He smiled. Everything was going according to plan. KX1 was making up for his last mistake by bringing in the two detectives. They were the perfect test subjects for the 7b1 formula. Neither of them was very bright (why else would they have to bring someone back from the dead to do their work?) but both healthy. Yes, this would go perfectly.

****************************************************************

Lestrade sighed as she climbed into the government hovercar behind Grayson. Immediately, the doors closed, and the windows became tinted, so that they couldn't see out. Normally, Lestrade would never have given this a second thought, but now, for some reason, she had a bad feeling. Forcing herself to relax, she nonchalantly studied Gregson. In the dim light of the vehicle, he seemed...robotic. Again, that feeling of dread washed over her.

A few minutes later, the hovercar came to a stop. Gregson smiled and motioned for Grayson and Lestrade to proceed him. Lestrade tensed, and got out of the car. She waited as Grayson came out, followed by Gregson. Captains Harris and Anderson didn't get out, saying that they had to be somewhere else.

They all three walked into the large, nondescript building, and Lestrade's dread grew. They walked through various corridors, which Lestrade marked in her mind. She was good at mapping things, and always had been. Even Erika hadn't been able to map as well as her. Lestrade frowned, wondering where that thought had come from, and who Erika was. She impatiently brushed it aside, and concentrated on keeping her wits about her. They came to a lab, that Gregson motioned them into. He walked to a table and then walked over beside them.

"Here we are, Inspectors," Gregson said with an oily smile, "The lab where the substance disappeared." Lestrade whirled around and kicked t he syringe that he had been about to jab into her arm, out of his hand. She heard a metallic 'thump' when her foot connected. 'So he *is* a robot,' she thought. She quickly pulled her ionizer out while he was distracted with the dropped syringe, and fired directly at his chest. There was a fizz, and then a large spark. He was deactivated. She bent over and picked up the syringe, then walked over to the table, and put the cap back on it. She found the bottle he must have gotten the substance from. It was labeled 7b1. She placed the bottle and syringe in a box to the left of where the bottle had been sitting.

Grayson looked at her, a look of anger and confusion on his face. "Nice shot, Lestrade. Mind telling me how you knew what was going to happen?"

"Sorry, Chief, but it was just a hunch. We better get out of here before whoever created this machine comes to check on its progress."

She turned and walked out the door. Grayson followed behind her. "And just how do we get out of here?"

Instead of answering, she pulled out a small communicator. She opened and pressed a red button. "Watson'll be here in a few minutes. It's a homing device Holmes came up with. We better start walking to get as far away from here as possible."

Ten minutes later, they were sitting before the fire at 221b Baker Street. Lestrade and Watson analyzed the substance while Grayson watched.

"Hmmm...very interesting," Watson said, "It appears that it can take over any living nervous tissue and change the electrical impulses into inorganic material, while still keeping the basic structure. Whoever made this has some sophisticated technology."

"That's what worries me, Watson. I think whoever did this was expecting to use Grayson and me as human test subjects."

Grayson snorted. "So where's the dead P.I.? We could use his help right about now."

"He got a lead on something Moriarty is up to. The last I heard from him was that he was following them to the United States."

Lestrade was only partially paying attention to this exchange. She was looking at the box used to carry the bottle and syringe, and noticed that there was a place for another bottle and syringe. In those places was a small trace of the substance, which wouldn't have been there unless the other bottle had been.

"Looks like that robot was telling at least part of the truth. Some of it was stolen. And I have an idea on who it was that did the stealing. You said Holmes was on his way to America? Know the exact destination?"

"I believe it was Neutronic City, and he should have been there by now. That doesn't necessarily mean he would have contacted me, but..."

"Great, we're going to Neutronic City, then. Watson, book two passages...." Lestrade began.

"Make that three passages," Grayson interrupted, "I want to know what's going on here."

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Slate walked down to Donovan's office. The door was open, so she stepped in. Jenny was the only one in, and she was putting away some files.

"Jenny, can I ask you a question?" Slate asked.

"You just did, but go ahead," Jenny answered.

"What don't you trust about those two visitors?"

Jenny looked up at her, startled. "N....nothing serious. They're just strangers, is all...Listen, Dr. D.'s expecting me at the testing facility, so I gotta go," she said, and left the room.

Slate frowned and walked back to her lab. Jenny was hiding something, and whatever it was had frightened the simian.