KISS is the property of KISS. This is for entertainment 

purposes only and not meant to infringe in any way.



Part 27a 



	"Shannon!" Misha said enthusiastically.  "We just 

checked our email and Dynasty sent everyone a weird 

message.  We're not sure whether to believe it or not, but 

it sounds like it'll be fun."

	"Hi Misha, Cyn," Shannon said, looking unexpectedly 

tired.  "Listen, I have to borrow Des.  We'll be back in a 

few minutes."  She grabbed Desiree by the arm and quickly 

walked out of the crowded lobby.

	Misha shrugged.  "Okay."  She wondered what was going 

on but was sure Shannon would explain later.  In the 

meantime she'd watch to see if Gene showed up in the 

milling throng.

	Desiree looked at Shannon.  "What's wrong?"  She had 

been considering slipping away from the others and actually 

carrying through some of what she had joked about in her 

reply to Dynasty.  That was if she could find out what room 

Bruce was in. 

	"We need to get you a toolkit and then you've got to 

work on the service elevator."

	Desiree blinked.  How did Shannon find out about her 

knack to fix things?  "Elevator?  What's wrong with..."

	"I don't have time to explain."  Shannon suddenly 

laughed and said thoughtfully, "Actually, I have all the 

time in the world but I'm not ready to try for a specific 

minute for a long time!  That guy may have decided he 

wanted chips with that sub.  Shandi said you could fix this 

thing so let's just focus on that for now."

	"What's Shandi got to do with all this?  I was just 

joking when I asked her about that stuff."

	"It's a little complex so let's get the elevator done 

and then we can sit down and talk," Shannon said, leading 

her around the corner.  Something flew from one of the 

potted trees and landed on Shannon's shoulder, but Desiree 

never noticed since her attention was focused on where they 

were going.  



	"I don't know," E.V.I.L. agent 208 said doubtfully.

	"It's foolproof," E.V.I.L. agent 448 said 

enthusiastically.  "We need to get those cuffs back before 

someone thinks to trace where they came from.  Searching 

her room didn't get them.  And we'll get back at that woman 

for getting 286 and 317 turned into Fertilizer."

	208 shuddered.  Poor 286 and 317, sent to the G.R.I.P. 

to have their minds wiped and be turned into the lowliest 

of menials, all because that Raven bitch had interfered in 

the kidnapping of Peter Criss.  Buttercup did not tolerate 

failure, which was what made 208 nervous about this plan.  

"I hear that Bez joker won't go near Raven."

	448 snorted.  "Bez has his own agenda.  You can't 

trust contract workers.  And we better watch VV.  You saw 

that email Buttercup intercepted.  I think the conditioning 

is wearing off.  If he ever remembers that he was a 'guest' 

in E.V.I.L.'s G.R.I.P., that could snap our control of him.  

And he knows enough about our operation that he could do 

serious damage if he became G.O.O.D."

	"Buttercup doesn't have Raven on the list," 208 

reminded.  "We're supposed to be working on the others."

	"Buttercup wants Raven," 448 assured his associate.  

"And when we hand her to him, he may even promote us.  

Everything's ready.  All we have to do is use the voice 

duplicator to make the call and she'll walk right into the 

trap."

	208 nodded.  "Okay.  Let's do it."



	Raven picked up the telephone. "Hello?"

	"Raven?" a familiar voice purred.

	Raven knew that voice but never thought to hear it on 

a hotel room telephone.  "Peter Criss?"

	"I want to thank you for rescuing me," he told her 

softly.  "I'll send the service elevator to your floor.  

This way you can get by security without any problem."  His 

voice dropped slightly.  "I really want to PERSONALLY thank 

you for keeping me from being captured."

	Raven had to swallow twice before she could get her 

voice to work.  How could she be nervous over a telephone 

call when she had been topless just inches away from him 

and been completely calm?  But that had been in an 

emergency, and she could handle emergencies.  It was life 

she had trouble with.  "I couldn't let something happen to 

you."

	"Please?" he whispered seductively.  "I really want to 

show you how much I appreciate it, privately, just the two 

of us."

	"I'll be there," she promised, surprised she could 

still talk.

	"You know where the service elevator is?"

	"Yes."  She made it a habit to locate all the possible 

exits.  She never knew what her trouble magnet might pull 

her into and you never had too many escape routes.

