Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: The Pretender characters belong to NBC and their creators. Danielle belongs to Danielle. And Lyle if she had her choice. I'm just borrowing them for the joy of entertainment and making them do what I want them to do, without getting in trouble.
Author's Note: If you have read the story this far then you should know that words in // and :: are thoughts sent telepathically. // are thoughts sent by Lyle and :: are thoughts sent by Miss Parker. I'm glad that you have enjoyed it this much, I think you do if you're reading the fourth part! Well, enough chitchat from me, go on to the story!
Gemini Vengeance
part 4
By Apollo's Girl
New York, New York
December 17, 1978
***
The four young teenagers stood at the corner of the alley in silence,
Miss Parker's "What?' echoing down the alleyway. Bobby looked at her earnestly while waiting for her to say something, but when she just continued to stare at him like he was missing an appendage or something so he continued.
"Look, I know that what I just said about being your twin brother and stuff sounds really outrageous and stuff… I also probably didn't say it right, but it's all true! " Bobby said in an apologetic voice. "Here's the proof I found." He held the folder out to her.
Danielle stood still in amazement at what was going on and looked at her friend hesitantly. Miss Parker tried to get herself together.
'Brother?!' She thought bewildered. As she composed her inner chaos, she looked at her friend Danielle and then back at the guys. Jimmy flinched when he saw her icy glare, but Bobby stood there unfazed.
"Bastard!" She hissed at Bobby as she walked away, Danielle following close behind. Bobby went to reach out to stop Parker but Jimmy stopped him. He gave Bobby an 'I told you so look!' and shook his head. Bobby ignored his friend and ran up to stop his sister, leaving Jimmy behind.
"Wait!" Bobby shouted as he grabbed Parker's arm. An electric shock went through them that made him let go. Parker turned around to look at him.
"Leave me alone!" She yelled at him. "I don't know what kind of sick game you're trying to play, but I'm not playing it! So just leave me alone!"
"Please just give me ten minutes to explain everything to you and then if you still don't believe me, I'll leave you alone." Bobby pleaded.
Miss Parker looked at him suspiciously, weighing in her mind the pros and cons of listening to him.
"It can't hurt!" Danielle whispered in Parker's ear. Parker turned to look at her friend in silence.
'But it would!' Miss Parker thought. 'It probably would.' A few minutes passed by in silence as the two waited for Parker's answer.
"Alright, you have ten minutes to explain this belief you have." Parker replied, crossing her arms in front of her chest as if she was trying to protect her heart from any painful truth. Inside she was telling herself that this would be a big mistake.
"How about we go someplace where we can sit down?" Bobby suggested. "Maybe the park?"
"Fine!" Parker replied a bit reluctantly. Part of her didn't want to go, afraid that this could be true, yet another part wanted to know. The three made their way to the park, meeting Jimmy at the crosswalk. They walked the two blocks to the park in pairs.
"Real smooth, Bobby!" Jimmy whispered to his friend. "Just blurt out that you're her brother. Don't even try to get to know her first. You know she could turn out to be a real bitch and then you'll have to deal with her… "
"Look I know!" Bobby said cutting his friend off. "I probably should have told her a bit more smoothly, but it just came out. So sue me! I'm just taking this one step at a time."
"Next time think first!" Jimmy replied, scoldingly. Bobby just nodded in agreement and went back into his own private thoughts.
Danielle looked back at the two guys and then her friend. "You okay?"
"Should I be?" Parker asked.
"Who ever thought that you would have such a cute brother!" Danielle said trying to cheer her up.
"We don't even know if he's my brother!" Miss Parker hissed back in denial. Although inside she had this feeling that he was. That one shock when they touched sent this familiar like feeling through her.
//::Like we're were connected:://
Miss Parker turned back to look at Bobby and caught his eye. Their eyes mirrored each other's surprise. Then both of them shook their heads.
'No we couldn't have just thought the same thing.' Bobby and Parker thought.
'I wonder if it is true.' Miss Parker pondered. 'But then that would mean… Why wouldn't my parents have told me about him? Why would they have sent him away? Why?'
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Central Park
New York, New York
December 17, 1978
Bobby walked with the other three in the park. He wasn't really sure on how to prove to Miss Parker that he was her brother. After all who in their right mind would believe such a cockamamie story? The four walked in uncomfortable silence for a while. Finally deciding that he had to do this sooner or later, Bobby stopped the group.
"Uh, if you don't mind Miss Parker, but I would like to talk to you about this alone." Bobby said, looking at Miss Parker. She stood there contemplating his request and nodded her head in agreement. Danielle and Jimmy just looked at each other.
