Disappearing Act

Disappearing Act
A Sequel to "Missing"
by Stephanie Moffett

.........."Rocky! Wake up!"
..........Rough hands shook Rocky. He pushed them away in irritation, not bothering to open his eyes."Go away. It's too early."
.........."Rocky, come on! Please!"
..........Rocky slowly opened his eyes, not really awake but disturbed by the frantic whispered pleas. "Billy?"
..........Billy was standing over his bed. Rocky looked at him and then at the digital clock. It was three in the morning. In the moonlight, he could see the beads of sweat on Billy's face. "What... what're you doing here, Billy? How did you get in?"
.........."I used my school ID to jimmie the door." Billy sat down on the edge of the bed. Rocky could see that his friend was trembling. "Look... Rocky, I'm in a lot of trouble. Could I borrow your car... and maybe some cash?" As he spoke, car lights flashed through the window. Billy ducked, and closed the blinds.
.........."Billy...." Rocky got out of bed. It was entirely too strange, even for a practical joke, and it wasn't really like Billy to try to scare people. And Rocky was scared. "Calm down. Tell me what happened. Maybe we can figure something out."
..........Billy took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. "Rocky," he said slowly, his voice icy with fear. "I'm putting you at risk just by being here. I shouldn't even involve you... but Tommy's aunt has a deadbolt lock and I couldn't get in. Believe me, the less you know, the better."
..........Rocky rubbed his eyes and tried to think. "Why? Has Lord Zedd done something to you, Billy? You're really acting strange."
..........Billy ground his teeth in frustration. "Rocky... I'll make this simple. I am in danger. I need your car. No discussion, no talking it about. There are people after me... I can't tell you who or why." He hesitated. "It happened once before... you can ask Tommy... he remembers some of it... but I can't put the team at risk again. If I tell you any more, they'll come after you. Believe me, if there was any other way...." His voice trailed off. "I have to leave. It's the only way."
..........Rocky slowly nodded his head."Okay...." He opened his desk drawer and handed Billy his car keys and some spare cash. In truth, Rocky was not really thinking at all. He was sleepy. Yeah, Billy was acting awfully odd but then, who didn't have their moments? His sleepiness left him a second later when, as Billy pocketed the cash, Rocky caught sight of a pistol tucked in Billy's jacket.
.........."What are you doing with a gun, Billy?" he asked, his worry clearly heard in his words. "Look, whatever trouble you're in, a gun isn't going to solve it."
..........Billy grabbed him by his pajamas and slammed him into the wall. "Don't you get it Rocky? They shot Tommy trying to get to me the last time! They almost destroyed the Rangers! These people play for keeps! They know who to come for this time and if they find me..." His anger passed. "I'll do what I have to to protect you guys." He let go of Rocky and unclasped his commincator. He handed it, and his power morpher, into Rocky's unwilling hands. "Take these to the command center... if I have them on me when they find me... well, it's safer this way."
..........Rocky's head was spinning. "Isn't there anyone who can help?"
..........Billy hesitated, not wanting to involve Rocky any further. "There were some FBI agents... Mulder and Scully... and some guys... the lone gunmen.... No. Rocky, don't get in this any deeper." He stepped through the door. "Thanks Rocky...."
.......... And then he was gone. Almost as if he had never been there at all.

* * *..........Rocky awoke to find the sun shining across his face. He smiled. It was Saturday. He could sleep in. Maybe he could head down to the juice bar later, and tell everyone about the wild dream he'd had. He hadn't realized that his imagination was so good. Billy breaking into his house? With a gun? Ranting about how "they" were after him? He chuckled as he rolled over.
..........And caught sight of Billy's communicator and morpher sitting on his desk. He picked them up, not really understanding for a moment, and then it hit him. He hadn't been dreaming. He looked for his keys. They were gone. So was about fifty bucks.
..........He did the only thing he could think of. He put Billy's morpher and communicator in his gym bag, got dressed, and went looking for Tommy. * * *.........."Rocky?" Tommy smiled a little. Rocky had that "just got up" look... uncombed floppy hair, rumpled clothes that had obviously been thrown on without regard to fashion, and a dazed look in his eye. "Are you ok, buddy?" He gestured to a seat. "Sit down... have a juice... it's on me."