	"Do you still have the handcuffs they put on me?"

	"You left them behind."  

	"Bring them with you.  I'd like them as souvenirs of 

my close call."

	She sighed to herself.  She had wanted them for the 

same reason.  But maybe she could get something a little 

less bizarre.  "Okay."

	"I'll send the service elevator down in five minutes."

	"Five minutes," she agreed.

	"I'll see you shortly," he promised and hung up.



	"Someone has rigged it so they can control what floor 

it goes to.  I think."  Desiree was sometimes unsure how 

she knew things, but her hunches were always right.

	"Can you undo it?" Shannon asked.

	"It'll take time."

	Shannon sighed.  "Time.  Don't take too much.  I'm not 

that good at this yet so I don't want to go back and see 

history in the making again."

	Desiree looked at her.  "What?"

	"Just work and ignore me," Shannon suggested.

	Desiree pointed at Shannon's shoulder.  "And what is 

that thing?"

	Shannon petted the odd half feathered/half scaled 

creature crouched on her shoulder.  "Meatball's just 

something I picked up on the way to find you."



	Raven retrieved the cuffs from their hiding place, 

grabbed her room key, and put both in her pocket.  She 

debated changing clothes but she only had five minutes so 

she settled for running a brush through her short hair.  

Fortunately her haircut took little care because she never 

had figured out the trick of hairstyles or makeup.  But 

Peter just wanted to thank her.  It wasn't like he was 

inviting her up to...  She forced her mind from the thought 

and forced herself to stop the little delaying details.

	She walked to the door, aware she had to ignore her 

nerves or she would never have the courage to leave her 

room.  As she reached for the door handle, a chill ran down 

her back and she glanced over her shoulder.  For a brief 

second she saw a figure standing in the room.

	"What?" she asked nervously.  "I get chaperoned?"  She 

always got a little nervous when They showed up.  "I'm just 

going to visit Peter Criss.  I'll be back later.  Watch the 

place for me, okay?"

	Something brushed the side of her face.

	"Later!"  She hurriedly left the room, checking to 

make sure the door locked behind her.  Despite a lifetime 

of running into them, ghosts could still unnerve her.

	She turned the corner to see the service elevator with 

its door open.  She ran to catch it before it could close, 

her heart pounding.  She saw a flicker of movement in the 

hallway.  "I'll be back," she promised as the doors closed, 

hoping no one was around to see her running or hear her 

talk to thin air.  As the elevator started up, she wondered 

if she was imagining all this.

	The lights abruptly went out!  A strange odor filled 

the air.  She put her hand over her nose and mouth and 

fumbled for the control panel.  What was going on?  She 

needed help!  Someone!  Peter!  Anyone!  She felt an 

internal darkness falling and screamed.

	Every switch in the hotel breaker box threw itself, 

plunging the building into total darkness.

	Every telephone rang three times in rapid succession 

and then went dead.

	Paul Stanley fumbled for a light.  "What..." he 

started, stopping as his voice came out an unnatural 

falsetto.  "What the hell?!" he shrilled.

	Ace Frehley watched in shock as his laptop re-

formatted its hard drive.  "NO!!!!"

	Gene Simmons looked at the lighted screen of his palm 

planner, which had somehow re-set itself to a list of 

meetings with organizations such as classic bluegrass 

appreciation and knitting societies.

	Peter Criss stood in the darkness, hands clenched in 

anger.  He was feeling and sensing thing he did not quite 

understand but he instinctively knew what was at the bottom 

of it all.  He sniffed the air and growled, "E.V.I.L."

	On Ground floor, Val grabbed Tommy Thayer's arm.  

"It's a random probability storm."  She hoped there was no 

critical event being decided within the range of effect.

	People all over the hotel saw faint flickerings from 

the corner of their eye.

	Bez got a panicked look.  "What fool upset HER?"  He 

braced himself.

	"Bruce?"  "What Eric?"  "You get the feeling things 

aren't going smoothly?"  Sigh.  "I have a feeling things 

are going to get very weird.  Again."

	Raven lay on the elevator floor, fighting to stay 

conscious and knowing it was hopeless.  She had time for 

one last mental scream before darkness fell.

	A strange spectral sigh went through the building as 

the flickerings dashed from floor to floor searching for 

something.  Or someone.

	The breakers re-set themselves.

	Every television switched to the hotel menu.

