Philip Lancaster watched as Ethan lay helpless in the operating room. Franklin Fairchild was not far from him standing next to the window peering into the room where his son was, his eyes boring a hole into the thick plexiglass that encased the arena seating above the tiny operating room.

"He's gonna make it, Frank," Philip said, with a quiet intensity. It was the only thing to say under the circumstances.

"He has to make it." Franklin's voice was almost cold. "If he doesn't, what will happen to my son, Ian? My only true heir?"

Philip had heard Franklin talk like this before, as if Ethan wasn't his own flesh and blood. They had received word only hours ago that Ian had been kidnapped from his brother, Ethan's apartment.

"We'll get Ian back, don't you worry. We have teams out searching as we speak." His words tried to console his superior but the tactic didn't seem to be working effectively.

"If Ethan dies, he is signing Ian's death warrant."

Philip was confused. "What are you talking about, Frank?"

"Ethan only lives because I will it. I make the decisions." Franklin was silent for a moment. "Ian will die without Ethan's body." Franklin handed Philip a pile of notes. "My son is dying already. My son, Ian is dying."

Philip read over the notes and gasped in horror. "Oh, my God! You were the one who had that chip put in his head."

"He had to be controlled until Ian could take over." Franklin's grip tightened on the bar surrounding the window. His eyes never left the doctor's performing below.

Philip studied the documents. They were doctor's reports of Ian's health. The statistics didn't look good.

"Ian is dying." At that instant, a stray thought hit him. "You were the one who set up that lab in Bulgaria. You were going to make the transformation then, but Octavia got to Ethan first."

"I was so close. So damn close," he whispered.

"You are insane." Philip could not believe what he was hearing. Then he thought of all he, himself, had done to keep Katrina in his life. He was no better than Franklin.

But that was about to change.

***

Mitch Grayson glanced at the notes Philip had handed him.

"You're kidding, right? This is science fiction."

"I'm not kidding. I'm dead serious. It's all there in black and white. Franklin's plans to control his son with that microchip."

Philip paused, then asked the question he was afraid to get the answer to.

"How is Ethan?"

"He's barely holding on. Something has attacked every one of his systems. They are systematically breaking down. I've never seen anything like it."

The eerie silence of Grayson's office was interrupted by footsteps pounding down the hallway. Bobbie Sullivan poked his head in the door.

"Jeffrey's found something."

***

As Mitch Grayson and Philip Lancaster entered the control room, guards were handcuffing Franklin Fairchild and ushering him from the building.

"You really think that is necessary?" Mitch asked.

"Before I came to see you, I phoned Mr. Knight. He made the call." Philip leaned over Jeffrey who was looking even sicker than he had two days ago. "I thought I told you to stay in bed, kid?"

"I couldn't lie there and do nothing while Ethan is dying right before our eyes." Jeffrey's own eyes were ringed with red. "I think I've found what's wrong with him."

Philip's ears perked up.

Jeffrey brought up an enlargement of a sample of Ethan's blood.

"What are we looking at? They look like machines." Philip stared in awe.

"They're nanites. Mini machines. They are literally draining Ethan of his energy. I don't think I would have even noticed them if they hadn't messed with his bio-link interface."

"What can we do? Tell me we can do something." Philip's tone grew more agitated.

"Well," Jeffrey said amidst a fit of coughing. "We have only one option. Feed the nanites what they want. Energy."

"What's the success rate of an infusion like that?" Mitch asked.

"We don't know, sir. It's never been attempted on a human being before. There is a seventy-thirty chance it could kill him before it cures him."

***

Octavia watched with glee as she observed the monitor. On screen were samples of Ethan's blood and a direct feed to the operating room where they were keeping Ethan hidden. Little did they know that they could keep nothing from her.

She watched as his vital signs fell lower and lower.

She'd done it! She'd actually done it. Ethan Fairchild was finally going to pay for what he had done to her brother!

The door to the laboratory opened and a livid Dexter Vargas stood in the archway.

"How could you?" he spat. "How could you use my research to exact your revenge on that man?"

"You were never going to test those damn nanites you were always toying with. Consider this a field test." Octavia smiled. "I'm doing you a favor."

"A field test? They were never meant to be used in a human. Those things could kill him!"

Octavia laughed.

"That's what I'm counting on."

***

Jeffrey was already hard at work requesting a supply of ATP

Philip Lancaster ushered a woman into the operating arena where they were keeping Ethan isolated from outside contact. She wasn't merely beautiful, in her eyes there was an obvious intelligence. But there was also a sort of pain that could only come from a person in her profession. A person who searched for monsters on a daily basis.

She wasn't blonde and lithe like his usual conquests, but that didn't keep Philip from looking. All together, the package the new profiler made was stunning.

Philip garnered the attention of Dr. Mitch Grayson and Jeffrey Sogard who were the only other people in the room. "This is Sabrina Michaels. She's on loan from the Knights Foundation."

