Sirius looked around the room smugly, hoping to see anticipation on everyone's faces. Disappointment hit him hard—they were all still chatting amongst themselves, completely ignoring him.
"Hey! I've got something important here!" he insisted, his voice rising.
"Pfft!"
Harry cracked first, bursting into laughter.
"Sorry, Sirius. I couldn't help it," Harry grinned, wiping a tear from his eye. "We've known you were hiding something for weeks. We were just waiting for you to spill. We even placed bets on when you'd finally break."
Sirius scanned the room. Everyone was smiling at him.
Walburga tapped the armrest of her chair. "Out with it, you wastrel. What have you been planning?"
"Speaking of which," Regulus cut in suddenly, "how is Gemini planning to celebrate her birthday this year?"
Gemini stroked her chin thoughtfully. "I've decided not to. After all, a lady's age should remain a secret."
As she spoke, something felt wrong. She raised her hand. Her fingers were flickering, turning translucent and fading in and out of existence.
Before Harry or the others could respond, the doorbell rang.
"No time," Gemini said, cutting Sirius off as he opened his mouth. "Take care of me, Dad."
Harry and Dudley stared at the door in shock, then turned to look at Walburga.
"Hey! Shouldn't you be listening to my news?!" Sirius protested, oblivious to the atmosphere. "I found someone I want to marry!"
He blurted it out, afraid of being interrupted again. "And you know what? We're about to welcome a new family member!"
"Whoa!" Harry and Dudley covered their mouths simultaneously, eyes wide. "You're getting a stepmom!"
Gemini smiled, looking at the two boys she had raised. "Sorry. I might miss your coming-of-age ceremonies."
"Wait, what?" Sirius looked confused.
Gemini's entire form flashed violently. Harry, watching her closely, yelped. "Gemini!"
Regulus thought for a moment, understanding dawning in his eyes. He nodded solemnly at Gemini. "Don't worry. I'll take care of the family."
He pulled a small pouch from his pocket and tossed it to her.
"What is this?" Gemini caught the bag, her hand phasing slightly through it before solidifying.
"I don't know. Dumbledore and Master Sun from China gave it to me," Regulus shrugged. "They said if you ever had to leave without saying goodbye, I should give you this. Told me to carry it at all times."
"It's her!" Sirius shouted, rushing toward the door. "Gemini! You have to meet her! Wait just a moment! One moment!"
"Coby! Ready?!" Gemini shouted.
"Yes, Miss!" Coby appeared, handing her a bracelet. She snapped it on and hit the switch. Silver-red armor flowed across her body.
The entire house began to tremble.
CRASH!
Gemini and Coby slammed into the ceiling, stuck there like magnets.
"What? What's happening to you?!" Sirius looked up at his flickering daughter in panic. He turned to his mother for help, but Walburga wasn't looking at him. She was smiling up at Gemini.
"Gemini, safe travels," Walburga said softly. "It was wonderful to meet you."
Footsteps pounded in the hallway. Sterling walked in, looking uneasy, her hands instinctively protecting her abdomen.
"Where is Miss Gemini?" Sterling asked.
Gemini looked toward the hallway, hoping for one last glimpse. But just as Sterling entered, the world rejected Gemini. She was expelled from the timeline, shoved violently into a kaleidoscope tunnel of light.
Sirius stared at the empty space on the ceiling where Gemini had been. He walked over carefully, waving his hand through the air. Nothing. She was gone.
He collapsed onto the sofa, stunned. Beside him, Sterling looked equally bewildered.
"So... Gemini won't be born until next June?" Sirius whispered.
"This is just... really..." Sterling stammered. Who could have imagined? The person who had saved her all those years ago was her own daughter?
Walburga and Regulus stood, looking at the empty spot with a mix of sadness and hope.
Walburga gazed tenderly at Sterling's belly. "We'll see each other again very soon."
Inside the rainbow tunnel, Gemini had no time to process the emotional farewell. The moment she and Coby entered the stream, a massive fish materialized and swallowed them whole.
Inside the giant fish's mouth, they were thrashed about violently as it swam through the time stream.
Finally, the fish's head emerged from a platform in a high-tech lab. It opened its mouth, and a blast of air shot Gemini and Coby out.
The fish withdrew, and the platform—already scheduled for demolition—disappeared bit by bit. The surrounding equipment sparked and died as the magical construct vanished completely.
Gemini manually ripped off her helmet. She didn't even have time to greet anyone. She grabbed the corner of a table, bent over, and started vomiting.
It took half an hour for her to stop spinning.
"We're... back?" Gemini wiped her mouth, looking around the familiar yet strange surroundings of Avengers Tower.
"Welcome back. Though we only didn't see you for a week," Tony Stark shrugged, leaning against a counter. "Why do you look exactly the same? You must be older than me now!"
Gemini whipped out her wand without looking up.
Bang!
Tony flew backward, pinned against the wall. His feet began to dance an uncontrollable jig, and his front teeth started elongating toward his chin at a visible speed.
Natasha raised an eyebrow. "Nice work. That mouth of his needed fixing."
Ignoring Peter, who was carefully creeping over to help Tony, Gemini smiled at the group.
"Long time no see. I'm home."
[End]