"We'll wait for you guys over there." Jimmy replied, pointing at a bench a few feet away. Bobby nodded and he and Miss Parker walked towards the pond in the middle of the park. They made their way to a bench by the pond and sat down. They didn't say anything for a few minutes. Finally curiosity and impatience getting the best of her, Miss Parker asked "So what's this proof you have?"
"This." Bobby replied handing her a folder. Inside were both of their birth certificates, documents signed by her father, Dr. Billy (Raines) and members of the Triumvirate for Bobby's adoption, as well as test results. Miss Parker quietly looked through them trying to digest everything in.
"Look I know this is most likely hard for you take in, it was a bit for me. I-" Bobby didn't get to finish his sentence as he noticed a tear escape her eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry!" He replied apologetically as he searched for a tissue. He really hated when women cried.
"Don't bother!" Miss Parker said as she tried to cover up her emotions. She was already becoming the hard core woman she is today. "I can't believe they would do something like this! I mean how could they? What gives them the right?" Miss Parker asked in disbelief.
"They have no right, but apparently since we are Pretenders they think they can do whatever they want with us!" Bobby replied angrily. Miss Parker stared at the documents in silence and then looked up at Bobby.
"So you really are my brother!" She whispered.
"Yeah! I guess I am."
"Uh… well… what do we do now?" Miss Parker asked as she tried to figure out what to say or do.
"I have no idea!" Bobby replied as he threw his hands in the air. Miss Parker laughed at her brother's frustrated exasperation. Bobby joined in.
"Maybe we should try introductions over again. I don't think I did to well earlier!" Bobby replied as their laughter died down a bit.
"Maybe we should." Miss Parker nodded in agreement.
"Well then, I'm Bobby Bowman or should I say Bobby Parker. "
"I'm Miss Parker."
"No first name?"
"Well, I don't like to be called by it so I never told anyone what it was." Parker replied. 'Except for Jarod.'
"Don't you think, since I'm your twin, you should tell me?" Bobby asked. "Puh-leeese?"
"It's Vanessa." Parker replied with a smile. Bobby smiled back.
"It's a pretty name. You know I have only one complaint about you being my sister."
"And what would that be? I mean you hardly even know me." Parker replied.
"That you're so beautiful. If you weren't my sister I would have asked you out and now I probably have to protect you from horny guys." Bobby answered a bit pouty.
"Let's get one thing straight! I do not need anyone to protect me, I can take care of myself!" Parker replied defensively.
"Uh-huh sure…" Bobby replied rolling his eyes. Parker was about to say something when he leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "But then again if we're twins you probably can take care of yourself and whip anyone's ass!"
Parker looked at him, trying to figure him out and just decided to go with it. "You are one strange guy!"
"Hey, well I try! So what kind of things do you like to do?"
The two began to talk about themselves trying to learn as much as they could about their twin. Unfortunately they forgot about Jimmy and Danielle, who were sitting on the bench quite cold and quite bored. There they stayed for another two hours.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
New York, New York
December 19, 1978
Miss Parker walked along the street with Bobby arm in arm. In the two days since they met they have become inseparable. Fortunately, Danielle and Jimmy didn't mind, for those two were becoming quite close. As they walked down the street they looked in the windows and chitchatted about themselves, trying to learn everything they could about the other.
"Oh look at that!" Parker said pointing at a suit in one of the windows. "That would look good on you."
"Yeah, if I liked suits." Bobby replied with a slightly disgusted look on his face. "But then again I do."
"You always have to disagree with me first don't you?" Parker teasingly asked.
"Well, yeah! I'm trying to make up for the last seventeen years of sibling rivalry."
"You mean we can't just get along?"
"Oh, but that would be so boring!"
"Nothing in relation to the Centre is ever boring!" Parker replied. She was still angry about the whole deal about her brother being stolen away, but then again who wouldn't.
"Hey Vanessa?" Bobby asked as he noticed the anger that was built up in her icy blue eyes.
"What?"
"Remember the other day when we were walking to the park?"
"Yes I remember." Parker replied, who wouldn't? That was the day she found she had a brother.
"Well, as I recall when we were walking I swear I thought I heard your voice-thoughts in my head." Bobby said.
"I know, so do I. What do you think that means?" Parker asked curiously.
"Maybe we have telepathy." Bobby replied contemplatively.
"Sydney would know, maybe we should ask him."
"Sydney?"
"He does twin research."
"I know that, but can we trust him?" Bobby asked seriously.
"Oh course we can! Why wouldn't we?"
"I just don't trust anyone from that place anymore. What kind of people would steal children, lie about it, do experiments on them and exploit them? I certainly wouldn't trust anyone who would do that. Including our father."
"Daddy? But why would he? No, you don't know him, he would never do anything like that!" Miss Parker defended.
"Then why was his signature on the document that allowed me to be taken away?"
