Hidden away in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, the International Base of Alien-Origin Captures and Projects was fully ready and started to operate perfectly, with the highest technology on the planet. It was built in the Bermuda Triangle, a place where ships, submarines and airplanes avoided using the route due to the successive cases of disappearance reported by the media. This fact helped keep its secret character. The mooring allowed spaceships with large dimensions to be hidden and the place was all illuminated, since at that depth the sunlight rarely appeared. All the world's most advanced, ground-based, and interplanetary technology was designed and tested in that advanced center.

The director was Ronald Steighem, former head of the quondam Alpha-Omega agency, which was now united with other alien-catching bodies around the world, creating the new agency, WAEP - the World Agency for Earth Protection. He had been designated to the post because of his long experience in extraterrestrial contacts. Countries in Europe and Asia had joined the United States of America in this project, which aimed to protect humanity from extraterrestrial invaders.

The architectural format of the base was discoid in its highest portion and in the towers that fixed it to the bottom of the sea. Some buildings were rounded and interconnected by underwater vehicles and elevators. The strange part was that the technology used didn't seem to be from Planet Earth, and only the director of the agency knew the source of that knowledge.

The representatives of the other countries were astonished to see the buildings that director Steighem insisted on accompanying personally, and wanted to know everything about that wonder, but he said that he would reveal everything in due time. That information was ultra-confidential.

A special dome involved the whole building and allowed a thermal and gaseous control of the internal ambiance. There were recreation areas in the complex and a good military defense structure. Many ships moved in this space and they had the ability to travel in the aquatic and aerial environment. The lights could be seen at three hundred feet from the place, and when the transport modules arrived at the hangar, they entered a landing chamber where they underwent depressurizing to access the interior of the base.

Ronald Steighem was accompanying from the central command room the latest news about his agent's missions. Ann Soliver and Collin Netil were already working at that place and were preparing to go back to the school where they had found the alien for further investigation.

"How's your hand, Ann?" Netil seemed curious about the agent's situation.

"It's still immobilized, but I believe that in a few months I'll be able to shoot and fight. My punch will get stronger with this bionic hand. But, for now, I might as well shoot with the right."

"I hope next time you're more careful. Our enemies are strong and have high technology."

She took the pistol from the holster with the free hand and rolled it with her finger in the locker, near the trigger.

Then, she stopped it, suddenly, pointing it forward to show her ability. Everyone in the director's office stared at her in amazement.

"This time, I'll be careful and won't face him alone. I'll use weapons to capture him and we'll work together, as a team." She paused for a moment, remembering the whole incident, thinking of some clue she had missed because of the shock that day. It was then that a phrase, until then unimportant, returned to her mind:

"While I was in the hospital, I remembered one thing that miserable ET said..."

"What was it? Was there time for you to talk? Now I'm curious", Collin Netil, lately, seemed to act strangely.

He lived with an unusual curiosity when the subject was the old attack.

"That bastard revealed that we were both looking for the same target there, at the school. That means that whoever moved that skeleton in the classroom was also wanted by the alien."

"We need to head there fast. If that worm was after who we were investigating, it's because this target must be important."

The agents Ann Soliver and Collin Netil sought out the WAEP director in his room to communicate the information and ask for permission to go to the school.

"This is a great opportunity to catch two birds with one stone. We'll thus inaugurate this base with a flourish, that is, with the capture of valuable specimens. Call the support teams and we'll go immediately to this school. I'll accompany you. I will not admit failures this time."

"Yes, sir, we have already left everything ready for the invasion of the place, and this time, nothing will go wrong."

"I hope you're right, agent. Now let's go quickly. We can't waste time."

Ronald looked at Collin and smiled, as if they both shared some secret.

A few days later, early in the morning, Dargan's communicator began to blink again. He picked it up, already imagining who it was. As if to confirm his suspicions, the hologram of the unknown figure appeared before him:

"Any new information about our target, Sergeant?" Agent X asked.

"She's at school right now. For now, no anomaly was detected. Helen continues her routine normally."

"We can't wait any longer. I ask you to meet me there in fifty minutes. Prepare the direct approach", the voice on the other side verbalized the moment he feared.

The spy knew that the government agents would probably be watching the place. If many of them showed up there, the mission could become devastating.

"I'd better try to find a way to catch the girl without hurting her," he thought. What he wanted most, in fact, was to preserve the lives of Sophia and the people she loved. They were getting along very well, and he knew that any thoughtless attitude would do her great harm. "I don't agree with this and I think it's a big mistake. But I must anticipate my arrival there for the good of the girl and Sophia. I can enter the place before them and remove the girl from the classroom, to keep her safe. Then, I'll follow the mission in detail, so as not to lose sight of her. We came to capture Captain Merko and nothing justifies using the little one as a bait."

The spy's heart really began to speak louder.

Dargan arrived at school twenty minutes before the scheduled time. He timed the operation on his bracelet and knew he had little time to get the girl. What he didn't imagine was that, in the meantime, a jet plane was landing at the Los Angeles airport. A helicopter transported the WAEP team to the mission site and a major operation was mounted, with the use of elite military troops. There was very little time for him to resolve the situation.

For him not to waste time, he teleported straight into the office of the principal, James Haunter. The man, who was checking some documents on his desk, was shocked to see him suddenly appear by his side:

"Who are you? How dare you invade my office?"