..........Rocky sat down. He eyed Tommy for a moment, not quite sure what to say. "Tommy... we have a big problem." He opened the gym bag and showed Tommy the contents. "I think Billy is having some sort of breakdown...." He explained what had occurred the previous night, noticing that Tommy grew paler as he spoke. "Is Billy really in trouble, or what?"
.........."Rocky...." Tommy leaned in close and lowered his voice. "We can't talk about this here. It's not safe. Let's go to the command center."
.........."Okay... I'll call the other Rangers...." Rocky said hesitantly. He was getting concerned.
.........."No!" Tommy put his hand over Rocky's communicator. "Don't call anyone... just us. It's bad enough that you're getting dragged into this. The less the others know, especially Adam and Aisha, the safer they are. Come on." He dragged Rocky into a deserted hallway and they teleported.
..........At the command center, Tommy ignored Rocky and faced Zordon. "Zordon... it's happened again. What're we gonna do?"
..........The panic in Tommy's voice momentarily threw Rocky off but he was starting to get irritated, despite his confusion. "What is happening again? We're safe here, whatever that means, so tell me. I've got a right to know!"
..........Tommy kept silent for a long moment. Finally, "Rocky... Billy really is in a lot of trouble. A while ago, before you and Adam and Aisha knew us, ... well, we did a science fair project together on cold fusion. Billy did most of the research, you know." Rocky nodded, research was Billy's thing on the team. "Anyhow, these people... government people... wanted the plans. They didn't know which one of us had actually made the thing so... they started kidnapping people. Jason first, then Zack, Trini, and Kimberly.... They would've gotten me too but these FBI agents messed up their plan. I got shot...." He revealed the scar to Rocky, "I was unconscious for almost a day. By the time I woke up, Billy had convinced the agents that he hadn't been responsible for it... the government made it look like Billy did it, you know... and they figured out a way to get the plans to... some people and get Billy off the hook." He looked up at Zordon. "I guess that didn't work."
.........."The government is after Billy?" Rocky pondered. "Why?"
..........Tommy rolled his eyes. Rocky could be so dense sometimes. "Because Billy's really smart. They want him to make stuff for them. Bad stuff... these are really bad people. Rocky, the last time we got real lucky. They didn't connect us to the Power Rangers, but they didn't try real hard either. If they grab Billy and really aggressively question him...." He waited for that to sink in. As Rocky turned an off grey color, he continued with, "You know... the others don't even remember this happening. I asked Kim about it once... she thinks she was on a camping trip. They were brainwashed, I think, to not remember. And, I was lucky I didn't get killed. It was just dumb luck that Billy had tried to teleport them out and got the power coins before anyone realized what they were...."
.........."Oh man...." Rocky's voice trailed away. "That's why he gave me his power coin. Can't we do anything to help him?"
..........Zordon spoke finally. "Tommy, Rocky... I fear there is very little you can do. While Billy has assured the safety of the team by relinquishing his power coin and communicator, he is still in a great deal of danger. Tommy, we can be sure that you and Kimberly are being monitored by government forces." Zordon sighed. "There is nothing I can do to help Billy that will not reveal his secret identity as a Power Ranger. And, if Billy is captured, there is the possibility that he may be forced to reveal the rest of you."
.........."Rocky, you can't tell the others." Tommy's voice was deadly grim.
.........."Yes, Rocky, you must keep silent." Zordon warned.
.........."Wait a minute." Rocky held up his hand. "People are gonna notice that Billy is gone, and honestly, I don't feel right about this. I mean, it's like Billy is buying our safety with his own. There's got to be something we can do." He hesitated. "I know we aren't supposed to use our powers for personal gain, but come on.... What if they hurt Billy?"
.........."Rocky," intoned Zordon, "You must accept this. Even if Billy had never become a Power Ranger, he would still be in danger. This situation would still have happened. The power you use to fight Lord Zedd and Rita's evil is not to be used lightly... while I detest the actions of this rogue government organization, I cannot sanction the use of your powers. It would only lead to further endangerment of the team."