"They probably forged it! My father would never do anything like that!" Parker said trying to sound convincing. Since she found out what they did to Bobby, the experiments, she had doubted everyone at the Centre. She did not want to doubt her own father, he was the only family she had since her mother died, well except now she had Bobby too. Tears started to escape as she struggled to decide what to believe.
"Vanessa." Bobby said quietly as he brought his arms around her. "I didn't mean to make you cry, but I think it would just be safer if you don't trust anyone but yourself at the Centre."
"Bobby, you are asking me not trust to my own father? Do you know how hard that is? He was the only family I had after mom's death and I can't just stop loving him…" She asked as she pushed herself away from him.
"Sis, I didn't say you had to stop loving him, I'm just saying take everything he says with a grain of salt. Trust me not all fathers are trustworthy." Bobby explained, his own eyes darkening at how his 'father,' Mr. Lyle Bowman, would treat him. Miss Parker noticed and in her mind saw a glimpse of how he was treated.
"Oh, Bobby I didn't know." She replied as she gave him a hug. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I'm sorry I didn't want you to kno- Wait! How did you know? I didn't say anything." Bobby asked in surprise. Vanessa looked at him.
"I saw it in my head... you don't think-? Maybe we *do* have telepathy!"
"Wow! Cool!" Bobby replied. "Can you see what I'm thinking now?"
Parker concentrated on trying to see what it was, but found that she couldn't. She shook her head.
"Maybe it has to be one of those things that you can't try at?" She suggested.
"Maybe…" Bobby replied thoughtfully. //Maybe it was just a fluke.//
::It could have been, but I don't think so.::
//Are we talking?//
::Huh?::
Bobby smiled at Parker as realization hit them. He spun her around in the middle of the sidewalk as he shouted, "cool!" Causing a lot of people to look at them strangely.
''Bobby put me down, you are causing a scene!" Parker scolded, although she had a huge smile on her face.
"Sorry." Bobby replied as he put her down, but he still kept one arm around her shoulder.
"Think we should tell Jimmy and Danielle?"
"How about after we play another game of charades with them? I'm still peeved that they beat us the five times." Parker replied mischievously.
"I think that can be arranged."
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Ritz Hotel
New York, New York
December 19, 1978
Parker and Bobby laughed hysterically on the bed as Danielle and Jimmy tried to look very upset.
"You cheaters!" Danielle yelled, although she started to giggle as Bobby's and Parker's laughter became infectious.
"Remind me never to play a game with them ever again." Jimmy said rolling his eyes. The four laughed. A few minutes later they had quieted down, each lost in their own thoughts. Jimmy sat on the floor besides Danielle, who was sitting on one end of the couch. Parker and Bobby were sitting on the opposite end. As usual Bobby had one protective arm around Parker's shoulders, as if he let go he would lose her again.
"So what happens now?" Danielle asked. "I mean are you going to go to your father and say 'Hi I'm your son, take me back?"
"I have no clue, but I know that I'm not going back there now." Bobby replied.
"I still can't believe that anyone would do that." Jimmy said.
"I always thought that the Centre was working for the good of people." Parker said. "I mean why would my mother work for a place like that?"
"Maybe she didn't know." Danielle suggested.
"I agree with Danielle." Bobby replied. "From the papers I was able to get, it all shows that only a portion of the Centre employees are involved with the evil doings at the Centre. The others just think that they are working for a company doing research for the good of the people."
"My father founded the company, I still find it hard to believe that he would let it fall to evil."
"People change Parker." Jimmy said.
"Well I don't want to work for a company that kidnaps children, kills children and exploit them." Parker replied. "Even though Daddy wants me too."
"Maybe you should." Bobby suggested.
"What?" The other three asked.
"I mean what happens if you do everything that Daddy wants, then when you get a high enough position start to change things for the better. No one would suspect you of doing that."
"How?"
"Get a job at corporate, then when you ask to make changes make it look like it's for what they want, but in reality it would change it so that it would make it harder for them to take more children and stuff." Bobby explained. Parker, Danielle and Jimmy looked at him in understanding.
"How could we help?" Danielle and Jimmy asked.
"I don't know yet, but we will figure it out when the time comes." For the rest of the evening the four teens made plans on how to make the Centre better.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
County General Hospital
New York City
July 23, 1998
Jarod and Kyle looked at Parker and Lyle in astonishment. "So you're saying that the two of you have planned everything since you were teens?" Jarod asked in surprise.
"Yep." Bobby replied looking at the two brothers.
"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Jarod asked Parker.
"I wanted to, but I never really had a chance and well, Bobby didn't think it was a good idea." Parker explained.
"I didn't know who you were and how you would react, plus it limited the chance of sis being found out."
"But if you were trying to make the Centre a better place then what is with the killing sprees, the Yakuza and you trying to kill both me and my brother?" Kyle asked, accusingly.