Before he caught someone's attention, the spy quickly neutralized him with a paralyzing gun. Immediately, he laid him behind his desk and copied his appearance. As soon as he saw that everything was in order, he left the room and went toward the secretary.

"Please, Judith, have the student Helen Traveler called. Ask her to come to my office as quickly as possible. Her mother wants to talk to her on the phone. We've spoken moments ago and she'll return in a few minutes. So be quick and keep it quiet."

The secretary found the principal's attitude unusual. Generally, the messages from the mothers were received by her, and she hadn't even heard the phone ring. But, since some give the orders and others obey, she promptly nodded and went to get the girl.

At that exact moment, Lorena arrived at the school. Her thin countenance with a head down gaze denounced her physical condition. She was allowed to enter as soon as she said she needed to speak to the principal and, if possible, see her granddaughter. Her wish was to watch the school and find out for herself if everything was all right. The lady, who now appeared to be older, decided to go first to Helen's classroom and peek. She walked slowly up the stairs to the hallway where was the classroom that she studied.

The secretary knocked on the classroom's door and the teacher interrupted the class to answer.

"What happened, Judith?"

"The principal asked Helen to come to his office."

The students stared at each other, thinking that the girl would receive a warning for some reason they didn't know about, starting a great murmur. Upon hearing the generalized conversation, Judith justified herself to the teacher:

"Her mother wants to talk to her."

Helen became happy and thought that Zara had finally arrived from the trip. She ran off, with a smile on her lips.

She followed Judith toward the principal's office. But fate made her see Lorena on the way, who was going the other direction. As soon as she saw her grandmother, Helen jumped into her arms, very happy, almost knocking her down. Lorena returned her a warm, tight hug.

"My dear granddaughter!"

"Grandma... I'm glad you're here! The principal sent for me and said that mom wants to talk to me. Did she come back?"

Lorena's eyes widened and she stared at the secretary. She found it strange that Zara had arrived and hadn't even warned her of her presence. Neither her husband nor son...

"The director received a call from her. He said that in minutes she would return."

Something was strange in that story. And she would find out what it was. She gave her hand to her granddaughter and they went together to the principal's office.

The noises of helicopters could already be heard approaching the school. This time they decided not to evacuate the area, thus avoiding unnecessary escapes. What mattered to the agency was the capture of the specimen that was there. Agent X, together with Ann Soliver and Steighem, arrived at the meeting place.

"Please, give me the transmuted recognition glasses. I want to have the pleasure of being the first to see our target."

"Ann, I left the glasses on the new base. Our engineers are trying to copy their technology with reverse engineering. Besides, we already know that the being we're looking for is a girl named Helen Traveler."

The last thing Agent X wanted at that moment was to be discovered by his own comrades. They could never discover that he was an alien among humans.

"How did you find this information? Why didn't you tell me before? Does anyone else know?"

"We have an agent of ours infiltrated in the school. He did a thorough investigation a few days ago and gave us a report yesterday."

She looked at the others who were there, including the director, who said nothing. Through the window of the aircraft, Ronald Steighem watched the school approaching. He seemed to ignore the questions. Ann thought something was strange, but she didn't even suspect that the enemy was closer than she imagined.

At school, the secretary knocked on the principal's door:

"Here's the girl, sir."

"Thank you, Judith. Let her in."

The secretary had Helen come into the room and closed the door. But soon after, Lorena decided to enter. She was willing to know what was happening. What if something had happened to them? Why didn't the daughter-in-law look for her?

"Where's my mother? I thought she was at the school..." He heard as soon as she opened the door.

The principal was startled by the grandmother's entrance. He recognized her, but pretended not to know the information:

"Who are you, ma'am?"

"I'm Lorena, Helen's grandmother. Why did Zara call you?"

Dargan wondered what explanation to give, but the sound of the helicopters invaded the room. He realized there was no more time to lose.

"I need you two to stay calm and listen to what I have to say. Pay close attention. I'm here to protect you. People on Earth and on my planet want to kidnap you, and I'll try to stop them. But I ask you to trust me."

"You what?! Who are you and where's the principal?" Lorena looked terrified at the man who said absurdities in front of her.

The girl who knew about the existence of aliens wasn't afraid. She was only concerned about her grandmother's reaction, who wasn't well.

Dargan needed the woman to believe him. So, he went to the side of the table, pushed it to the left and let them see the principal fainted.

"What did you do to him? Is he dead? I'll warn the police, you're a criminal. Come on, Helen! Mrs. Judith!" She tried to knock on the door, but no answer.

Little did she know that Dargan had isolated the acoustics from the secretary's room with one of his devices, in order to prevent anything else from going wrong. For her, the school was in the most calm and sudden silence.

"Calm down, ma'am. He's just sleeping. You can see it with your own eyes," but what scared Lorena the most was that the two men were identical.

"Are they twin brothers?" She thought.

Helen approached the principal and listened to the beating of his heart and the normal breathing, even from a certain distance.

"He's fine. It's true, Grandma." She then turned to Dargan. "Are you a friend of my parents and my grandfather?" Hearing that, Lorena understood even less. What would Merko, Nicholas and Zara have to do with this?

"I'm a soldier from another planet. And yes, I know your family. Right now, I need to get you out of here before the school is invaded. Many children can get hurt and even die. They will spare no efforts until they reach you."

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