Jason’s eyes fluttered open. The walls around him were spinning. Unfamiliar walls. Walls adorned with framed pictures and tacky wallpaper. He tried to remember what had happened to him. A wave of nausea crept up his throat. He lifted his hand to his forehead.

At least, he tried to lift his hand to his forehead.

His muscles did not respond. His fingers did not curl, he could not bend his elbow or lift his wrist. He tried to lift his foot – no response. Someone stirred beside him. He tried to turn his head. He could not. He could feel no ropes, no chains, no restraints against his skin. He couldn’t even twitch his fingertips. Panicked, he began to breathe heavily, straining with effort to move some part of his body – any part. Curses welled up, but his tongue would not obey. He was completely paralyzed.

"That’s right love."

A woman’s smiling face appeared above him, her blond hair falling against his cheek.

"You can’t move. Isn’t it divine? I can do anything I want to you." She licked her lips.

"Don’t worry, it’s only temporary. Just a little something I put together to make sure you didn’t try any fancy moves while I prepare your accommodations. You see, you’re going to be staying with me a while, and I want everything to be perfect."

Jason’s eyes were wide with contempt.

"Oh, now. Don’t look at me like that, love. You’ll understand everything in due time. You’ll be powerless to do anything about it, but you’ll understand!" she winked at him.

Jason remembered who she was. The woman at the track. The one he was sure was harmless. He wished he could kick himself. His eyes darted around the room, trying to formulate a plan. He was in what appeared to be a bedroom in a small house. The walls were a dirty cream colour, there were no windows, and only one door. He couldn’t tell what was behind him. He was lying on something comfortable – a mattress? He could feel her breath on his skin – it gave him a chill. He looked towards his toes – he was naked!

His mind screamed with outrage. Under different conditions, this would have been one of his fantasies. Now, every inch of him felt vulnerable and he could feel the anger flowing hotly through his veins. He hated this woman, and what she had done with him. His eyes quivered with contempt. He wanted to reach up and grab her neck, and crush her windpipe with his fingers. She was only inches away, teasing him with half-closed eyes. His frustration was maddening.

She traced the contours of his cheek with a bony finger. He wanted to bite it off and spit it in her face.

"Don’t flatter yourself." She cooed. "That’s not why you’re here. I’ll admit, it would be fun." Her eyes flowed over his body approvingly.

"But I would never have a man like you." She spat in his face. Her spit rolled down his cheek into his hair. She disappeared from his view.

"No love. I would never contaminate this body with trash like you." Jason could hear her rummaging around just a few feet away. "You have no soul. You have no conscience. You take life like without pity and without mercy."

"I know who you are, Jason." She was circling him. She leaned in close to his ear.

"G-Force." She whispered.

Jason shut his eyes. He was in trouble. Deep trouble. He couldn’t even play dumb. He couldn’t speak! There was no way to deny what she was saying, and he doubted she would buy it anyway. This woman had complete control over him, knew exactly who he was, exactly how to trap him and seemed to be a psychopath on top of it all.

"G-Force." She said loudly this time. "Our protectors. Our saviors. Should I be down on my knees thanking you for all the times you’ve saved us all?" She threw her head back and laughed hysterically.

Abruptly she stopped. She crawled on top of Jason like a cat until she was sitting on his chest. She lifted his chin with her finger. He opened his eyes.

"You ruined my life." She hissed. "That’s right. I used to have a life. I wasn’t always a crazed lunatic you know." She slid off of him and sat by his side.

"I used to have a normal, happy life." Her eyes became clouded. The corners of her mouth dropped into a sad frown.

"I had a husband, you know." She said quietly. "We lived here together. He was a wonderful man. We were even trying to have children." A ghost of a smile crossed her lips.

"He wanted a boy, but he would have loved any of our children. I remember when we met. He was a solider then. So handsome. We fell in love instantly, and got married right away. He supported me while I finished my Ph.D. The militia paid him well, he said. A few months before he died, he finally told me the truth. He was a soldier, but not for earth. He was a soldier for Spectra."

Jason inhaled sharply. Really deep trouble he thought to himself.

"Oh don’t fret love." She snapped out of her reverie. "I don’t work for Spectra. Oh no. As a matter of fact, after I’m finished with you, they will be the next to pay their dues."

