The chief physician stands in the doorway, facing the division that bifurcates the hybrid room. He pushes the slidable wall forward to get a full glimpse of the two blacked-out shapeshifters. "She'll wake up in eight hours," he says, glancing at the monitors beside the young patient's bed. He flits his gaze to his right, studying his other patient, "And the anaesthetic will wear off in twenty minutes."

The physician steps out of the room, tapping his wristband. Two holographic screens pop up before him as he closes the door. "Everything's normal," he says, studying the various charts that appear on each screen.

He takes his mask and gloves off when the screens vanish. Tossing them in the nearby bin, the physician plods toward the benches beside the hybrid room door. His clinical demeanor begins to wear off as he plops on the nearest bench.

Now, as suppressed emotions wend their way to his poised visage, Anthony sags, placing his quivering arms over his thighs. How did this happen? He glances over his shoulder, taking in a deep breath, and taps the wall behind him. The concrete wall transforms into a glass-like window, displaying an unconscious Eliza on the bed.

The man rests his head on the window as he glances at his daughter. "What will happen now?" He whispers in trepidation.

...

"So this is the world?" Eliza says, thunderstruck by the urban landscape around her. Tom grins as he watches his niece gaze at the distant skyscrapers, "Melvin Square's just a minuscule fraction of it." They both stroll down the barren sidewalk.

"I want to know more about this world," Eliza says, turning to face her uncle. "Of course," he replies. "Oh, we all should try traveling around the world in eighty days or something," She says. Her gaze falls on a man who appears on the far end of the sidewalk, "Hey, Dad." Tom turns to face his brother, "Tony."

Anthony waves, a broad grin on his face, "I bought ice cream from Borges & Hues." The shapeshifter notices a flickering band hugging his brother's ankle. "Cool," Eliza replies, teeming with joy, and steps forward; but her uncle's grip stops her. He points to the device on her dad's right ankle.

"Dad, you bought new shoes?" She asks, slipping away from her uncle's grip. "Yeah," he answers, glancing at his navy blue sneakers. "I thought I'll buy you yours after we finish with these." He lifts the bag.

Tom begins to hear an alarming tick as his brother approaches. That band is a detonator. "Liz, we need to go back," He looks at his niece who steps forward. "Liz?" She turns back, "Uncle, come on." She grabs his arm. "The ice cream will melt." Tom lets out an uncontrollable smile. What? He finds himself sauntering with his jovial niece. Why can't I get out? He muses as the tick grows louder.

Tom jolts awake. He shudders away his nightmare as tonight's episodes begin to reel in. "Liz," he gasps as flashes of his shapeshifting niece zap across his mind. He tries to get up from his recumbent position, but grimaces when a sharp pain strikes his abdomen. "Right," he mutters, feeling his patched injury. He lays back on his bed and scans his surroundings.

Where is Liz? Unable to suppress his restlessness, the shapeshifter detaches himself from the monitoring systems and carefully sits up. Everything was supposed to be resolved tonight. He muses as he slowly plants his feet on the ground. The patient lifts his head when the door slides open. "You were not supposed to get up from here," the physician says while closing the door.

Tom looks away from his brother who reconnects him to the monitors, "Is she okay?" The physician nods, "She's sleeping." He taps his wristband, causing a screen to pop up in front of them. A young brunette is displayed on the holographic screen, sleeping peacefully, adjoining monitors displaying her current vital signs.

The shapeshifter sighs with relief as he sees his stable niece. Anthony plumps on the seat beside the bed and rubs his forehead. I should tell him.

He takes a deep breath when he fumbles with the words in his mouth. "When we came here, Eliza's health began to deteriorate." He glances woefully at his brother, "Her illness grew worse in the following months, and there was no help until Fred arrived."

"The symptoms were psychosomatic," the father continues. "She went through over fifty psychotherapies but none seem to have an effect on her. Then, we found out the true cause of her illness." Tom rubs the back of his neck as he recollects the shady past, "So you performed the Lipton procedure*."

"There was a 50% chance that she would lose her powers," Anthony says. "But I couldn't watch her suffer anymore." Tom gazes at his brother who sags his head. "The procedure inhibited the synthesis of the inducers required for the expression of her Eso genes." He rubs his face, recollecting the telepath's lecture on the special genes they all possess. "So I don't know how her powers got reactivated."

An answer clicks in the shapeshifter's mind. Fred restored her memories. He leans back, "Did Liz have any blotches on her face or arms?" The physician creases his forehead, "What?"

"Look, her memories were erased fourteen years ago," Tom says, straightening his back. "That caused her to lose her powers." He pauses. "So don't you think her memories were restored tonight?"

"How?" Anthony says, getting up. "The parts that were removed were severely damaged. How can-" He trails off, recollecting the unannounced guest's green fingernails. "Tony, what did you realize?"

"Fred did this," He answers, tapping his wristband. "A few hours ago, Jason showed signs of memory altercation."

