Cosmic Girl, also came alert, looking around, her eyes glowing, ready to unleash fire. "What on Earth...? I wonder what caused that to happen? I must say, this is about the creepiest place I have ever been. And I went to the haunted house on Coney Island!"

"I felt that they simply felt that they'd upheld their part of the bargain... and also, they fear reprisal from their creator if he learns that they told of where he might be found."

Even in her sorry state, Lynx's body was that of a speedster. And while her arms seemed to be failing her, her legs kept moving. Still, in an effort to avoid falling over, she worked to slow herself to the point of someone that was just very fast. Surprisingly, Ch'rava felt very slow at this speed. Had she already gotten so used to moving as Diana once had? She felt like something of a parasite, stealing all that the dead woman had been for the sake of her reconnaissance. It was unwise to get more in-tune with this body that wasn't her's, she thought. It had been so long since she'd been able to even look at her own face. It wasn't even that long ago that some of Norwood's strange serums had caused her change to foul up. Couldn't she have indulged that chemical a bit? Just to see a reminder of who she was?

Bah, she was indulging in pointless worries and self-pity. So what if she was screwing up everything? She had to keep living. For the mission. Even if she never found a way to make contact again, it was better for her to be there than to die.

Seeing a light ahead, Lynx slowed her approach. It was good to be around people again and away from her thoughts. Still, she had no way of knowing whether these were her comrades or another Norwood invention. Getting closer, she began to hear their chatter. Relief poured over her and left a wave of exhaustion. Needing it more than she had a moment before, Lynx used the pole to help herself move towards the group.

Between coughs, she put on a brave smile and spoke out, "Hey, everyone. I'm back. Where...Where did the Norwoods go?"

"They ran away again," Goodwill explained with a shrug. "But not before they gave us one more place to search. It's in Manhattan, near 10th avenue and 207th street, in the trainyard."

"I guess having a lead is better than nothing. Weirdly, it's nice to hear that they were able to get away. It seems that these Norwoods have..." Lynx hesitated. What was she supposed to call it exactly? He was ultimately a machine made to self-destruct, but all she had seen was a man freaking out and spontaneously exploding. "They have a kill switch. The one I was with... He exploded in front of me. He's not there anymore."

This day just wasn't going well, was it? She couldn't keep going like this.

Shaking her head, Lynx moved on. "I'm sorry Jules, but could I talk to the three of you in private?" she asked, gesturing to her fellow heroes with the pole-turned-cane. "I've got something that I need to tell you. Before we meet back up with Delancey."

"Hm? Yes, certainly," says Jules. He seems a little anxious about it, though...

Cosmic Girl looked aghast at the condition of White Lynx. "Oh golly... I am sorry! I did not realise you didn't get out of the blast zone! I should have helped you! I just thought... being fast, and all..."

Contrition!!!

But they had work, still. She followed along, curiously. What had her fellow hero to reveal? They had work to get on with, too!

"Oh, it was my own fault. I was trying to stop him from exploding, but I didn't really have any idea what to do. There was nothing I could have done. It would have been the smart thing to do to just get away." She couldn't look at them. It was a hero's job to save everyone, wasn't it? Ch'rava supposed that just went to show just how much of an impostor she really was.

Watching as Jules gave her and the heroes space, Lynx nodded. "But enough of that. I apologize for this indulgence, but it is important. I saw something earlier in here that has convinced me that this Dr. Norwood has, well, discovered a particular secret about me. I've been feeling quite frantic and worried about this, needless to say. I stayed back to destroy that thing that I saw and, what's more, I had resolved to kill Norwood once we saw him." A small part of her worried about the almost casual delivery of these secrets, but if she just pretended like she was delivering a report, it felt more natural. That part also paled in comparison to the side of her that was shouting at her to keep her cover from blowing. But it was too late for that. "I couldn't do it though. I mean, this wasn't the original Norwood, of course, but I just...couldn't. I feel shameful and relieved all in one. But that doesn't change the fact that Norwood likely knows this secret and, if that goes unchecked, he may reveal that secret at an inopportune moment to shatter trust between us. And so I have resolved to tell you three now. Forgive me if it sounds odd or hard to believe. Furthermore, I will understand if you can no longer work with me on this investigation or anything else going forward."

Lynx stepped back from the group, swallowed, and forced her head up to face them.

"The fact is: I am not White Lynx. Frankly, I am not human either. My name is Ch'rava, a scout sent by the Brin Empire. Our mission was to transform into human forms and discretely enter human society to judge technological and social advancement and as to whether or not humanity could make for a good ally. However, I got separated while in flight and lost control of my craft. My crash landing killed the real White Lynx and what appeared to be another person. There was also a strange trident there that this other person seemed to have been wielding. It was this object that I noticed in the other room. Likely a replica. As for White Lynx, after the crash, I had just enough left in me to transform into her, but I am no longer capable of shifting my form. I have not been able to make any contact with my superior officer either. That is all."