	All elevators locked in place, including the service 

elevator.

	All automatic doors locked themselves open.

	All car alarms went off.

	All cell phones played the clear tones of "I Was Made 

For Loving You."

	A flock of pigeons flew in the lobby and roosted in 

the potted trees.

	And for a brief second, every member of KISS past and 

present felt a strange energy go through them and they were 

aware of each other and of others, of people who were 

somehow connected to them, somehow both protecting them and 

needing their protection.  For one brief second they had a 

waking dream of what they could be, what they would be; and 

the nightmare of what they could be if such power was 

misused.

	Vinnie stood shocked by the rapport that renewed old 

memories, including one from years before about a retreat 

called G.R.I.P., what was done there, and a certain 

diminutive being.  He cursed.  "I'll do my own fights with 

Gene and Paul.  But I'm not helping YOU any more Buttercup.  

You screwed up my life, and my MUSIC!  You and your sub-

harmonic harmonicas!  You're the one who ruined my 

performances and made me look bad!  Now that I know what 

you did I won't let you mess up my chance to prove to the 

world who is the best lead guitar KISS ever had!  And I'll 

get Bez for tricking me into that trap!"

	Bez looked around and realized his captive Lady M had 

somehow wandered away through the mysteriously open door 

while the lights were out.  "They never listen."  Some 

Powers were a real pain.  Maybe it was time to consider 

using that escape clause in his contract with E.V.I.L.

	Misha felt a heat run through her body, waking a hot 

ember over her heart.  She pulled her collar down and for a 

second saw a glowing black and red symbol on her chest.  

Then Gene's demon mask faded from her skin and she wondered 

if she was hallucinating.

	Others felt the brief energy, as if a connection 

almost but did not quite manifest itself.

	Buttercup sat in his room simmering.  "If I find who 

set them off I'm kicking him straight into the next 

century."

	"Arte!"  "It's a Powered Matrix Awakening!  We need 

backup!  We better get things under control before some 

foreign power gets involved."

	The South American Girltalk members gave a sigh of 

relief and returned to checking in.  Everyone except Lady 

Space.  She wrinkled her nose and growled softly.  "There's 

trouble.  I can smell it."  She flexed her fingers and 

glanced beside her to her own Ace.  She frowned and looked 

down.  He followed her gaze and suddenly dropped three 

foot, his feet finally touching the floor again.  "How did 

you do that?" she asked, giving him a suspicious look as he 

shrugged and smiled nervously.



	Elizabeth stopped, mind still recovering from the odd 

double experience.  She glanced fearfully at the mirror 

beside her.  She did not want to see herself as Shandi.  

What she wanted to see was Paul coming to the rescue or...

	She gasped, seeing Paul in the mirror.  Paul gasped 

back at her.  This was bizarre!  Like something Gene...

	The figure in the mirror 'changed' and Gene's face 

gazed back at her.

	She pictured Ace and watched her body change to match 

her mental image.

	What had he done?!  Given her the ability to look like 

anyone?  A small voice in the back of her mind whispered 

'Or just awakened a Power she did not know she had?'

	She pictured Shandi and the form he had ordered her to 

use re-appeared.  Even if she could look like anyone, HE 

had given her a mission and she knew what HE was capable 

of.

	But maybe, just maybe...



	"At least we have lights again," Lady Beth said with 

relief.

	Shandi nodded, rubbing at her temples. "I just had the 

funniest feeling.  Like someone turned a radio on in the 

back of my head."

	"Of course everything had to hit right after we got 

back from picking up lunch," Shannon looked around, a 

Subway plastic bag in hand.  If they had an emergency, she 

was not facing it on an empty stomach.  

	"Let's ask those hotel staff what happened," Lorie 

suggested, pointing at two men in service coveralls.  

"Excuse us!  Do you know what happened?"

	The two men turned, surprised to have someone walk up 

on them unexpectedly. First the elevator stopped, now this.

	Lorie smiled at the men.  "Do you know what caused the 

electrical outage?  Is that why you're working on the 

service elevator?"

	"We're not working on it, we're using it to kidnap 

Raven," 448 immediately said.  He clapped his hands over 

his mouth, eyes wide.  Why had he blurted out the truth?

	208 looked at him in shock.  "Why don't you just admit 

we're henchmen for Buttercup here to kidnap key members of 

Girltalk so he can control KISS?!"  He froze, realizing he 

just had.  Why did he just reveal their secret?

