in a few years. But, being a women is not that bad. And the trade off for our abilities is that we will live far longer and healthier lives.”

Without raising her head, Lewis brought up another issue, as she commented, “So, we get to watch our lovers, and close friends, grow old and die? While we remain young?”

Bob stated, “Not necessarily. For example, take you mother. She used some youth rejuvenation therapy to extend her life and she had never looked better.”

Ed smiled, as she commented, “And it has worked very well for me.”

Bob said, “So, as you can see. We have options if you find that special someone. Or, even a few trusted, close friends.”

Bob then continued, in a firm, though calm, tone of voice, “Now, girls. Boys. Wherever you want me to call you, right now. Raise you heads. There is nothing to be ashamed of. It is just we are different than everyone else. I have been to alternate Earths where the entire population had their gender bent two decades before I got there. And barring a few more options they have in their personal lives, they act just like the rest of humanity we deal with every day. Human nature just continues forward. So, this is not going to change your lives that greatly. If you don't let it. You can still continue your life as you wish.”

The speech from their father, whom was currently their second mother, was enough to get the brothers, whom were now sisters, to raise their head, and face their parents.

Lewis commented, “We do have a minor problem we need to tell you about.”

Ed asked, “What is it?”

Lewis answered, “When we first realized we could change genders, we stayed girls for a few days straight. We found, that on top of the gender, hair, and skin changes. If we stayed girls for a three days, or more, we slowly start to become crazier, and crazier. Though, sleep does help. But, sleep loses its effectiveness over time. Though, the our sanity in our girl forms are reset if we just change back into boys, and then return to being girls.”

Bob asked, “How crazy? And what type of crazy?”

Lewis looked at Ed, as she said, “We become crazy, like mom can be.”

Bob turned to Stan, as she inquired, “Does the change also effect you the same way, Stan?”

Stan looked at Bob, as she replied, in a sober tone of voice, “Yes.”

Bob commented, “Interesting. The change does not effect me in that way. Nor, anyone one else that I know with these abilities.”

Ed said, “They just inherited their craziness from me. As I did from my father. Fortunately, the genes for this madness are dormant in their male forms, But, the activation of their alien genes also activated other recessive traits in their genome. Such as the crazy genes they got from me.”

Lewis agreed, “That is also what we figured.”

Ed commented, “Still, as fun as it is to be a crazy redhead, I can see how that could be a problem for the both of you. But, I overcame my madness. And I am sure you two can, as well. But, if it becomes a problem, we will look into possible medication.”

Lewis replied, “Thank you.”

Stan begged, “Now, can we please talk about something that does not involve human bodily functions?”

Lewis quickly added, “Like what our true birthdays are?”

Ed stated, “Actually, your birthdays are what we told you, they are. You were both on the same day. Just several hours apart. Stan, you were first. Your father gave birth to you, Stan, in the morning. Then, I gave birth to you, Lewis, in the evening.”

Bob commented, “Fortunately, this let Ed be with me, during my birth, of you, Stan. And it was enough time for me to rest and recover, so I could be with your mother when she gave birth to you, Lewis.” She then turned to her wife. She smirked, as she continued, “And honey, when you did give birth, you could not complain that I didn't know what you were going through.”

Ed giggled, as she looked at her spouse. She then said, “True. Yet, you didn't really complain about giving birth, either.”

Bob replied, “That is because I knew you were about to go through it, right after me.”

Stat looked over at her sister, as she said, “It looks like I am still the older sibling.”

Lewis turned to her sister, as she smiled. She commented, “I think I still got the better part of this deal.” Lewis then turned to their parents, as she asked, “And where did our first and last names come from?”

Stan agreed, “Good question, Lewis.” She turned to her parents, as she inquired, “Where did our family name come from? Dad, we know about our paternal grandparents, and that Lowe, is not their family name. Nor, is it mom's maiden name. And we do have an aunt. Just, not the person we thought was our aunt. We even also found that we had an uncle.”

The Lowe parents turned to face their daughters. Ed explained, “We also have enemies. So, we wanted to protect you both. And using a new last name we picked out was a good idea. Still, with you both learning all this, we will be visiting you paternal grandparents, Bob parents, along with Bob's siblings, and their families, in the near future.”

Stan and Lewis smiled, as Lewis replied, “Thank you.”

Stan said, “Good. I do miss seeing our grandparents. Even Pop-Pop.” She thought, 'Our mother's father.”

Ed commented, “We will visit him, as well.”