"It was to make the Centre believe that their experiment worked." Lyle explained. "They were trying to turn me into a killer, like you Kyle, except I would be more of a… how should I say this? A business man as well."
"So you were pretending the whole time?" Jarod asked incredulously.
"I'll admit to you guys right now that I'm not all that good. Unfortunately the Centre's experiments worked to some degree. I really do enjoy being bad, but because of Parker I've stayed on the right track for the most part." Lyle replied.
"I still think you could have dealt without the Yakuza." Parker scolded.
"I know, but at least Tomei saved my thumb." Lyle said with a smile.
"But I thought that you-" Jarod started to ask as Lyle pulled the stub away.
"It's a prostectic hand that makes it look like I'm thumbless. I like to think that it adds to the dramatic effects of things."
"That and he thinks it gets him women." Parker cut in under her breath, which Lyle responded with a small slap on her arm.
"Don't hit the patient!" She ordered. Lyle gave her an apologetic look.
"Okay, so how did Jimmy become Sam the sweeper?" Jarod asked.
"After sis got placed in corporate, I wanted Jimmy there to protect her and he was already dead."
"Yeah I was going to ask you about that, why did you fake his death?"
Kyle asked.
"Raines wanted me to do it, thought of it as a test. Kill Jimmy and frame my father, that son of a- anyway Raines also wanted me to get out into the world without the family ties." Lyle explained with a look of hatred. "So I told Jimmy about it and we thought it would also be a good way of getting him into the Centre without people suspecting too much. Poor Jimmy- I thought he would kill me when I asked him to fake his death."
"Why did he agree to it?"
"He didn't have that great of a family life either. His mother was a slut who never wanted him and his father was a drunk. They didn't care that he was dead."
"So Jimmy became Sam and what about Danielle? Please don't tell me she's Bridget." Jarod asked.
"Thank goodness she's not!" Parker exclaimed. "No, she was my secretary but now she's a house wife. I told her that she was no longer allowed to work at the Centre if she had kids. I didn't want to place her in anymore danger."
"She agreed to that?" Jarod asked. "She doesn't sound like the type of person who would go without a fight."
"You right, she didn't. I wanted both her and her husband out but she would only leave if Jimmy would stay." Parker asked as she remembered the hour-long argument.
"Jimmy and Danielle got married?" Jarod smiled.
"Yeah, it was one of the most beautiful weddings." Lyle replied with a sentimental smile.
"As hard as it may be to believe, but Bobby is a huge romantic and sentimentalist. " Parker stated. Jarod and Kyle looked at her in disbelief, but shrugged their shoulders in acceptance. After listening to what happened between the two they would believe almost anything.
"There is something that you guys should probably know too." Lyle said looking pointedly at Parker.
::Bobby no! I don't want them to know.::
//They have the right to know, especially Jarod.//
::But the plan failed, they don't need to know.::
//Vanessa I'm telling them. They do need to know!//
"What is it?" Jarod asked, noticing that Parker looked very uncomfortable.
"The Centre had another plan for the Red File people, especially for you and Parker." Lyle explained. "They were going to breed Pretenders, they thought it would be easier to breed them instead of kidnapping them."
Jarod and Kyle looked at him in surprise. "How could they? Did it work?" Kyle asked.
"No, fortunately Daddy put a stop to it." Parker said.
"You mean when they sent you down to see me the first time it was so that later we would…" Jarod didn't finish his question as Parker nodded in confirmation.
"The bastards." Jarod said.
"They were raising us to have more Pretenders, but Daddy when he found out didn't want to have his grandchildren be treated as lab rats. He didn't want it done to me, I guess as some sort of apology for mom's death." Parker replied quietly.
"I guess he was finally facing regrets." Lyle said to soothe his sister. He knew that she still hurt a lot from knowing that her father knowingly allowed some experimentation to be done on her.
"I know this may seem rude, but what are the changes that you have made?" Kyle asked.
"Nothing that can be seen now and I have to say this." Lyle said turning his attention to Jarod. "Because of your escape you ruined a lot of our plans!"
Jarod looked at Lyle and replied "Well if you hadn't tried killing me and maybe if you had informed me of your plans we could have worked something out!"
Although the men had been friendly to each other since Parker was brought into the hospital there was still an underlying tension of hate between the three. Parker noticed this and cleared her throat. "Look guys, lets not fight about this right now. A lot of things happened that none of us foresaw and we all did things that we all will regret, so why don't we just try to get past all of that?"
"Always the voice of wisdom." Lyle replied, slightly sarcastic.
"So what now?" Kyle asked.
"Now we make a new plan that involves us." Jarod said. Lyle and Parker looked at each other and back at the brothers.
"So where should we start? Kill off Raines, change the Centre or wreak Pretender havoc?" Lyle asked candidly.