	448 pointed at the four women.  "GET THEM!  They're 

Girltalk!"

	The women turned to run.  Lady Beth grabbed Lorie's 

arm.

	And all four disappeared.

	208 and 448 skidded to a halt.

	"Oh oh," 448 said softly.

	"We are fertilizer," 208 sobbed.



	Lorie grabbed Lady Beth as the girl stumbled. "Jessi!"

	"Dizzy," Lady Beth whispered, grateful for Lorie's 

steadying hand.

	Shandi grabbed Shannon's arm.  "They have Raven 

trapped in that elevator.  We need someone that..."  Her 

eyes went unfocused, connections clicked, and she said, 

"Desiree can get her out but she's down in the main lobby."

	Shannon never thought about asking how Shandi knew.  

"Stairs.  They may have all of the elevators rigged."  

	"I'll help Jessi," Lorie promised.  "GO!"

	The two Girltalk ladies ran for the stairs, Shannon 

leading.  Shannon slipped through the doorway and thundered 

down the first flight.  Blast!  It would take too long to 

reach Desiree.  They needed more time!  A lot more time!  

That was when she felt the world do an odd shift.

	"Shannon?"  Shandi looked down the empty staircase, 

hoping her sudden headache would disappear as quickly as 

Shannon had.  There had been just one split second she lost 

sight of her and suddenly Shannon vanished without a trace.  

She looked around and realized she was on a different floor 

than they had started on.  She turned to look at the 

approaching Lorie and Lady Beth.  "What is going on?"

	Shannon skidded to a halt, not noticing that she was 

standing in a dimly lit open grassland instead of a hotel 

stairwell.  Her attention was on something else.

	The figure in front of her turned and examined her 

with hostile eyes.  He lifted his club in blatant menace, 

the small creature in his other hand struggling feebly.  He 

grunted something that might vaguely resemble speech.

	Shannon threw her sandwich at him to distract him.

	He released the creature and caught the sandwich.  He 

raised the odd object up to his nose, sniffing 

suspiciously.  The man opened his mouth, his long tongue 

curling out to lick the paper in an unexpectedly familiar 

move.  He took a bite of sandwich, paper, and plastic.

	The creature landed on Shannon's shoulder, toothed jaw 

chattering.  Shannon turned to run, hoping she had time 

to...

	The world gave a funny jump.  She stood in darkness, 

facing a huddle of people holding torches.  She breathed a 

sigh of relief.  Anything was better than...

	The crowd started yelling and running towards her.

	"Bitch?" she asked in astonishment.  "Hey, what'd I do 

to you?  Why are you calling me..."  She realized the word 

was not bitch and they looked like someone dressed for a 

Colonial pageant.  Or Colonials.  

	"Oh shit."  She turned and ran.  The creature on her 

shoulder turned around to watch the mob behind them.

	"Do something," Shannon ordered.  "I gave that 

prehistoric Gene Simmons a perfectly good meatball sub for 

you.  Why don't you spout fire or do something impressive 

to scare them off?"  The creature opened his mouth and 

hissed at the witch hunters.  "Oh, that REALLY helps.  Why 

couldn't I get a pet Tyrannosaurus and how do I jump back 

to the future?  Where's Michael J. Fox when you need him?"

A familiar sensation hit and she left her pursuers far 

behind.  She hoped she figured this crazy stuff out soon.



	Peter felt something brush the back of his neck.  He 

spun around to find no one there.	He had the impression of 

a frowning young man standing on his right.  He turned to 

again find no one.

	From the corner of his eye he saw the man beckoning by 

the unexpectedly open door.  Not bothering to question his 

senses or sanity, Peter ran into the hallway and saw a 

flicker at the stairway door.  He followed the flicker down 

onto another floor where it disappeared through the closed 

doors of the service elevator.

	Peter never thought about what he was doing.  He 

grabbed a nearby stand and forced the doors open.  He 

coughed and turned away as a thick chemical odor rolled 

out.  The elevator was stopped slightly down from the 

floor.  He took a deep breath and dropped into the elevator 

car.  He grabbed the limp form on the floor and boosted her 

up and out.  He quickly jumped out and pushed the doors 

closed to block off the gas before checking Raven's pulse.  

He sighed in relief to find it strong and steady.  