Stan asked, “How much does Pop-Pop know?”

Ed said, “A good portion of the situation. I was never really good at keeping secrets from him. But, he is okay with what is going on with our family.”

Stan replied, “That is nice.”

Lewis inquired, “I do have a question. Dad, Nodoka mentioned you played midwife for her, and her two sisters. At the same time. Is that true?”

Stan commented, “I did not really believe Lewis, when he told me what Nodoka said. So, I would like to know the truth on that, as well?”

Bob groaned. She then answered, “Yes. That really happened. And it was just part of one very strange, and stressful day. Even for us.”

Ed stated, “Yes. It was. I was there with him.”

Bob commented, “Yes. I will tell you, later. It is not the type of story, one tells while completely sober.”

Lewis commented, “I look forward to that conversation.”

Stan replied, “So, do I.”

Lewis stated, “And Nodoka mentioned something about a gender bending virus, dealing with the Alterans?”

Bob said, “I will tell that story, after the midwife story.”

Lewis inquired, “Okay. Now, on the subject of how much our family knows about us. While, we look forward to vising them again. How much do our paternal grandparents know?”

Bob answered for Ed, “Not much. But, we feel that we may soon change that. Still, you see girls, even though we used the American spelling, the pronunciation of, Lowe, can be either an Asian name, or an American name. Since your mother is part asian, and I am american, we decided to go with Lowe for that reason. Another reason is... Well... You two remember that old movie, the original Revenge of the Nerds movie? Well, your mother and I love watching that movie, together.”

Stan stated, in shock, “You named me after the jock?”

Lewis said, in surprise, “I was named after the nerd?...” Lewis then realized, as she continued, “And Lowe was the last name for the other nerd.”

Stan commented, “Talk about a prolific set of names.”

Ed smiled, as she stated, “Given how the lives we lead before you were born, how you two sweethearts turned out in school didn't really surprised us. But, as your parents, we are very proud of you both.”

Both sisters smiled at their mother's compliment.

Bob commented, “And girls. Look on the bright side. Your love life, in hopefully a few years. Is going to be a lot more interesting. And there are some upsides. You can go anywhere with your lover. You are no longer excluded from some gender segregated places, like some spas, and other places.”

Ed mentioned, “Like that spa we went to for our tenth year wedding anniversary.”

Bob said, with a smile on her lips, “Yes. And shopping for clothing with your lover will be a lot more fun. But, you got to be very careful not to sneeze at the wrong time. If it does happen. Don't lock up, like I once did. Just continue going forward, and, as quickly as possible, find some place private to sneeze back into the gender that fits your clothing.”

The teenager girls just nodded in acknowledgment to their father's advice.

Lewis said, “Speaking of names. We have a question. Who is Annie, really?”

Stan stated, “Annie, told us that you would tell us eventually.”

Ed said, “Well, girls, we don't want to shock, but Annie is very well known by her real name.”

Bob explained, “You see. Before you were born, Annie was originally a disfigured man that was kidnapped, and changed into a healthy woman by a person named Chang.”

Ed mentioned, “We will tell you about Chang, later. That is a conversation to be talked about in the privacy of our home.”

Stan asked, “The only Chang we know is from the Serenity.”

Bob said, “Same, Chang. And yes, Chang is like us. And her female form goes by the alias, Daiyu. Like your mother said. We will tell you about Chang, and the rest of the Serenity crew, later. Anyway, I want you to know that Annie has actually become quiet a nice person, since the change, for a number of reasons. But, you know Annie best, as Darth Vader, from the Star Wars reality.”

Lewis stated, “Annie was Darth Vader?”

Stan commented, “No wonder she did not want to personally tell us her identity. We might have freaked out at the worst possible time.”

Ed answered, “Yes. That might have happened. But, as Bob said, she is much nicer person, now.”

Stan agreed, “Mom, dad, you are both right about that.”

Lewis nodded a few times, as she said, “Yes. She is a much nicer person, now.”

Bob stated, “Yes. And Annie went through a lot to save you two.”

Lewis commented, “We will have to thank her for her help, the next time we meet her.”

Ed said, “Yes. We will. Also, she was kidnapped between Episodes three, and episode four of the Star Wars movies. Though, she has seen the movies herself.”

Lewis commented, “That must have been an interesting experience for her.”

Ed stated, “From what we heard. Yes. It was.”

Stan said, “No wonder she said that her name was important. Annie was Anakin's nickname as a child.”

Lewis stated, “I guess that really does bury the argument of which one of those two. Luke? Or, Anakin? Was the better pilot?”