.........."But...." Both Rocky and Tommy protested.
..........Zordon frowned. He wasn't happy with the situation either. "Billy has chosen the only route open to him, and in doing so has removed the rest of you from much danger." He frowned even more. "Consider that before you do anything. As I said, I can not sanction the use of your powers, but otherwise, if you think you know of a way to help...." His voice trailed off. Zordon was really worried too. In truth, he wanted to call in all the Rangers and send them off to search for Billy. But, he knew that would only worsen the problem. Using the power to rescue Billy would only lead to the eventual discovery... and destruction... of the Power Rangers. As much as he wanted to, he could not interfere. One Ranger could be replaced... all six could not.
.........."Well...." Tommy mused. "Maybe I could try to find those agents... they were based in Washington D.C.... or the lone gunman?"
.........."Gunmen." Rocky corrected. "No, you have to stay here. They're probably watching you. I'll go."
.........."Rocky, be careful."Zordon warned."The power can not protect you from these people." * * *..........Mulder knew the day was going to be wretched the second he woke up. It was raining. Downpouring, actually. And, for May, it was cold. He could see his breath in the damp air. He loathed rainy days.
..........He ended up late getting to work. Scully was already there, bent over her paperwork. They had a lot of paperwork to catch up on, and today was the day to get it done. Another reason the day was wretched.
..........Scully, bless her considerate soul, had brought him a coffee. It sat on his desk, a light mist rising above the plastic top, scenting the dank room with the more pleasant smell of french roast.
.........."You're late." Scully said, but her tone was cheerful. She didn't mind the occasional desk day. A nice quiet day... a rarity in the X-File division. No sociopaths threatening to kill her, no vampires, no demonically possessed children. Just some filing. A good day."There's donuts on the filing cabinet."
.........."No thanks." He sat down at his desk and started thumbing through the work. There was a mountain of paper. He sighed, and pulled out a bag of sunflower seeds. He started to munch. It was going to be that sort of day.
..........Or maybe not. There was a hesitant knock on the door. The two agents looked up. Standing by the glass window in the door was a young man in a red windbreaker. Not a man, Mulder corrected himself, a boy. A tired looking, soaked, and shivering boy who was nervously glancing over his shoulder even as he waited for permission to enter.
.........."Come in." said Scully. She watched carefully as the boy entered. Like Mulder, she was intrigued. The kid was too old to be a lost tourist, though he did sport a visitors badge on his jacket. He looked familiar, but she couldn't place him. Maybe, she thought, he reminds me of someone else. She couldn't quite put her finger on it... there was just a look, a hint of something.
.........."Um... I don't have an appointment." The kid stepped into the room, and closed the door. "I'm looking for Special Agents Mulder and Scully."
..........Mulder pulled out a chair and gestured for the boy to sit. "I'm Agent Fox Mulder," He pointed to Scully, "That is Agent Dana Scully, and we've never been asked for an appointment so I guess you're ok. Do you want some coffee?" He was trying to put the kid as ease. Like Scully, he was struck by the weird vibes of familiar-but-not that the boy gave off. The kid took the cup of coffee gratefully. Mulder let him sip the hot beverage for a few moments. "Now," he said in his best 'dealing with children' voice, "Can you tell us your name?"
.........."Rocky... well, my full name is Rockwell."The kid seemed a little embarrassed. "Rockwell DeSantos, but people call me Rocky." Rocky could see what Tommy had meant when he said that the FBI people were freaky. Mulder and Scully's office seemed to be a shrine to the abnormal and strange. Pictures of UFO's, various occult items... sunflower shells all over the floor. But so far, they seemed ok. Still.... "Look, is it safe to talk in here?"
..........Mulder was taken aback. Scully, meanwhile, smiled slightly. It was seldom that anyone beat Mulder at the paranoia game, though the kid at first, second, and third glance, did not look like the type. To her, he looked too innocent, as if the nervousness was roughly overlaying a normally trusting personality.
.........."I think we probably safe here." Somehow, Mulder didn't think that the kid was about to blurt out some top secret info. And really, the office was pretty safe. He and Scully hadn't done any really touchy business recently.