	This had to be an E.V.I.L. attempt on Raven.  He 

picked her up and gently draped her over his shoulder.  

Eric Carr was elsewhere talking to the Girltalk lady who 

had spotted him.  Protecting Raven was completely up to 

him.  He could not trust anyone but himself.  Anyone could 

be E.V.I.L.

	He made sure no one saw him return to his room with 

his delicate burden.  Locking the door, he walked across 

the room and gently placed Raven on his bed, checking her 

pulse again and finding it still steady.  He kicked off his 

shoes and stretched out on the bed beside her, just 

watching her breath.  E.V.I.L. was now trying for not just 

KISS but also their fans!  They had to protect them!



	"Random probability storm?"  Tommy asked.  "What's 

that?  Is this an attack?  Buttercup?  Bez?"

	Val shook her head.  "This isn't an attack.  It's a 

Power."  She looked at Tommy.  "You've heard me talk about 

Powers."  Tommy nodded.  "Probability manipulation is a 

Delicate power: very powerful but very unpredictable.  Few 

who possess it ever truly control it.  A random probability 

storm creates an area in which extremely unlikely 

coincidences or shifts in luck occur.  And it just helped 

me figure out why Buttercup is after KISS and Girltalk."

	"Why?"

	"We're a Powered Matrix," Val said in quiet awe.

	"Matrix?"

	"You know the members of KISS have Powers.  They 

haven't used them because there have been some...problems 

with them."  Val paused again to examine a sudden 

revelation.  "Maybe because they were meant to be used 

within a matrix."  She shook her head.  She could not let 

herself be distracted from what had to be handled NOW.  "A 

lot of Girltalk have Powers, maybe even all of us.  The 

probability storm temporarily activated the matrix 

structure that's been dormant, one that ties KISS together 

and lets each member link to his particular fans.  It lets 

them know when one of his fans is in trouble and the fan 

knows when their Anchoring KISS member is.  Powers and 

people can work together to accomplish things they could 

not alone."

	"This sounds great," Tommy commented.  "This could 

handle Buttercup, right?"

	Val frowned.  "Except the you have to build a matrix 

carefully.  They're rare and not much is known about them.  

Members need to know how to properly use their Powers.  The 

Anchors, which are KISS, have to properly link to each 

member."

	"Link?  How?"

	"It's usually a formal ceremony. Blood bonding is a 

way.  There are some more... personal ways."  She blushed.

	Tommy laughed.  "Sex, right?  I don't think any of 

them would mind 'linking' with their fans.  They've been 

doing it for years.  Gene'll love this.  He has the perfect 

excuse to do what he's been saying he was going to do ever 

since they planned this show: Give each of his female fans 

a 'personal' Farewell show.  "

	"You have to be careful.  Sex can do a Claim, not just 

a simple Link.  And a Claim can be dangerous, and is more 

likely in the newly Awakened since they haven't learned how 

to protect themselves.  That probability storm triggered 

the matrix potential and possibly an area-wide Awakening."  

Val looked around as if she could see what had done it.  

"It had to be a probability manipulator.  They're a rare 

but powerful Delicate.  Very dangerous if they aren't 

trained properly, and she didn't feel like she was using 

much control.  She's either untrained or in a panic 

situation.  Untrained, she'd be dangerous, especially in a 

matrix.  The members need to have control of their Powers 

before they become part of the matrix or it can magnify the 

instabilities.  You want to Link with the more stable 

powers first, so they can help control the more 

unpredictable ones like probability manipulators or Rage."

	"So what's a Claim exactly and why is it dangerous?" 

	"A Claim goes beyond just Linking," she explained.  

"Links allow communication and general awareness of each 

other, but both still have freedom of choice and can block 

each other when they want privacy.  But a Claim?  The 

Anchor would be able to directly access the abilities of 

anyone they Claimed whenever they want, not just ask that 

the person do a certain action but use her Powers directly 

and control her to a large degree.  They're often called 

Master and Slave, if that helps you understand the 

relationship better.  It gives the Anchor a lot more power 

but can also leave him a lot more vulnerable because it 

creates a direct pipeline through any normal protections.  