She became silent, and looked at him with her head tilted to one side. She giggled.

"You still don’t know why you are here, do you? Ok, I’ll let you off the hook. You –" she tousled his hair "are the man who destroyed my husband." She grabbed a hand full of Jason’s locks and yanked, lifting his head. She was inches from his face, her words dripped with accusation

"He was a security officer at one of Spectra’s storage hangers. He wasn’t attacking. He wasn’t killing. He was just guarding his post, doing his job. You snuck up on him from behind, like a coward and snapped his neck. No mercy. No warning. Not even a clean fight!" She let go of his hair.

"Oh I know how it happened. I got to see it all on the security tape, just like a bad television show! They made me watch it, again and again. You see, you left him for dead, but he was still breathing. They found him, and took him to their hospital. They brought me to him. Showed me what had happened. Join us, they said. Join Spectra and get revenge! They knew who I was. They knew my research, and they knew I could help them. He even came to speak with me."

She started circling the bed again. "He came and showed me the tape. Told me I could have full use of their laboratories, all of the money I could want, everything at my fingertips to cure my husband. Yes, Zoltar was my new best friend. But he could never seem to get you. Never able to keep that promise of justice. So I’ve decided to do my own dirty work."

She stood at the foot of the bed, eyes cold and wide. "I’ve planned this moment for over a year now. When you broke my husband’s neck you took away his being! He couldn’t touch me, or tell me how he was feeling. Everything we had was destroyed. Derek was so helpless. He couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, couldn’t see, couldn’t even hear!"

"And now," she said as she squirted drops of fluid from a needle, "I’m going to do the same to you."

It was a slow, peaceful morning. The sun was rising on the horizon, gentle waves caressing its base. Golden light danced on the crests of the waves, scattered around the sun like an elaborate necklace. The white sand still held the night’s chill. The sand was cool under his feet, spreading under his toes and hands. Mark sat quietly, gazing at the sun, as he had since the early morning. The beach was deserted, except for a few sandpipers probing the wet sand with their long bills. It was a great place to think or simply pass some time. A place to escape from the pressures of the world, from the responsibilities of G-force. It was difficult to enjoy however, when company was around.

"You might as well come down." Mark called to the dune behind him without turning around. Approaching footsteps answered his invitation.

"How long have you been waiting up there?" Mark asked.

"Oh, not long." Tiny responded, scratching his head. "Maybe an hour."

Mark couldn’t suppress his smile. Confrontation wasn’t Tiny’s strong suit and he had probably spent the past hour debating whether or not to continue. Tiny was removing his socks and shoes. He sat down beside Mark, the two men facing the rising sun. He shut his eyes and let the golden light warm his face.

"I brought you a coffee." Tiny offered.

"I’m not in the mood for coffee." Mark said sourly.

"Good. It’s cold anyway."

They sat in silence for a while. Seagulls drifted in and began to circle above their heads.

"I can’t tell you how much I love this." Tiny said, breathing deeply.

"I think I know."

"I try to spend most of my free time near the ocean. Reminds me of home." He continued. "The sand, the surf, the fish. And the people that work out there," He extended his arm towards the sun, "They are so blessed. They love it too."

"Hmm." Mark poked the sand with a stick.

"They don’t know it though." Tiny went on. "They don’t know how much they love the ocean. That’s because from the time the wake up in the morning ‘till the sun is setting and they’re so tired they can’t eat, they’re out there. Surrounded by it. Don’t have time to think about how much they love it."

"Tiny. I know you mean well. I understand the analogy but-"

"Do you?" Tiny turned to face him. "Have you ever worked a boat Mark? A real boat? Every boat has a captain, and every boat has a crew. Without both, she’s sunk. And each person on that boat is working like his life depends on it, because if they don’t, she’s sunk. And each person counts on the fact that the other person is working as hard as he is. Otherwise, he’d be spending all his time checking on everyone else. But each of them are surrounded by it, and each of them love it – even though they don’t have time to know it."

"Are you saying we’re sunk?" Mark asked sarcastically.

Tiny sighed and frowned. This was so hard. Maybe he shouldn’t have come.

