THR VOLUME 1: THE HERO'S RETURN

Part One –Dealing With Danny Dyson

Disclaimer: I do not own these wonderful characters, I am merely borrowing them.

My son, my only child, left me, to go after this thing, this monster who looks like a girl, who took his heart. I promised him I'd prevent Judgment Day, but when he reached that future, I'd failed. The girl-monster said it will always be; we cannot stop it, only delay it. So he came back to me, once he'd found his lost love. For me, it was only five minutes that he was gone. For him, it was five years. My little boy John went away to war, but he never came back. John Connor, warrior, returned in his stead.

I asked the girl-monster if that was the purpose of her giving up her chip to the carcase of the machine that pursued us through time. She shook her head. She said she had no intention of drawing John to the future, she just thought she could aid him better there. She was as surprised as me that he followed her to hell. She was angry with him, but mindful of how she had alienated him before when he risked himself for her, she merely thanked him, and told him that she loved him.

Oh, how I longed for a normal life for my son: to meet a pretty girl, fall in love, raise a family. See out their days in some place that could be called paradise, if only because it hadn't been reduced to rubble and ash by war. To be a doting grandmother, who spoiled their children while no-one was looking. To teach them how to live life to the full. To love them without fear of what destiny lay in wait for them.

Instead I got her: the girl-monster. Cameron. And yet, with her he acts somewhat human. With everyone else, he is detached. He turns on the charm when necessary, to cajole and encourage such troops as we have gathered, but they do not see what I see: it is just an act. He learned this in the future; his boyish charm was worn away there, replaced by something he could put on as easily as a coat. All the while his companion was the only one other than I to notice. We became confidantes, sharing our concerns for him.

And now here we are, ready to play out the final scene. John says he knows that Danny Dyson sold out humanity; he stayed in the future long enough to find out the what, where, when and how of Skynet's origin. Before, Cameron only had a vague idea, when she was first sent back to aid us. John wanted to make sure this time. Cameron is prepared to kill Dyson. I would call it murder, but that means nothing to a terminator. However, she does not think like a terminator anymore. She does not wish to kill Danny Dyson because he is a threat to my son and the rest of humanity, but because by doing so she will prevent John from having to do it himself. Perhaps she interprets it as a threat to John's mental well-being?

John suggests that Cameron escort me out of the building, so that I do not have to witness the death of another Dyson male. She agrees, but once we are out of the room, we hear two shots fired in quick succession. We turn as one, but she is quicker than I and reaches the doorway first. Looking over her shoulder, I see the man who was my boy standing over the unmoving body of Daniel Dyson, 21; sometime resident of Los Angeles, California; killed in a gang-related shooting, as the press will likely report it.

A grim-faced John Connor looks up and seeing me, smiles warmly.

"I think we're done here," he says.

The rapid change in his visage is something I've seen before on Cameron; now she too changes her expression, but from one of shock to her usual blank stare. She manages to hide her feelings from John, and I can only wonder why.

"Is that it? Is the future safe?" I ask.

My son shrugs as he makes his weapon safe. Cameron takes his hand and leads him away from the scene of his crime.

"Was it worth it?" I ask.

Unseen by my son, Cameron glances back and gives me a look that says: "Who knows?"

Inwardly I curse and scream; I too wear a mask.