"He tampered with his memory?" Tom says, getting off his bed. The physician stops him, motioning him to lie down, "I've locked him in his room." The shapeshifter shakes his head as he sits on his bed, "I made a mistake." Anthony checks his wristband, "In what?"

His brother checks his pockets, "Where's my coat?" The physician grabs the brown coat laying on the table and hurls it to his patient, "Can you please explain about the mistake?"

"Where did you find Jason?" Tom asks, emptying his coat pockets. Why did I bring him when Fred was still here? He rubs his face, "After his memory was altered, where did you find him?"

"The Underground Facility," his brother answers, "He used the exit on the second floor." He gazes at the shapeshifter who takes out a vial, "No." He grabs the vial away from him, "You can't have this." Tom rubs his crinkled forehead, "How much longer do I have to wait?" Anthony examines the blue serum in the small vial, "I'll tell you when it's time."

"I brought Jason here because of his ability," The shapeshifter explains. "I thought he would be safe here." He gets off his bed carefully, "Where is Liz?" The father hesitates, when a thought dawns in his mind, "Why did Fred restore her memories, that too, using Jason's memories?" He glances at the patient who heads toward the door. "She's here," Anthony says, getting up.

He treads toward the slidable wall when his brother reaches him, "Don't make a sound when you enter." Tom shakes his head, "You think I don't know that?"

The shapeshifter steps forward to see his unconscious niece, while the physician slowly slides the door close. Why did Fred do this? Anthony watches his brother examine the novice shapeshifter. "Come here," The uncle whispers, pointing to her dark green fingernails.

"But that wasn't there when I examined her," The physician whispers back when he reaches the bed. He trembles in his stance, when he spots green blotches on his daughter's forehead. How could he do this to her?

The shapeshifter gazes at his niece. How did I miss such a big thing? He flits his gaze to his brother who sags his head, "We need to go." The physician lifts his head, eyes filled with tears. How didn't I know this? He gazes at his daughter's pale face, the irregular blotches swirling on her forehead. "Tony?" His brother whispers. "I know you feel like a complete dirtbag, but we need to go now."

The physician nods, anger now fueling within him. He storms out of the room when his brother slides the door open. Anthony halts when he realizes something and turns back, his wristband beeping. His brother glances at him, "What?"

"I think I know where Fred altered Jason's memories," he says, waiting for the screen to load. "I know," Tom says, realizing it. "The storage room near the emergency exit." He eyes the long hallway, "We're on the second floor."

Anthony sighs when the screen fails to load. Not now. He turns to see his pale brother scanning the long hallway. Right, the healing agent. He searches his pockets for the vial. "Tom," he calls, examining the stored blue serum.

The physician hands it to him, "I think you've suffered enough for today." His brother grabs the vial, "What?" He sees him smirk before heading to the other end of the hallway. The shapeshifter grins, "Now that's my brother." He glances at his niece for one last time. It will be all over soon.

Tom catches up to a marching Anthony who approaches Room 1, "Wait."

"I'm going to report him to ICJ," his brother declares, taking out the portrait. "No, you won't," He says, dabbing his clammy forehead with his sleeve as he enters the room. "How's the injury?" The physician asks, tapping numbers on the keypad. The shapeshifter pats his healed abdomen, "All good."

"Welcome, Anthony Banks," The door announces and slides open. The father gazes at the staircase before him, "I will report him." He pauses, glancing over his shoulder, "and I know you'll help me do that." He casts a small grin before entering the staircase.

...

A parky hand over her shoulder makes Eliza jerk awake. "Who are you?" She says, glancing at the withdrawing pale arm. Squinting, she notices a young girl, dressed in denim overalls, amidst her dim surroundings, "Oh, it's you."

Her accustoming gaze lands on the wooden chair she's seated in. "You're the one who gave me the locket earlier," she sneers. Her eyes widen the second she realizes, "I'm back here again?" She glances around, the chair squeaking as she tries to get up. "Where am I?"

"Can you please stop?" The ten-year-old Eliza says, glancing at her pocket-watch. "You'll be directed to one of your memories in a moment," She lifts her head, casting a reassuring smile. "We are organizing ourselves, so you don't have to worry."

"Liz," an orotund voice chimes, making the young girl step back. That's uncle Tom's voice. "Liz," another disembodied voice calls. "Who is that?" A perturbed Eliza says, glancing around as she attempts to discern the familiar voice.

Ting!

Eliza rubs her eyes when she finds herself in a furnished room. "This is Uncle's home," she realizes, glancing at the fuschia serving hatch. She flits her gaze when a man enters the drawing room, "Liz, you're running late."

"I don't want to go trick or treating," a young voice squeaks. Eliza careens to her right when she notices a figure hiding behind the couch. That's... The seven-year-old Elizabeth comes out, examining her newfangled parts with distraught eyes: elephant ears, webbed hands, and a spiky tail jutting out of her back.