.........."Could you close the blinds?" Rocky asked. Scully did so, wondering what was up. She got her answer.
..........Rocky shyly pulled out his power morpher. "I'm a Power Ranger. We really need your help." He quickly explained the problem to the shellshocked agents.
.........."Whoa... just hold on a minute." Mulder held up his hand, "When did you become a Ranger?" He was confused. Mulder had kept an eye on the news coming out of Angel Grove, what little there was, and there had been no mention of new rangers.
.........."Well, I replaced Jason." Rocky said brightly. "He and Trini and Zack went to Switzerland to help achieve world peace."
.........."Of course." muttered Scully. She could see that Rocky's story had cranked Mulder into 'stop the conspiracy' mode and she made a move to stop it. "Rocky... before Billy disappeared, can you say, without a doubt in your mind, that he was completely fine?" Power Rangers, evil beings on the moon, the government chasing after inventive teens...Scully could accept such things, but only if all other avenues had been investigated first. "Did he seem completely rational... no strange behavior?"
.......... Rocky thought seriously about it. In fact, he thought to himself, Billy had been acting kinda strange. Nervous, mostly... and quiet. Irritable too. The last few days before he ran off, talking to Billy had been like walking through a minefield. Everything set him off. Rocky had, on the long bus ride to D.C., considered those things but explained them away. Billy was afraid that the government was coming after him... it seemed like a reasonable explanation. Now, though, he understood what Scully was hinting at. "Well, he wasn't completely normal...but we've all been under stress." Rocky hesitated. "At first, before Tommy told me about all of this... I thought maybe Billy had... you know... really lost it. You don't think...."
.........."It's a possibility." Scully said. Mulder frowned, but said nothing. Scully might have a point, he mused. Having met all of the Rangers, he could honestly say that Billy was the only one that... had that look. That look that said someone might be, in the tiny subconscious corners of their overly rational mind, having a pretty hard time coping with the implausible. Mulder knew that look. He knew it well. On the other hand, there was a history of government involvement.
.........."I think checking all angles would be a good idea." he said simply.
.........."Mulder...." Scully's patience was wearing thin. "We have nothing to check. We don't have a case. I'm going to take a guess and say that Billy Cranston hasn't even been reported missing." She looked at Rocky. "Well?"
.........."I didn't tell the police." he said. "Tommy said not to. And Billy's parents went on vacation last Friday, so they probably don't know he's gone."
.........."There," Scully said, "is the problem. Mulder, we have absolutely no authority to investigate a crime that may or may not have occurred."
..........Rocky stood. He'd heard enough. The agents seemed like nice enough people, but they weren't able to help. And, Scully's suggestion had opened an ugly can of worms in Rocky's head. He had, after all, just given his car keys to Billy, not questioning his friend's motives at all. "Look, I didn't mean to bother you...." He edged towards the door.
..........Scully sighed. The kid had that sad, pathetic look on his face that she couldn't resist. "I suppose...we could at least introduce him to the Lone Gunmen." Not an idea she relished, but she did want to help the kid.
.........."Why Scully....but what about our paperwork?" Mulder teased. "I know what this is really about...you just want to see Frohike." She glared and he quickly shut his mouth. * * *..........The Lone Gunmen were hard at work getting the latest issue of their magazine of the same name ready for publication. Still, they greeted Mulder as an old friend, and gave Scully their usual attention. "You look lovely, Agent Scully." Frohike said, not looking up from his computer.
.........."It's always a pleasure to have a beautiful woman visit." Byers said. Langly nodded along, he was busy electronically scrambling his voice for a phone call. Byers looked behind the agents and spotted Rocky. "Hey, what's this?"
.........."He's a boy scout." Mulder said, "He's earning his badge in black government operations today."
.........."Really?" said Byers. He eyed Rocky. "So, do you know that every phone call you make to a foreign country is monitored by the NSA?"
.........."The government wants cellular phones to catch on so that they can monitor the moves of all citizens at any given moment." Frohike added, still at work.
.........."And don't forget," Langly added,"Scooby-Doo cartoons are really about getting high."