The other three exchanged gleeful looks as the their minds plotted an interesting Pretender revenge.
Author's Note: If you have read the story this far then you should know that words in // and :: are thoughts sent telepathically. // are thoughts sent by Lyle and :: are thoughts sent by Miss Parker. I'm glad that you have enjoyed it this much, I think you do if you're reading the fourth part! Well, enough chitchat from me, go on to the story!
part 4
By Apollo's Girl
New York, New York
December 17, 1978
***
The four young teenagers stood at the corner of the alley in silence,
Miss Parker's "What?' echoing down the alleyway. Bobby looked at her earnestly while waiting for her to say something, but when she just continued to stare at him like he was missing an appendage or something so he continued.
"Look, I know that what I just said about being your twin brother and stuff sounds really outrageous and stuff… I also probably didn't say it right, but it's all true! " Bobby said in an apologetic voice. "Here's the proof I found." He held the folder out to her.
Danielle stood still in amazement at what was going on and looked at her friend hesitantly. Miss Parker tried to get herself together.
'Brother?!' She thought bewildered. As she composed her inner chaos, she looked at her friend Danielle and then back at the guys. Jimmy flinched when he saw her icy glare, but Bobby stood there unfazed.
"Bastard!" She hissed at Bobby as she walked away, Danielle following close behind. Bobby went to reach out to stop Parker but Jimmy stopped him. He gave Bobby an 'I told you so look!' and shook his head. Bobby ignored his friend and ran up to stop his sister, leaving Jimmy behind.
"Wait!" Bobby shouted as he grabbed Parker's arm. An electric shock went through them that made him let go. Parker turned around to look at him.
"Leave me alone!" She yelled at him. "I don't know what kind of sick game you're trying to play, but I'm not playing it! So just leave me alone!"
"Please just give me ten minutes to explain everything to you and then if you still don't believe me, I'll leave you alone." Bobby pleaded.
Miss Parker looked at him suspiciously, weighing in her mind the pros and cons of listening to him.
"It can't hurt!" Danielle whispered in Parker's ear. Parker turned to look at her friend in silence.
'But it would!' Miss Parker thought. 'It probably would.' A few minutes passed by in silence as the two waited for Parker's answer.
"Alright, you have ten minutes to explain this belief you have." Parker replied, crossing her arms in front of her chest as if she was trying to protect her heart from any painful truth. Inside she was telling herself that this would be a big mistake.
"How about we go someplace where we can sit down?" Bobby suggested. "Maybe the park?"
"Fine!" Parker replied a bit reluctantly. Part of her didn't want to go, afraid that this could be true, yet another part wanted to know. The three made their way to the park, meeting Jimmy at the crosswalk. They walked the two blocks to the park in pairs.
"Real smooth, Bobby!" Jimmy whispered to his friend. "Just blurt out that you're her brother. Don't even try to get to know her first. You know she could turn out to be a real bitch and then you'll have to deal with her… "
"Look I know!" Bobby said cutting his friend off. "I probably should have told her a bit more smoothly, but it just came out. So sue me! I'm just taking this one step at a time."
"Next time think first!" Jimmy replied, scoldingly. Bobby just nodded in agreement and went back into his own private thoughts.
Danielle looked back at the two guys and then her friend. "You okay?"
"Should I be?" Parker asked.
"Who ever thought that you would have such a cute brother!" Danielle said trying to cheer her up.
"We don't even know if he's my brother!" Miss Parker hissed back in denial. Although inside she had this feeling that he was. That one shock when they touched sent this familiar like feeling through her.
//::Like we're were connected:://
Miss Parker turned back to look at Bobby and caught his eye. Their eyes mirrored each other's surprise. Then both of them shook their heads.
'No we couldn't have just thought the same thing.' Bobby and Parker thought.
'I wonder if it is true.' Miss Parker pondered. 'But then that would mean… Why wouldn't my parents have told me about him? Why would they have sent him away? Why?'
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Central Park
New York, New York
December 17, 1978
Bobby walked with the other three in the park. He wasn't really sure on how to prove to Miss Parker that he was her brother. After all who in their right mind would believe such a cockamamie story? The four walked in uncomfortable silence for a while. Finally deciding that he had to do this sooner or later, Bobby stopped the group.
"Uh, if you don't mind Miss Parker, but I would like to talk to you about this alone." Bobby said, looking at Miss Parker. She stood there contemplating his request and nodded her head in agreement. Danielle and Jimmy just looked at each other.
"We'll wait for you guys over there." Jimmy replied, pointing at a bench a few feet away. Bobby nodded and he and Miss Parker walked towards the pond in the middle of the park. They made their way to a bench by the pond and sat down. They didn't say anything for a few minutes. Finally curiosity and impatience getting the best of her, Miss Parker asked "So what's this proof you have?"