Her piece said, Ch'rava looked away from the heroes and back down to the ground. It seemed as though she had been rolling her makeshift cane back and forth for some small sense of comfort during that whole ordeal. It was hard to believe that she had resolved to kill only a few hours earlier.

Goodwill looked at White Lynx Ch'rava. It was a lot to take in, and much more to actually believe. But the way she told the story was extremely convincing, and it didn't seem like she was making things up. If she was joking, she was doing so very badly. If she was insane, there would have been signs of it earlier.

No, she was telling the truth. She was an alien.

That would be so cool, if it wasn't so darn creepy.

"Okay," he said eventually, having taken the story at face value for the time being. She wasn't the real white Lynx. He'd never even met the original White Lynx, it seemed. (Although he might have? The timeline was vague.) But he'd known Ch'rava for months now, had her in his loft, even... and she felt real enough to him. It was just so darn weird. "What happened to the original White Lynx?"

Ch'rava shook her head. "She didn't make it. White Lynx was killed in the crash. I believe the other person had been trying to attack her with the trident, but I don't know how far they had gotten in their attempt or what they had hoped to achieve. Either way, I buried the two of them, alongside the remains of the crash."

Cosmic Girl looked very troubled by this news at first, but after a moment, she came to a decision, and laid a hand on Ch'rava's arm. "It does not truly matter who you are. What matters is what you do. You have laid your life on the line for people many times. What happened to White Lynx is tragic, but you cannot be held responsible. You took up her mantle, and you did what she would have done, to protect others. And I like, and respect you. Ever since we met. Since you have always been Ch'rava, then it is Ch'rava I respect. And will fight beside you."

She then gave a small, rather impish smile. "My parents are going to go bananas about this. They've always said that there must be life on other worlds. They have spent their lives trying to find ways to prove it. And you've been here all this time. When this is over, you have got to come and meet them. They'll have so many questions!"

It did not occur to her that perhaps Ch'rava would prefer not to be paraded around in the open. But Cosmic Girl was such a good person inside, the fact that it could have a very bad outcome genuinely had not featured in her chain of thought.

Ch'rava was confused by Cosmic Girl's response. Cosmic Girl respected her? Sure, she'd done her best to try and save people, but that was the position she was in as someone pretending to be a hero. Even then, it wasn't like she was great at the job. She'd just failed to save a man's life so badly, it placed her in a sorry state.

But there wasn't much time to think about that.



"A-About that!" Tell the hero's parents?! Her head snapped back up in front of Cosmic Girl. Ch'rava was expecting some sort of severe 'We'll have to tell the government' statement or a solemn 'The people have to know.' But Cosmic Girl seemed almost excited at the prospect of revealing that an alien empire was secretly watching humanity to her parents. The alien scout didn't want the general public or the planet's governments to be aware of her little excursion to their world, but would it be as bad for a couple of parents to know? Of course, she had no idea who these people were and whether or not they might let loose this information either. "I know that I don't have the right to ask this of you, but could you keep this secret of mine? Perhaps I could meet your parents first and then decide whether or not to tell them?"

"I'll just leave this out of my next call home to Mom," Goodwill said with a shrug. He couldn't see any reason she needed to hear it, really. It's not like he'd share any other secrets that Lyn— Ch'rava — told him in confidence. "In fact, I'm just going to treat everything you said as 'Need to Know.'

"Mom's still getting used to the idea that I come back from the dead, anyway. 'Aliens walk among us' might just push her over the edge."

What? Did he not have a problem keeping this secret? All this talk of telling their parents, as though her duty to investigate humanity was little more than an incredible curiosity. Weren't species supposed to get all paranoid and frightened when faced with some kind of 'alien invader'? Had she read too many Brin spec-fi novels and op-eds? Was this a quirk of humanity? Or...them being heroes? Goodwill was right. Here was a literal immortal man. That alone would be an amazing find on most any planet. She'd been reading old papers too. Both right in front of her and around Earth, there were amazing people that, while usually within an acceptable amount of oddity for a space-farer, were incredibly different in capabilities from the average human. And that didn't even stop at the planet's primary species. By necessity, they were all very unique. Perhaps it would be a different story if she could actually make contact with her commanding officer, but she had no way of reporting to anyone. She hadn't even gained much of the sort of sensitive information that a government would need to be concerned about. It felt wrong, but if Goodwill and Cosmic Girl didn't see a need to tell people (with the possible exception of their immediate family? Cosmos seemed very pumped at the prospect of revealing alien life to her enthusiast parents), then she certainly wasn't going to press the issue.

Wiping away the shocked look from her face, Ch'rava replied, "Thank you, Goodwill. You don't know how much I appreciate this. And, well, I'm not sure how to say this, but...are you all sure that it is alright to keep working with me? Despite my, how to put it, allegiance to a third party?"