Stan agreed, “Yes. It does when one of them personally says the other was the better pilot. I admire Annie for her feelings on the matter.”

Lewis pointed out, “That is because you won that debate.”

Stan said, “I didn't win. We just found out from the horse's mouth. So, to speak.”

Lewis agreed, “True. Now, I realize why she found it ironic and funny that she gave us one of mom's reality devices. In this case, she really was like, Obiwan.”

Stan agreed, “Yea. Now, that we know the truth. It is funny and ironic.”

Bob commented, “I hope neither of you are annoyed by this revelation..”

The sisters shook their heads, as Stan said, “No. We are not.”

Lewis added, “No. We are just annoyed we didn't get the chance yet to get Annie's autograph.”

Stan agreed, “Yes. We would have liked that.”

Bob said “Don't worry. I am sure that getting an autograph from her will not be a problem. Just, please don't say any Star Wars jokes in her presence.”

Stan commented, “I can see how that would get old with her, real quick.”

Bob stated, “You have no idea. And from what I understand, John Crichton was the worst, with the Star Wars jokes. Though, Annie was not above telling a few, herself.”

Lewis said, “Darth Vader telling Star Wars jokes. Now, that is a scary thought.”

Ed agreed, “You are right about that.”

Stan inquired, “Speaking of John, what happened to him? And what is up with Violin?

Bob asked, “Did you ever see the Farscape series?”

Stan answered, “Yes. During our journey, we bought a copy of the series, and mini-series finale. And we watched all of it. We were hiding as girls them. And watching that series was one of the contributing factors to us staying as girls for an extended amount of time, as we lost track of time.”

Bob commented, “That is not surprising. That series seems to cause some form of crazy to everyone who is touched by it. Both inside and outside of the Farscape reality.”

Lewis said, “That is what we figured, as well. So, what did happen to, John?”

Bob stated, “Well, John died. And we found out at the same time as John died, that Violin is the reincarnation of John. And witnessing John death cause her to regain her memories of being John, along with her personality merged with John's personalty.”

Stan said, “And I thought our lives were interesting.”

Bob mentioned, “My life experiences have taught me that there is not end to the possible weirdness in the multiverse.”

Ed said, “Trust your father on this, girls. He... err she knows what she is talking about.”

Lewis asked, “Is Violin still sane?”

Ed shrugged, as she replied, “About as sane as she always was, as either John, or Violin. Which is not saying much. But, then again, I am not one to judge.”

Bob commented, “And I wish her the best of luck with sorting out her personal life.”

Ed mentioned, “At least her new family, in Tokyo, accepted her. And I have a feeling her old family, on Moya, will, as well.”

Bob replied, “I agree. And we will check on her later, in a few days, to a week. Our time. Maybe a day, in her time. To make sure things are fine with her.”

Ed looked at her spouse, as she complimented, “Good idea.” She then turned to looked at her daughters across the table, as she softly ordered, “Now, I am sure you two have your male clothing stashed somewhere nearby. I want you to get go change both your clothing and your gender. And then, we will go home, and continue our discussion. Including, how running does not solve your problems. While facing your parents does.”

Stan and Lewis looked embarrass, as they stated, in unison, “Yes, mom.”

As the girls slid out of the booth, and walked away to change their clothes, and change back into guys, their parents whispered to each other.

Ed inquired, “That was a funny joke they pulled on us, by making us think they were someone else. So, when are we going to take them to the next Lagoon bikini party? I am looking forward to showing them off, in all their cuteness, to the other parents. I think the other parents will be jealous.”

Bob smiled, as she replied, “The parents might. They definitely inherited your beauty.”

Ed returned Bob's smile, as she said, “Thank you. But, I think they inherited some of you feminine beauty, as well.”

Bob commented, “Thanks for the compliment, dear. Still, there is no rush. We need to let them get use to their new female bodies.”

Ed replied, “Good idea. We will suggest they stay as girls at home. That will speed things up a bit.”

Bob responded, “Yes. Let them ease into the situation. Which, if I remember, you denied me from doing.”

Ed whined, “Okay. You are still complaining about that.”

Bob cautioned her wife, “Next time you decide to hand out extremely personal information on me to others, without first talking to me about it, I am going to eat enough nattou, while a woman, that my pheromones will leave you hot and bothered for a week. And I will give you no relief in bed. And don't try to lie to me. I know my female body's pheromones effect you.”