"This." Bobby replied handing her a folder. Inside were both of their birth certificates, documents signed by her father, Dr. Billy (Raines) and members of the Triumvirate for Bobby's adoption, as well as test results. Miss Parker quietly looked through them trying to digest everything in.
"Look I know this is most likely hard for you take in, it was a bit for me. I-" Bobby didn't get to finish his sentence as he noticed a tear escape her eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry!" He replied apologetically as he searched for a tissue. He really hated when women cried.
"Don't bother!" Miss Parker said as she tried to cover up her emotions. She was already becoming the hard core woman she is today. "I can't believe they would do something like this! I mean how could they? What gives them the right?" Miss Parker asked in disbelief.
"They have no right, but apparently since we are Pretenders they think they can do whatever they want with us!" Bobby replied angrily. Miss Parker stared at the documents in silence and then looked up at Bobby.
"So you really are my brother!" She whispered.
"Yeah! I guess I am."
"Uh… well… what do we do now?" Miss Parker asked as she tried to figure out what to say or do.
"I have no idea!" Bobby replied as he threw his hands in the air. Miss Parker laughed at her brother's frustrated exasperation. Bobby joined in.
"Maybe we should try introductions over again. I don't think I did to well earlier!" Bobby replied as their laughter died down a bit.
"Maybe we should." Miss Parker nodded in agreement.
"Well then, I'm Bobby Bowman or should I say Bobby Parker. "
"I'm Miss Parker."
"No first name?"
"Well, I don't like to be called by it so I never told anyone what it was." Parker replied. 'Except for Jarod.'
"Don't you think, since I'm your twin, you should tell me?" Bobby asked. "Puh-leeese?"
"It's Vanessa." Parker replied with a smile. Bobby smiled back.
"It's a pretty name. You know I have only one complaint about you being my sister."
"And what would that be? I mean you hardly even know me." Parker replied.
"That you're so beautiful. If you weren't my sister I would have asked you out and now I probably have to protect you from horny guys." Bobby answered a bit pouty.
"Let's get one thing straight! I do not need anyone to protect me, I can take care of myself!" Parker replied defensively.
"Uh-huh sure…" Bobby replied rolling his eyes. Parker was about to say something when he leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "But then again if we're twins you probably can take care of yourself and whip anyone's ass!"
Parker looked at him, trying to figure him out and just decided to go with it. "You are one strange guy!"
"Hey, well I try! So what kind of things do you like to do?"
The two began to talk about themselves trying to learn as much as they could about their twin. Unfortunately they forgot about Jimmy and Danielle, who were sitting on the bench quite cold and quite bored. There they stayed for another two hours.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
New York, New York
December 19, 1978
Miss Parker walked along the street with Bobby arm in arm. In the two days since they met they have become inseparable. Fortunately, Danielle and Jimmy didn't mind, for those two were becoming quite close. As they walked down the street they looked in the windows and chitchatted about themselves, trying to learn everything they could about the other.
"Oh look at that!" Parker said pointing at a suit in one of the windows. "That would look good on you."
"Yeah, if I liked suits." Bobby replied with a slightly disgusted look on his face. "But then again I do."
"You always have to disagree with me first don't you?" Parker teasingly asked.
"Well, yeah! I'm trying to make up for the last seventeen years of sibling rivalry."
"You mean we can't just get along?"
"Oh, but that would be so boring!"
"Nothing in relation to the Centre is ever boring!" Parker replied. She was still angry about the whole deal about her brother being stolen away, but then again who wouldn't.
"Hey Vanessa?" Bobby asked as he noticed the anger that was built up in her icy blue eyes.
"What?"
"Remember the other day when we were walking to the park?"
"Yes I remember." Parker replied, who wouldn't? That was the day she found she had a brother.
"Well, as I recall when we were walking I swear I thought I heard your voice-thoughts in my head." Bobby said.
"I know, so do I. What do you think that means?" Parker asked curiously.
"Maybe we have telepathy." Bobby replied contemplatively.
"Sydney would know, maybe we should ask him."
"Sydney?"
"He does twin research."
"I know that, but can we trust him?" Bobby asked seriously.
"Oh course we can! Why wouldn't we?"
"I just don't trust anyone from that place anymore. What kind of people would steal children, lie about it, do experiments on them and exploit them? I certainly wouldn't trust anyone who would do that. Including our father."
"Daddy? But why would he? No, you don't know him, he would never do anything like that!" Miss Parker defended.
"Then why was his signature on the document that allowed me to be taken away?"
"They probably forged it! My father would never do anything like that!" Parker said trying to sound convincing. Since she found out what they did to Bobby, the experiments, she had doubted everyone at the Centre. She did not want to doubt her own father, he was the only family she had since her mother died, well except now she had Bobby too. Tears started to escape as she struggled to decide what to believe.