"It’s more complicated than that." Mark said, sensing Tiny’s frustration.

"You think Princess is in love with Jason."

Mark stared wide-eyed at Tiny’s to-the-point statement. "What happened to our ocean analogy?"

"You don’t understand it. Never mind it. She does love Jason."

Mark’s mouth dropped.

"She also loves Keeyop. She also loves me. And I love her. Don’t you get it Mark? To Princess, we aren’t just a team, we’re brothers and sister. It’s hard for you to understand that, but that’s the way I feel too. I don’t just think of you as my commander, you’re also my friend."

"It’s more than that."

"Yeah, Jason took off and Princess is really worried. You think it’s because she has feelings for him. She thinks we need to find him, you think we should leave him alone. So what about this. What if it was me that quit. What if I was the one who was gone and Princess was worried about me? Then would you listen to her?"

"That’s different." Mark’s brow was creased.

"That’s what you need to think about." Tiny rose nimbly from his sitting position and dusted of the sand. "Is it different in her mind, or different in yours." He picked up his shoes and walked back over the dune.

Jason was running as hard as he could, every breath was like fire in his lungs and his legs ached with fatigue. He was in birdstyle. Sand crunched beneath his boots. His lips were dry and parched. A shadow consumed him. Behind him was the tallest Spectra mecha he had ever seen. A giant black asp. It bore down on him, gaining ground. Jason rounded a corner at full speed. The Chief was sitting on a bench, watching him, munching on popcorn. He didn’t speak. Jason ran past. He could see Mark ahead. He was waving two black and white checkered flags. Princess lay at Mark’s feet, clinging to his leg. She was drenched in water. The asp was gaining. Jason was nearing Mark. Then the ground stretched out in front of him, tripling the distance. He could hear laughter. Zoltar’s laughter. It made the ground shake. The asp was right behind him. Jason glanced over his shoulder in time to see the head striking at him, fangs dripping…

"Are you awake yet, love?"

Her voice cut through his dreams like a razor’s edge. His nightmare wasn’t over, it had just changed realities. Jason opened his eyes, but the room was dark. Her voice continued to taunt him from the shadows.

"Did you have a nice sleep, pet?"

He tried to focus on her voice. He longed to dive at her and hear the satisfying sound of her popping vertebrae. Where are you, bitch? He peered into the darkness. His fingers twitched in anticipation.

What? His finger had moved! He was sure of it! He tried again, just the slightest movement. Response!

I did it! He waited. No comment. She hadn’t noticed. Now if he could only find her…

"What’s the matter darling? Too dark?" she was circling him again. Quickly. She was very sure footed in the darkness.

"Actually," she taunted, "It’s quite bright in here today. I even brought you a plant! Too bad you can’t see it." She waved leafy material in front of him. He could smell it – flowers.

"It’s phase one, love! I’ve stolen your vision!"

Jason blinked. Hard. She was playing with his mind. She had to be. You can’t just take away someone’s sight. The room was dark, that was all. He thought about the needle…

"Actually, I’ve blocked your ocular nerves. How? Well remember that needle darling? It’s a beautiful drug. I made it myself. It’s a neurotransmitter competitor, one that acts specifically on the synapses of nerves that I want to effect. It keeps your senses from communicating with your neocortex. Your eyes can see the light, your brain just doesn’t know it! I’ve created a competitor that is specific for each of the major sensory nerves, as well as a few of the motor ones. Oh, but you don’t understand that, do you. I’ll explain. One by one, I’m going to take away all of your sensations until you are nothing but a useless hunk of flesh! No sight, no sound, no touch! You’ll be trapped in your own body without any stimulus from the rest of the world! Just you and your thoughts. You and all the ghosts of all those people you’ve killed! Won’t that be fun? You’ll have plenty of time to reflect, I assure you!" she laughed hideously. She began rummaging in the corner of the room, humming to herself.

Jason fought to remain calm. He tried to flex his arm. The muscles were sluggish, weak. He could only lift his hand a few centimeters. It was enough. He relaxed and tried to stay focused. He would wait. He would wait until the right time, and make his move. He would get out of this.

Then he felt the prick of a needle sinking into his shoulder.

"Phase two." She whispered.

Jason cursed. At least, he tried to.