.........."Okay." Rocky nodded. He had to admit, he'd always suspected that Scooby cartoons were about drugs.
..........Mulder waved away their comments. "Lay off the kid. We're here on business."
.........."It's not business." Scully interrupted. "It's... personal."
.........."Well, anything for you, Agent Scully." Frohike said. The others nodded.
.........."Angel Grove, CA." Mulder said. "What do you know?"
.........."Lowest crime rate in the country." Byers said quickly. "Reports vary but apparently a band of vigilantes known as the Power Rangers serve as crime prevention."
.........."We have two sources there." added Langly. "One goes by the online name of Bulk. He's even more fun than you, Mulder. He constantly insists he has proof that these vigilantes are aliens or the missing link. A real loon. And we don't say that lightly."
.........."The other one," Frohike said, "we think might be a government disinformationist. He goes by the tag 'the Professor.'"
..........Byers nodded." There might be some cause for concern with him. He generally drops us a line every Sunday... but not this Sunday. Too bad, really."
.........."Yeah," said Langly. "A disinformationist but a smart guy. One time, after he was through insisting that these ranger characters were really teenagers chosen by a ten thousand year old mentor from outer space, he then starts explaining the basic principles of quantum mechanics and why Star Trek is technically inaccurate in its depiction of teletransport."
.........."Um...." Rocky knew it was Billy they were talking about. The nickname came from "Gilligan's Island." He had no idea that Billy had been fending off investigation though. "Do you think something bad happened?"
..........Byers considered. "It really depends." he explained. "His last couple of messages were odd. He insisted he was being followed. He complained of being watched. Even said he was risking the lives of others... but then, this is computer communication we're talking about. This could just be the fantasy of some bored kid... though the professor has always covered his tracks a little to well for the average adolescent."
.........."Speaking of teens," Scully steered the conversation back to the original problem. "We can't seem to find one. We were hoping that you could possibly track some information on him."
.........."Name?" Frohike asked. He sat poised by the keyboard.
.........."William Cranston." Mulder said. "Age 17. Lives in Angel Grove. Might have a missing child warrant out."
.........."Nope, he's not being looked for." Frohike glanced through the info. "No warrants... no police record... hell of an I.Q...." He looked up. "Got anything else? Identifying marks?"
.........."He's got my car." Rocky said. He gave Frohike the plate number.
..........After a few minutes, Frohike said, "Got something...." He frowned grimly. "Agent Scully, you know I hate to give you bad news... but this just isn't good. A car, same model, color, and plates as this kid's was found off a secondary highway near the Olympic National Forest. There were numerous bullet holes in the driver's door, and blood found on the driver's seat and the steering wheel. No body."
..........Mulder broke the deadly silence. "Well, at least we can rule out the nervous breakdown theory." * * *.........."I don't get it." Rocky said as they walked out of the airport terminal. "If you know that Billy drove my car up to Washington State...why are we back in Angel Grove?"
.........."Because," Scully said patiently, "There's a good chance that, while Billy seems to be trying to cover his tracks, he might have left something behind that'll tell us why he...."
.........."Ran off." finished Rocky. "I get it...like, clues and stuff. Like in a Hardy Boys mystery." He ran up ahead to grab their luggage for them.
.........."I'll be Frank Hardy," Mulder said wryly to Scully, "And you can be Joe. Is it just me or is our young friend ....lacking intellect?" To Mulder, the kid seemed about ten cents shy of a dollar.
..........Scully shook her head. "He's an Angel Grovite...it's just innocence, Mulder. Don't worry, I'm sure he'll outgrow it."
..........Rocky came back with their luggage. "Well, what are we doing first?" He smiled winningly.
..........Both Mulder and Scully cringed. "We,"said Scully, "will be dropping you off at your home. I'm sure your parents must be worried sick." But suddenly, remembering the general Angel Grove attitude toward child care, she wasn't so sure.
..........She was right. "My dad left us a couple years ago." Rocky said brightly, "And Mom really has her hands full with the other kids. And, before you mention it, it's spring break at school so I'm not missing anything there either. And, what if Lord Zedd comes after you? Admit it, you need me."