"Vanessa." Bobby said quietly as he brought his arms around her. "I didn't mean to make you cry, but I think it would just be safer if you don't trust anyone but yourself at the Centre."
"Bobby, you are asking me not trust to my own father? Do you know how hard that is? He was the only family I had after mom's death and I can't just stop loving him…" She asked as she pushed herself away from him.
"Sis, I didn't say you had to stop loving him, I'm just saying take everything he says with a grain of salt. Trust me not all fathers are trustworthy." Bobby explained, his own eyes darkening at how his 'father,' Mr. Lyle Bowman, would treat him. Miss Parker noticed and in her mind saw a glimpse of how he was treated.
"Oh, Bobby I didn't know." She replied as she gave him a hug. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I'm sorry I didn't want you to kno- Wait! How did you know? I didn't say anything." Bobby asked in surprise. Vanessa looked at him.
"I saw it in my head... you don't think-? Maybe we *do* have telepathy!"
"Wow! Cool!" Bobby replied. "Can you see what I'm thinking now?"
Parker concentrated on trying to see what it was, but found that she couldn't. She shook her head.
"Maybe it has to be one of those things that you can't try at?" She suggested.
"Maybe…" Bobby replied thoughtfully. //Maybe it was just a fluke.//
::It could have been, but I don't think so.::
//Are we talking?//
::Huh?::
Bobby smiled at Parker as realization hit them. He spun her around in the middle of the sidewalk as he shouted, "cool!" Causing a lot of people to look at them strangely.
''Bobby put me down, you are causing a scene!" Parker scolded, although she had a huge smile on her face.
"Sorry." Bobby replied as he put her down, but he still kept one arm around her shoulder.
"Think we should tell Jimmy and Danielle?"
"How about after we play another game of charades with them? I'm still peeved that they beat us the five times." Parker replied mischievously.
"I think that can be arranged."
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Ritz Hotel
New York, New York
December 19, 1978
Parker and Bobby laughed hysterically on the bed as Danielle and Jimmy tried to look very upset.
"You cheaters!" Danielle yelled, although she started to giggle as Bobby's and Parker's laughter became infectious.
"Remind me never to play a game with them ever again." Jimmy said rolling his eyes. The four laughed. A few minutes later they had quieted down, each lost in their own thoughts. Jimmy sat on the floor besides Danielle, who was sitting on one end of the couch. Parker and Bobby were sitting on the opposite end. As usual Bobby had one protective arm around Parker's shoulders, as if he let go he would lose her again.
"So what happens now?" Danielle asked. "I mean are you going to go to your father and say 'Hi I'm your son, take me back?"
"I have no clue, but I know that I'm not going back there now." Bobby replied.
"I still can't believe that anyone would do that." Jimmy said.
"I always thought that the Centre was working for the good of people." Parker said. "I mean why would my mother work for a place like that?"
"Maybe she didn't know." Danielle suggested.
"I agree with Danielle." Bobby replied. "From the papers I was able to get, it all shows that only a portion of the Centre employees are involved with the evil doings at the Centre. The others just think that they are working for a company doing research for the good of the people."
"My father founded the company, I still find it hard to believe that he would let it fall to evil."
"People change Parker." Jimmy said.
"Well I don't want to work for a company that kidnaps children, kills children and exploit them." Parker replied. "Even though Daddy wants me too."
"Maybe you should." Bobby suggested.
"What?" The other three asked.
"I mean what happens if you do everything that Daddy wants, then when you get a high enough position start to change things for the better. No one would suspect you of doing that."
"How?"
"Get a job at corporate, then when you ask to make changes make it look like it's for what they want, but in reality it would change it so that it would make it harder for them to take more children and stuff." Bobby explained. Parker, Danielle and Jimmy looked at him in understanding.
"How could we help?" Danielle and Jimmy asked.
"I don't know yet, but we will figure it out when the time comes." For the rest of the evening the four teens made plans on how to make the Centre better.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
County General Hospital
New York City
July 23, 1998
Jarod and Kyle looked at Parker and Lyle in astonishment. "So you're saying that the two of you have planned everything since you were teens?" Jarod asked in surprise.
"Yep." Bobby replied looking at the two brothers.
"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Jarod asked Parker.
"I wanted to, but I never really had a chance and well, Bobby didn't think it was a good idea." Parker explained.
"I didn't know who you were and how you would react, plus it limited the chance of sis being found out."
"But if you were trying to make the Centre a better place then what is with the killing sprees, the Yakuza and you trying to kill both me and my brother?" Kyle asked, accusingly.
"It was to make the Centre believe that their experiment worked." Lyle explained. "They were trying to turn me into a killer, like you Kyle, except I would be more of a… how should I say this? A business man as well."