Ed winched, as she thought, 'Over a decade and a half of marriage. And I keep forgetting that, when she gets upset, Bob has a real mean streak as a woman. Not that I will ever admit that to her. Though, when she is not upset, she is as nice as when she is male.'

Ed quickly calmed her spouse down, by gently saying, “Okay. Okay, honey. I get the message. Now, let's get our boys home, and get some much deserved rest, for all us.”

Bob smiled, as she complimented, “Dear, that is the best idea I ever heard all day.”

The Lowe family soon returned home, as Bob, Stan, and Lewis, also returned to their male genders. After another hour of questions and answers, the Lowe family turned in early, to get some much deserved sleep.

(_)

The next day. Monday, October eighteenth, twenty-one hundred. The Lowe brothers returned to their high school, on Mars, as if nothing had happen to them. With them only being missing during the weekend for those on Mars. Except for those involved in their adventures, no one, locally, asked any questions on the matter.

Though, the brothers had to be careful not to sneeze in school. And they had to take a taxi to school, because parents understandably forbid them from using a reality device to go to school. And they left the family car at the high school, which they did return home, after school.

A few days later, the four members of the Lowe family had the parent-teacher conference with American Football Coach Shane Caxton, at Shane's family home, in private. With Jennifer, Shane's wife, taking their two children, to a nearby playground, as he talked with the Lowe family.

Shane took the knowledge, of what the Lowe family told him, much better than the Lowe family thought he would.

Shane found it humorous learning about the world as myth reality. And getting the name of the series he was from. Shane even planned to check out the Black Lagoon anime series, sometime. And he was fine about what he learned on what happened to his reality, and the people he met, after he left his home reality.

Shane was even okay with the gender bending. Shane did not even bat an eye at watching Stan change genders, back and forth.

Though, Shane did have one comment on the gender bending. That was if Stan got a cold. For safety reasons. Shane would have to bench him while he had a cold. An accidental sneeze, and gender change, in mid-tackle could be dangerous for Stan.

The entire Lowe family, including Stan, agreed with Shane.

All Shane asked in return for his silence, was that they keep the secret that he was alive and well, in the reality they lived in, from those of the Black Lagoon reality.

Shane understandably did not want their craziness to effect his family, nor his own, personal life.

And the Lowe family gladly agreed to Shane's request.

(_)

Several months later, Stan got Lewis another girl for a date, this time the prom. Stan took his steady girlfriend, Stephanie, to the prom. And Stan's girlfriend did get voted prom queen, with one of Stan's most favorite moments in his life was dancing with the prom queen during prom. Stan and his girlfriend even let Lewis share one dance with the prom queen.

And the brothers were able to continue their schooling towards graduation without letting anyone around know about their gender abilities, except for Coach Caxton. Though, after everything that has happened, and their new gender bending abilities, they were not sure if they want to go to college, or do something else.

(_)

And of course, after the graduation, the parents eventually got their revenge on their children, for tricking them at the barbeque restaurant, by making the siblings attend the next bikini party, by the Lagoon family, in their then fifteen year old female bodies, in very cute, though not sexy, bikinis. And everyone there knew who the Lowe sisters were, ahead of time.

Though, the Lowe sisters decided that if they were going to be forced to be surrounded by crazy chicks, they might as well become crazy chicks. So, they stay as girls for days on end, at the week long island party. And after three days of not changing back into guys, their other crazy personalities started to take over. And by the forth day, the sisters were caught trying to turn the Lagoon PT boat into a giant robot.

Though, the Lowe sister were not punished, because the others soon realized what the personality shift of their gender change does to them.

But, that is another story...

The End.

(_)

Author's Notes:

That's it for this book. I hope you enjoyed this part of my “Anthology Of Insanity”.

I hope in this chapter, for you readers, that I gave good enough justifications for Scorpius's actions, but for the actions of the trio sisters, and their parents.

In addition, I enjoyed writing the reunion between Spike, Jet, and Faye. With Ed and Bob present. Along with Julia being introduced to everyone.

I really do like Jet and Faye. And I find it unfortunate that I could not find a more active role in Book four, for these two. But, their life turned out alright, in the end. So, it is okay.

I hope you enjoyed where I had Ein end up. With me, even the dog is given a happy ending.

I did enjoy writing the reunion of the Lowe family. After everything they have been through, Stan and Lewis deserved to play that joke on their parents.

And Stan and Lewis finally getting the answers they wanted.

With the entire Lowe family back together, with no serious issues left between them.

Until next time. Have fun.