That can be very dangerous to Claimed, Anchor, and 

everyone.  If someone who knows how to exploit the 

connection captures a Claimed, they can gain control of the 

Anchor.  If someone gains control of an Anchor, they have 

total control of all whom that Anchor has Claimed and some 

control of any Linked or Marked.  In the case of KISS, that 

Anchor could possibly let them gain access to all of KISS 

since KISS is apparently the interlocked Anchors for a 

Powered Matrix."

	Tommy looked concerned.  "So any of the Guys who, uh, 

'claim' one of you is endangering everyone?"

	"That's right," Val agreed.  "And an Awakening will 

make all of us more susceptible to a Claiming.  Some who 

were Marked for Claiming may have even had that temporarily 

surface.  A Marked is someone who an Anchor, uh, 'marked' 

as his but did not have enough power yet to fully Claim 

them.  A Marked can also be a vulnerability of an Anchor 

since there is a similar connection through protections."

	"Is there a way to break a Claiming or Marked?"  Tommy 

asked hopefully.  

	"A Link can be broken.  A Mark can be erased with the 

proper ceremony.  A Claim?"  Val shook her head.  "Some say 

not even death can break a Claiming."

	"And sex creates a Claiming?"  This was not sounding 

good.  There was no way KISS would suddenly go celibate.

	"Under the right conditions, if the potential Claimed 

has voluntarily or been forced to drop defenses, if the 

Master does so with the attitude of controlling or 

possessing.  If both are willing it's very easy, especially 

if you're dealing with a newly Awakened Power and the fan 

adoration that exists between KISS and Girltalk.  It's 

harder when the victim is unwilling: That's usually when 

torture is used to weaken the defenses."  She paused.  "I 

wonder if that is what Buttercup plans for us: Claim the 

most powerful of Girltalk and use them to control KISS."  

She suddenly gasped.  "If KISS is a Powered Matrix...The 

tribute bands are..."  She paused to think.

	"The tribute bands are what?"  Tommy asked, concerned.

	Val's voice was soft with awe.  "That'd put KISS past 

the Round Table, probably make them potentially as powerful 

as the Twelve of Atlantis.  No wonder Buttercup wants 

control of them."  She shook herself.  "There's not really 

a modern term because no Powered Matrix has had them since 

medieval times.  The tributes would be Acolytes to their 

Masters.  As long as they were in character and faithfully 

recreated KISS' personages, the KISS member can see through 

their eyes and they can access part of the Master's Powers.  

A Master can't control an Acolyte like they can a Slave, 

and an Acolyte or Master can always break their bond.  But 

probably as soon as the Matrix is activated every member in 

every tribute band will become an Acolyte."

	Tommy groaned.  "Do you know how many tribute bands 

are going to be here for the two day show?  We're going to 

have how many with these newly Awakened abilities you've 

talked about?  Val, Gene might love all this superpowers 

stuff but I think the rest of us would just as soon skip 

the whole thing.  Can't we just do the Farewell, call it 

quits, and get Buttercup to leave us alone?"

	"I don't think we'll be able to stop what's been 

started," Val warned.  "We have to take this to its 

completion.  After the show, KISS will be heading back to 

their separate homes and they'll be too scattered for any 

of us to maintain sufficient protection on them.  Buttercup 

can just capture them one by one.  We have to stop him once 

and for all, NOW.  And the first thing we have to do is see 

to it we don't let anyone create a vulnerability by 

Claiming one of us girls."

	"We have Gene's special Welcome party tonight," Tommy 

warned.  "You better talk to him first.  And better you 

than me.  I'm not going to be the one telling him he can't, 

uh, 'welcome' his fans.  All this might have kicked his 

Powers into showing up and I could LITERALLY end up in a 

'heated' discussion."

	"He doesn't have to give up his fun with his fans.  I 

just need to provide something to prevent the Claim being 

created," Val answered.  "I need to do that for all us 

ladies as well as KISS, to protect us from Buttercup.  Once 

that's blocked we don't need to worry.  You can't even 

accidentally create a Link once I do this.  So we just add 

another dimension to 'safe sex'.  Then we need to find all 

those with stable Powers and we can do a ceremony that 

Links a sufficient number to give the Matrix stability.  

Once we have that in operation even Bez will have second 

thoughts about trying something around KISS.  The Matrix 

was not wakened until now, so there are no Links already in 

existence and no one will have been Claimed.  Some may have 

been Marked though.  I'll have to check for that.  But 

we'll be safe as soon as I get everyone protected from 

random Claims.  And then we start building the Matrix."