"So you were pretending the whole time?" Jarod asked incredulously.
"I'll admit to you guys right now that I'm not all that good. Unfortunately the Centre's experiments worked to some degree. I really do enjoy being bad, but because of Parker I've stayed on the right track for the most part." Lyle replied.
"I still think you could have dealt without the Yakuza." Parker scolded.
"I know, but at least Tomei saved my thumb." Lyle said with a smile.
"But I thought that you-" Jarod started to ask as Lyle pulled the stub away.
"It's a prostectic hand that makes it look like I'm thumbless. I like to think that it adds to the dramatic effects of things."
"That and he thinks it gets him women." Parker cut in under her breath, which Lyle responded with a small slap on her arm.
"Don't hit the patient!" She ordered. Lyle gave her an apologetic look.
"Okay, so how did Jimmy become Sam the sweeper?" Jarod asked.
"After sis got placed in corporate, I wanted Jimmy there to protect her and he was already dead."
"Yeah I was going to ask you about that, why did you fake his death?"
Kyle asked.
"Raines wanted me to do it, thought of it as a test. Kill Jimmy and frame my father, that son of a- anyway Raines also wanted me to get out into the world without the family ties." Lyle explained with a look of hatred. "So I told Jimmy about it and we thought it would also be a good way of getting him into the Centre without people suspecting too much. Poor Jimmy- I thought he would kill me when I asked him to fake his death."
"Why did he agree to it?"
"He didn't have that great of a family life either. His mother was a slut who never wanted him and his father was a drunk. They didn't care that he was dead."
"So Jimmy became Sam and what about Danielle? Please don't tell me she's Bridget." Jarod asked.
"Thank goodness she's not!" Parker exclaimed. "No, she was my secretary but now she's a house wife. I told her that she was no longer allowed to work at the Centre if she had kids. I didn't want to place her in anymore danger."
"She agreed to that?" Jarod asked. "She doesn't sound like the type of person who would go without a fight."
"You right, she didn't. I wanted both her and her husband out but she would only leave if Jimmy would stay." Parker asked as she remembered the hour-long argument.
"Jimmy and Danielle got married?" Jarod smiled.
"Yeah, it was one of the most beautiful weddings." Lyle replied with a sentimental smile.
"As hard as it may be to believe, but Bobby is a huge romantic and sentimentalist. " Parker stated. Jarod and Kyle looked at her in disbelief, but shrugged their shoulders in acceptance. After listening to what happened between the two they would believe almost anything.
"There is something that you guys should probably know too." Lyle said looking pointedly at Parker.
::Bobby no! I don't want them to know.::
//They have the right to know, especially Jarod.//
::But the plan failed, they don't need to know.::
//Vanessa I'm telling them. They do need to know!//
"What is it?" Jarod asked, noticing that Parker looked very uncomfortable.
"The Centre had another plan for the Red File people, especially for you and Parker." Lyle explained. "They were going to breed Pretenders, they thought it would be easier to breed them instead of kidnapping them."
Jarod and Kyle looked at him in surprise. "How could they? Did it work?" Kyle asked.
"No, fortunately Daddy put a stop to it." Parker said.
"You mean when they sent you down to see me the first time it was so that later we would…" Jarod didn't finish his question as Parker nodded in confirmation.
"The bastards." Jarod said.
"They were raising us to have more Pretenders, but Daddy when he found out didn't want to have his grandchildren be treated as lab rats. He didn't want it done to me, I guess as some sort of apology for mom's death." Parker replied quietly.
"I guess he was finally facing regrets." Lyle said to soothe his sister. He knew that she still hurt a lot from knowing that her father knowingly allowed some experimentation to be done on her.
"I know this may seem rude, but what are the changes that you have made?" Kyle asked.
"Nothing that can be seen now and I have to say this." Lyle said turning his attention to Jarod. "Because of your escape you ruined a lot of our plans!"
Jarod looked at Lyle and replied "Well if you hadn't tried killing me and maybe if you had informed me of your plans we could have worked something out!"
Although the men had been friendly to each other since Parker was brought into the hospital there was still an underlying tension of hate between the three. Parker noticed this and cleared her throat. "Look guys, lets not fight about this right now. A lot of things happened that none of us foresaw and we all did things that we all will regret, so why don't we just try to get past all of that?"
"Always the voice of wisdom." Lyle replied, slightly sarcastic.
"So what now?" Kyle asked.
"Now we make a new plan that involves us." Jarod said. Lyle and Parker looked at each other and back at the brothers.
"So where should we start? Kill off Raines, change the Centre or wreak Pretender havoc?" Lyle asked candidly.
The other three exchanged gleeful looks as the their minds plotted an interesting Pretender revenge.