The brunette nodded at the men but didn't attempt to shake their hands. Both seemed to notice her apparent discomfort with the gesture. Neither mentioned their wondering.

"Sabrina is a profiler. She's here to help us find out who did this to Ethan." Philip liked the fact that he was back in charge again. He stood a little straighter when he thought about sharing the co-director duties with Gia.

"Philip updated me about the situation over the phone. I hope I can help you find the person responsible."

"Right now I'd settle for keeping Ethan alive Ms. Michaels." Jeffrey was under an enormous strain knowing his hero, the man he looked up to was lying in the next room literally dying.

Philip's eyes narrowed at Jeffrey. It wasn't like him to talk back to a superior officer or anyone for that matter.

"Forgive Jeffrey, Sabrina. He's a little under the weather, and this is a very tense and unusual situation."

Sabrina paced the room tapping her fingers together in thought.

"We need to know who did this to him," Philip said, indicating Ethan lying prone in the next room. The lights were stark and blanketed him with a pallor even death could not capture.

Images assaulted her like they normally did, but she mentioned none of it to the men in the room. She knew what they would say if she told them of her "gift". She had been down that road before.

"You have more than one force at work here. Someone could want Ethan dead. Or they could want to use him as some sort of pawn or inside informant. It's possible from this advanced technology that Ethan could work for the enemy and never consciously know he's betraying the Legacy."

Philip sighed. "I was afraid you were going to say something like that.

***

Sabrina Michaels came up behind the young controller and placed a hand on his shoulder. He noticeably jumped then relaxed when he discovered who was behind him.

"Jeffrey? Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

He coughed then nodded a greeting at the profiler. His voice seemed tired and strained. "Sure, sock it to me."

"Michela Forsythe. Who is she?"

Jeffrey's eyes grew wide and he observed her skeptically. "Why do you ask?"

Sabrina looked off into the distance down a long hallway and her eyes appeared to glaze over. "I'm getting a dual impression about her."

"I.. I thought you were here to find out who put the chip in Ethan's head, not fixate on his girlfriend."

"Ethan has had many girlfriends," she said offhandedly. "But he doesn't refer to them as that."

The controller smiled. "No. He isn't much for commitment. His job sort of calls for him to be sort of a free agent. If you know what I mean."

"You are having some questions about Michela yourself, aren't you?"

Jeffrey found it spooky that Sabrina seemed to almost be reading his mind. He was more than surprised at her abrupt question. His eyes asked the silent question of how she could know his thoughts.

"You think very loudly," she said simply, not giving any more away than possible. She didn't want him to ask questions about her abilities. "Your body language gives you more away than anything."

"You're right. I am curious. We've had some conflicting reports about her position in the last few hours." Jeffrey coughed and blood spattered on his hand. He wiped the stain away before Sabrina could see it. Little did he knew that she already knew what was going on.

"I think Dr. Grayson should check you out," she said. "You don't seem well enough for the strain of all of this."

Jeffrey wiped the beading sweat from his forehead. "I'm fine. It's just a twenty-four hour bug. That's all."

Sabrina wasn't so sure. She could sense a great amount of fear radiating off him. She could hear his mind screaming that he feared it was something more deadly than the common cold. And his anxiety was mainly from his inaction to do something about the problem. She appealed to him once more to get the condition checked out, but when he exited the room a few minutes later, Sabrina was sure he was not going to take her advice.

***

Kevin Fairchild passed Jeffrey on his way back into the control room. He gave the younger man a curious glance, but didn't worry about his pale condition. He set a straight course for Sabrina who was sitting on one of the controller's chairs.

"I'm glad I found you alone. I wanted to talk to you."

Sabrina glanced up and interest lit her eyes. Kevin's eyes mirrored hers but they also held a note of concern.

"I saw you flinch when Philip put his arm around you." Kevin didn't know why he was saying this, but he knew the words had to be said. "Does it still bother you?"

"To touch people?" Sabrina seemed to instinctively know what Kevin was referring to. She drew in a long breath. "Yes. It tends to get worse with people I don't know. I don't like slipping into their dark places and seeing secrets they themselves can't even possibly know is inside of them."

"What about the people you know?" Kevin's features softened.

"With people I know -- the ability seems to dissipate." She placed her hands over Kevin's. They shook visibly, but she seemed to relax at the contact.

"Still have a hard time getting close to people?" Kevin brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.

"After Gary's death and then -- you." Sabrina sighed. "I couldn't do it any more. I couldn't get close to anyone again. I couldn't do it."

Kevin drew her into his embrace. It was meant to be a comforting gesture, but it soon revealed to both of them how much they had longed for this sort of contact.

He laid his cheek atop her hair and whispered, "I talked to your superior at the KF." He turned her face toward his. "Why didn't you tell me a killer is after you?"

