I wasn't sure how long I had been out, but the lab was empty when I finally woke. I laid still on the cold metal table, a thousand thoughts running through my head.

Slowly, I willed myself to sit up. My head felt fuzzy and my body ached. I looked down at my injured arm. It had been healed. The pain was gone. A clean white jumpsuit replaced my torn and bloodied one.

Was I dreaming? Had I really been attacked?

I sat motionless on the table as the seconds turned into minutes, trying to figure out what happened and wondering when the team might return. It hit me, they were probably out on some mission and I was stuck here, alone.

My skin tingled as the energy in the room elevated again, and I looked around, wondering who had returned. As far as I could see, I was still alone, but there was no doubt by the amount of energy I was feeling that someone or something was in the room... with me.

Crap. My heart raced as I tried not to panic.

I looked around the room, trying to find something I could use to protect myself, but there was nothing except a few old, odd-shaped projects on which Samuel had been working over the past few weeks.

Then a familiar face with bright pink hair appeared on the opposite wall. "Good morning, Captain James. Is everything all right? Your levels have elevated over the past few seconds."

"LUX, please call Samuel and Theo. Now!" I said, jumping off the table and grabbing the chair near Samuel's desk. This was the only thing in the lab that I could easily throw that might cause my attacker some pain.

The pink-haired sprite-like robot stared back at me. "Samuel has been notified. Captain James, duck!"

The contraption Samuel had been working on earlier in the day hurled through the air, past my head, and hit the glass wall where LUX's face had just been, smashing the screen.

"LUX!" I yelled into the empty room. No other sounds could be heard except my echoing voice. Hurting me was one thing, trying to destroy my favorite computer took this attack to a whole new level.

Before I could move, the table on which I had been lying was forcefully pushed onto its side. The deafening sound of metal hitting the hard floor.

Theo, Samuel and Paul were suddenly standing on the other side of the lab's door, frantic looks on their faces as they tried to open it. Theo began to pound upon the glass wall. Meanwhile, I dropped to the ground and rolled beneath another, smaller table. I'd hoped there would be some sign as to where my attacker was, but again it was quiet.

Just then, there was a loud boom as one of the chairs impacted the door. It hit the unbreakable glass hard, falling with a thud.

Before I could make a move, Theo appeared, grabbed me, and threw me onto the Jump Line.

"What took you so long?" I asked as we arrived in a new place and time.

"Why didn't you jump out of there?" Theo looked back at me questioningly.

"I don't know. I was too stunned by everything that was happening." The realization was setting in for Esa. She should have been smart enough to jump out of that place and away from her attacker.

"We should be safe here for a bit," he said through deep breaths. "It's taking everything right now for me not to go back and try to kill whatever it was attacking you."

"I know." I looked down at my shaking hands. "I feel the same way."

"Esa, my job is to protect you." Theo's pale blue eyes looked sorrowfully into mine.

"And what is my job?" I couldn't help but ask.

He shook his head and then answered in a soft voice. "To be part of the team."

"Do you really want me to be part of the team?" I asked him, wondering if he would answer truthfully.

"Yes. No. I don't know. Watching you get hurt is just too hard."

"Where are we?" I looked around at the new space in front of us.

"I think we are in 2070. I didn't really have time to think of a landing spot. I'm just glad we ended up somewhere quiet."

"It wants to kill me." I shook my head, thinking back to what had happened in Samuel's lab.

"I know," he said, moving closer. "I'm not sure what's going on, but there is definitely something after you, and I intend to find out what it is and destroy it."

"Where were you guys? Why did you leave me alone?"

"We had been in the room, but then we went outside to talk, so we wouldn't wake you. We were looking at some of the scans that had been done on the building. The energy was elevated, indicating that something has found us, but we're still not sure exactly what, or who, is behind the attacks. We hadn't been gone long before we got LUX's call and returned to see furniture being thrown through the air. Obviously, whatever or whoever it was waited until we left to attack."

Theo reached for my hand and entwined our fingers. We sat in silence for several minutes before he spoke again.

"Esa, I failed to protect you before. That won't happen again. There are things I did and said that I'll never be able to take back. When Samuel found you in 2010, I was angry. I was mad at you, at the situation, at everything." He punched the wall, but I could tell he was holding back. He clearly wanted to strike harder, as if to show me how much pain I had caused while I was gone. "But I've learned that it's not you I need to be mad at. Now, I'm just trying to understand the new you."

"I'm sorry," I responded, the words barely audible. It felt like I had said that word so many times of late.

"No. You can stop saying that." His fingers squeezed mine harder. "I know. I'm still trying to process everything. Watching you get attacked back there has sent a new wave of emotions through me."

"Really? Like what?" I asked, surprised by Theo's sudden vulnerability. This was a side of him that only appeared in rare glimpses. He could be normal and nice one minute and the next he was pushing me away...again.

"I'm not doing my job. I'm supposed to protect you, but I haven't been. Three years ago, I should have been more aware that something was going on with Luther. I should have been there to stop everything from happening. Do you know how that feels?" He looked at me with a defeated expression. "Esa, I feel an even bigger responsibility to protect you now that you are different. That's the hard part for me. You used to be so tough and strong, and you are still both of those things, but now you're softer around the edges. I feel like you need me, but I haven't been able to respond."

"That's an interesting way to say that I'm not the same Esa I was several years ago."

"You're definitely not the same Esa, but I'm starting to like the new version better than the old one."

"Really? Why?"

"I just do. It's been nice having you back. At first, I struggled with how different you acted, and I wondered if there was something wrong with you, but over the past few weeks, I've enjoyed getting to know the new you."

I reached up to brush back a lock of his hair as we stared at one another. I wanted to feel safe with Theo, but too much had happened lately.

Theo shook his head. "I have more to say, Esa, but now is not the right time. Lean your head back and try to get some rest. You need to calm your energy so you don't cause a power outage. We'll talk later and figure out a plan for when we return."

"Okay, but don't leave me, Theo. Promise you will stay by my side if I fall asleep."

"I won't leave you."