"It hurts," she sobs in a croaked tone. A staggered Tom rushes to her, "You'll be alright." He glances over his shoulder as he kneels down, "Tony?"

"I'm a shapeshifter?" Eliza blurts out, brows arched as she examines Elizabeth, who's laid on the couch before her. "What is it?" She straightens when she hears a silvery voice. A man in his late twenties enters the room, carrying a few files. "I was about to-" Anthony tosses the files on the coffee table, when he sees the anguished girl, and rushes out.

Eliza peers at the laminated documents sticking out of the file when her dad returns with a small, open casket. She tilts her head, trying to read the copperplate title on the top document. Which language is this written in?

"This is a stability device," the physician explains, donning a locket around the shapeshifter's neck. "That locket is here too," Eliza whispers, craning her neck to see the gilded accessory.

"Don't remove this tonight," Anthony says, watching the novice shapeshifter revert to her original state. "Gosh, that was painful," Elizabeth says, falling back on the couch. Tom grins, his gaze falling on the scattered files. "When did you receive this?" He asks, removing the documents from the file and placing them on the table.

Anthony sits beside the young shapeshifter, "A few hours ago." He grins, "It's all over." The seven-year-old glances at the physician, her ashen face brightening, "Really?" When he nods, she springs up, "Yes!"

Eliza almost stumbles on her dad when she reads the displayed document, "Oh." She flits her gaze to her younger self, "I'm adopted?!" A thought dawns in Elizabeth, making her clammy forehead crinkle, "What should I call you both?"

"You can call me Dad," Anthony says, casting a gleeful smile as he sits beside the young girl. "And you can call me Uncle," Tom says, as he sits on the carpeted floor, facing her. Eliza reads the papers, eyes gleaming with tears. Why didn't they tell me this?

"What can we call you?" The new dad asks. "Um," Elizabeth scrunches her tiny nose when she thinks. "You can call me Liz," she says to her uncle. She shifts her gaze to her dad, "And you can call me Eliza."

"Is it because I got your name wrong the first time we met?" Anthony asks, bewildered.

"Trick or treat!" a group of young voices chimes. Tom gets up, glancing at the door, "They're already here." Eliza glances at her younger self who gets up, "I'll get ready." The physician snickers, "We'll talk about this later."

Tom glances at the mirror beside the door, "And I'll stay here, making sure these kids don't take more than they deserve." Eliza steps back when she sees her uncle's changed reflection.

"How?" she whispers, her brown eyes cradled with tears. Her uncle inspects his adjusting attire - a white linen shirt and blue jeans, underneath a black coat. He grins at the female reflection. "Hello," the shapeshifter says, straightening her red hair.

Eliza chokes upon hearing the awfully familiar voice, "Mom?"

"I'm Christina Wright," the shapeshifter turns back to see his gleeful niece. "Elizabeth Banks' new caretaker."

"What?!" Eliza says, rubbing her forehead. "What is going on?"

She flinches when the ten-year-old Eliza appears beside her, playing with the locket. "Why is this everywhere?" Eliza whispers. She glances at the memory guide, "What is happening? Is this true?"

"How am I supposed to know," she replies, clasping the locket. "Go ask the person who inserted all those memories."

Fred! Eliza muses as her surroundings go dark.

Ting!

Eliza gasps as she wakes up. That was not a dream. Her immaculate surroundings come into focus as she dabs the sweat from her face. "Fred," she mutters as she glances at her monitors. "He knows the answers," she says, tossing the blanket away as she gets off her bed.

The owner of the manor grabs her earpiece from her bedside table.

"Woah," she says, examining her webbed hands. I need the locket. She gazes at the open door before her while she wears her earpiece, "Uncle must be there." She taps her earpiece as she heads to the door, "Jessie?"

"Yes," her virtual assistant answers. "Find Fred," the owner says as she glances at the messy bed. That's his. She grabs her uncle's brown coat, searching each pocket, "They're empty." She shrugs the coat away from her sticky hands. Why doesn't it come off? Her gaze lands on the pile of scattered objects on the bed.

"The locket," she mutters when she notices the gilded accessory glimmering amidst the glossy vials. "I'm not able to track his wristband," Jessie apprises as her boss takes the locket. "Check every nook and corner of the manor," she says, glancing at the silver panther embossed on the hinged locket.

Ping!

Eliza checks her new beeping wristband. This is a different band. She examines the thick, blue medical band. She lifts her head when a holographic screen emerges before her.

CODE RED. HYBRID ROOM 1, SECOND FLOOR.

"It must be Carrie's room," she says, scrolling through the notification. "It is her." She dons the gilded locket around her neck. I need to get there fast. She glances at her restored, pale hands as she heads to the door.

* Lipton Procedure - Here, memories encased by a curse (such curses are known as Debussy curses) are extracted from the memory circuit to prevent or halt the adverse effects it causes in the victim's body. The victim will either partially or completely forget the affected (distorted) memories. First performed by Dr. Greybark Lipton in 1921.