She flinched and twirled away from him. "How dare you dig into my life when I'm here to help you!"

"They tell me this man is a psychopath, Brin. A psychopath fixated on you. Excuse me for not letting this knowledge slide right on by." Kevin's voice grew more agitated. "You still matter to me. I care about what happens to you."

Kevin stopped short. He hadn't meant to reveal that information. To her. He had never really admitted that fact to himself.

"And I care what happens to you," she said softly. "That is why I won't allow you to get involved."

"You don't make decisions for me, " Kevin fumed. "How long has he been stalking you, Brin? How long?"

"Longer than you know," she whispered then ran from the room.

"This is not over, sweetheart," Kevin said to her retreating figure. "Not by a long shot."

***

"Philip Lancaster is bringing in some old talent. People he knows we can trust. Jeffrey has made contact with Lee Myers. Myers used to work for us before he started his own research firm. Myers has the equipment we need to save Ethan." Bobbie Sullivan rattled off the information at warp speed.

"I know Myers. Known him for years. He's smart. If anyone can help Ethan, it's him. Kevin turned to view his brother's body lying on the operating room table. "Our doctor's have done everything they can. Let's hope this ATP juice can do the rest."

An hour later, Philip and Kevin met with Lee Myers in his office across town.

"I've set Ethan up in the ATP generator. What will happen is a swirl of intense energy will cascade around him. The nanites in his blood will hopefully feed off this energy. Some of them will burn out from the intensity of the blast and be absorbed into his system. The rest --"

"The rest?" Philip echoed. "Will he ever have all the nanites out of his blood?"

Myers sighed. "Unfortunately, no. Ethan will have to wear a monitor. We've fashioned one into a small watch-like device. It will tell him when his supply of ATP is running low."

"Damn!" Kevin muttered. "I thought this would be wham, bam and he's back to normal again."

"I'm afraid your brother will never be normal again. If this initial infusion goes as planned..." Myers stated

"You mean if it doesn't kill him," Philip said interrupting.

"Yes, if it doesn't kill him, he'll come out of this a better operative. The nanites will heighten all his senses. He'll have better eye sight, enhanced strength..."

"but only so long as we keep feeding him this juice?" Kevin pointed a thumb toward the chamber where his brother was strapped like a mouse in a trap.

"You are correct. The level of ATP must be carefully monitored. If he goes below a certain level, he may go into a shock he will never recover from." Lee checked some last minute statistics before he was ready to implement the procedure.

"Bionic brother. Not exactly what I wanted for Christmas, but I'll settle for that over dead brother any day."

"Stand back," Myers said, fiddling with knobs on the console before him. "We're going to infuse him now. If all goes as planned he'll recover at an amazingly rapid pace."

Myers poised his finger over the red button that would start the procedure.

Footsteps pounded down the hallway, and Janette Ambrose opened the door widely making an entrance as she stepped into the room. A troupe of Black Council minions dressed in their usual black poured into the room on either side of her. An evil smile painted her face making her beautiful face seem hideously ugly.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your little game, but I can't allow you to continue."

At Janette's gesture, men converged on the area around the ATP generator. Myers backed away from the console until he, Philip and Kevin were surrounded by the enemy.

"There will be no hard feelings, I hope," Janette was saying. "Nothing against Ethan, but we have other plans for your generator."

"Like destroying The Legacy?" Philip wondered aloud.

"No," she said, surprised he hadn't guessed at her plans. "To rid ourselves of our greatest rival, the Diamond Triad. All we have to do is aim this beam at your Legacy satellite and ..."

Kevin didn't give Janette time to finish her sentence. He could see her plot too clearly. "And The Legacy is blamed for the attack."

"My, you're much brighter than I first thought."

Janette joined the minions at the computer console. "A few more adjustments and The Legacy will be targeted by every known terrorist organization. I mean, if you irradiate one, who says you won't irradiate them all?" Her cackle made Kevin wonder how he had ever mistaken her for Michela. He wondered when the witch had taken Michela's place or if she had taken her place at all and he had actually fallen for a killer.

Philip couldn't believe it had come to this. "That's what this whole thing with Ethan has been about? To get your hands on the generator? The chip in Ethan's head? The nanites in his blood?"

Janette ignored Philip and positioned the ATP device skyward. "Prepare to lose it all," she said, her hand hovering over the control switch.

Kevin couldn't let this happen. He wouldn't allow it to happen. He thrust himself at Janette, tackling her. But his attempt wasn't in time. Janette had already managed to depress the red button. The ATP generator emitted a great rumble and a stream of energy shot out and up. The energy emitted was so intense it threw both he and Janette backward.

Kevin felt his body slam against the wall and her heard Janette's do the same, but not before he heard her laughter.

"What have you done?" Kevin's voice was labored as he gasped for air that had been forced out of him.

Janette continued to laugh. "I've won."