Cosmic Girl sighed and nodded. "You are right. I won't tell anybody, not even my parents. Maybe one day it will all come out. Until then - I shall keep your secret."

The concerns their newly revealed alien chum was harbouring were valid, and in her shoes, Cosmos might feel the same way. Still, she wanted to provide reassurance. "You have been brave, heroic, and a good friend all this time. I think that is all I need to know. I would gladly fight by your side - and stand with you, if someone takes against you!"

"Yeah," Goodwill agreed. "Your actions are how you should be judged, and your actions are those of a genuine hero. So what if you're from a different planet? I'm from Nebraska. New York still feels like a different planet to me."

So they were just going to stay beside her? Here she was, all worried the others were going to get her indefinitely detained and interrogated about her mission and she was still a "genuine hero" in their eyes?

Ch'rava started laughing. She couldn't help it, her frame rocked with guffaws and chortles so hard she had to hold herself up with her makeshift walking stick. It was almost hard to believe that she'd been so worried and distraught over what they might do only a few moments before. She was sure she'd be filled with doubts again later, but the day's emotional whiplashes were too much right now.

Wiping a tear from her eye, she stood up straight.

"Thank you both. I am grateful for all this faith you have in me. I apologize for keeping us away from work for so long. I can answer more questions for you all later. And then hey, maybe someday, you can show me Nebraska. Even if it only feels like it, I would love to see another planet."

So what if she was terrible at being a hero? At being Lynx? She didn't have to be on her own.

"Nebraska is a very dull other planet, by comparison to New York," Goodwill said. Lynx must not have looked around much before or after his funeral. "I mean — don't get me wrong — it's a great place to grow up and all that. It's just... there's not much to see, other than endless cornfields.

"Anyway: Norwood. He wasn't here, and we've got another place to try, so I guess we're done here. We'll let the Feds take apart the lab. Does that sound about right, or am I forgetting something important?"

"I don't believe anyone thinks their home is the most interesting place. You're used to it. Still, maybe that can wait until your next funeral."



"I didn't have a chance to fully look through the previous area with the trident, but I think I'll just hope there's nothing that will link anything to me. I'm in no position to tear that place up as it is. Beyond that, we just have to help out Jules, right?"

"Yep." Goodwill waved Jules over to rejoin the group, as it wouldn't be polite to talk about him while he was standing right there. "Jules, buddy, there are going to be a lot of Federal agents tromping through these sewers in a little while. Some of them are probably going to go right through your Home Sweet Home. I don't think there's anything we can do to stop them, either.

"We can tell them that you're friendly, and to leave you alone... but even if they listen, it won't be alone alone. They're going to be all over the place down here.

"I was thinking that maybe you could crash at my place for a little while, until they've cleared out."

Jules appears alarmed... and then frightened... and then touched/moved. "I'd be honored, if it wouldn't cause any special difficulties for you. ...Do you have any books at your home...?"

"Some. Not a lot. Most are for school." Goodwill felt a little sorry that he didn't have more to read. Jules was obviously more well-read than he was... and he lived in a sewer. So that was no easy feat, but he'd done it. "But I'm not that far from the public library, and then there's the school library, too. So I can probably get you darn near anything you can think of.

He'd nearly suggested that Jules could go to the library himself but then realized that the alligator-man would probably cause a panic if he did. So he offered to get Jules the books instead.

He didn't address the question of 'difficulties'. Jules could potentially cause a panic anywhere he went on the surface, but Goodwill didn't want to force him into hiding, either. Still, he'd probably be content to hole up and read, as long as Goodwill kept the books coming.

"I can certainly bring as many as you want," Cosmic Girl reassured. "My parents are at the cutting edge of modern science. They have a huge library. Not much in the way of art or literature, I suppose, but certainly all kinds of journals. They won't notice. If they do, they'll just be very happy I am interested in the reading. They tend to be very wrapped up in their work and do not notice a lot of things outside of that."

She then considered options. "I am a little concerned that we have precious little time. Norwood surely must have some sort of surveillance down here, or maybe one of his rejects was bugged. We do not want to give him time to escape."

"How recently was he last here, though?" says Jules. "I think that robot that exploded was simply wearing his creator's clothes... perhaps to fool bloodhounds and other dogs..."

Cosmos frowned. "I am sure you are right. But we would be naive to assume he did not have SOME sort of tracking device or a camera or something. If they're wearing his clothes, it is not a big step. I don't know. I wasn't paranoid before I started goofing around with you guys!"

Her judgement on such things was generally skewed, but her friends would not know this. She had spent far too many years being developed as a top secret project by the government to really knows what was going on, and her trust for them was almost certainly going to prove misplaced, sooner or later. Perhaps a little healthy paranoia was exactly what she needed, right now.