.........."Why would...Lord Zedd," and Mulder choked back laughter, "come after us?" Mulder knew all about the various happenings in Angel Grove. He simply didn't see what the high lord of evil would want with him.
.........."Well, for starters, he probably knows that Billy is out of contact with us." Rocky's face grew grim. If Billy had any sort of trouble with Lord Zedd, the team would never know. Another reason to worry. "And its been a couple days since there was an attack."
..........The FBI agents didn't like it. Bad enough that they were investigating a case that, under any definition, really belonged to the local authorities. To drag along a teenager was, well... wrong. The black government forces had shown, on several occasions, that no mercy was the rule, not the exception.
..........Rocky had an idea of what was bothering them."Look... I put myself in danger almost every day. I know the risks. I also know that you two are completely unprotected from Lord Zedd." He lowered his voice. "As a Ranger, its my job to protect you... and you are at risk."
.........."Has anyone ever been killed by Lord Zedd?" Mulder wasn't trying to make light of the situation.... though it had always been a trifle hard to reconcile the fact that the only thing keeping the earth safe from magically powered evil forces was a bunch of teens, but he did know that, if Billy Cranston was indeed running from government sources, the likelyhood of people getting killed was pretty high. Whatever protection having Rocky around would give them from Lord Zedd wasn't worth it if the kid ended up with a government issue bullet in his head. The government had been more than willing to kill Tommy Oliver just to draw Billy out of the woodwork.
.........."Just the people who work in the business district." Rocky said quickly. "You know...when buildings get crushed and stuff. And sometimes, people get killed by monsters shooting them. Oh, Tengu warriors do mess people up if we don't get there in time. That doesn't happen much... but"
.........."Why would anyone want to live here?" Scully couldn't help it. "This place is ...." Her words trailed off... she didn't want to offend the kid.
..........Rocky leaned in close, as if giving away secrets. "We have real low taxes, Agent Scully. And, the weather is really nice all year round." He stepped back. "I'll go get us a taxi!" * * *..........The Cranston home was dark. Mulder checked his gun, as did Scully. They had told Rocky to wait by the garage, fearing that they might find some potentially violent situation inside. After all, there was no real proof that Billy Cranston had even left Angel Grove. Granted, Rocky's car being found riddled with bullets up near the Canadian border was odd, but that could have been arranged by a wily, genius teen as a decoy. For all they knew, the kid was holed up in his house.
..........Mulder grabbed the door knob. Not surprisingly, it was unlocked. Angel Grove, he thought to himself, the only city in the U.S. where people don't lock their doors. He swung the door open and he and Scully entered.
..........It was empty, as far as they could tell. Nothing out of place, every thing looking neat. The place looked like a fifties sitcom...right down to the cute photos of the kid on the wall. It was just like Mulder remembered... very"Cleaver-esque".
..........Scully checked out the kitchen. "The refrigerator is stocked... and there's a list of instructions on the counter for dinner preparations. Whatever's going on, Mom and Dad don't seem to be in on it. There's a number here for their hotel in Hawaii."
.........."Hawaii? They left the Beaver by himself?" Mulder chuckled to himself. He found the basement steps. "Let's check out the Batcave."
..........They could'nt find the light switch, and Mulder noted that, unlike the last time he entered the Cranston basement, there was no etheral glow coming from the electronic equipment. Behind him came a click, and a beam of light played along the stairwell.
.........."I hate dark stairwells." Scully muttered behind him. "What do you expect to find down here, Mulder?"
..........He turned on his own flashlight. "He had enough stuff down here to make his own cold fusion reactor." His light flashed across a worktable. A clean worktable. He thought back to his last visit. He dropped the light down to the floor, and sure enough, there was a pile of papers and electrical bits. He sniffed the air. "What is that stench?"
.........."That computer's been beaten in." Scully pointed her light to the wrecked piece of equipment.
.........."Signs of a struggle." Mulder said as he checked out the destruction. "And look...." He held his flashlight still. On one of the counters were several cigarette butts. "A calling card."
.........."Or," Scully countered, "A deliberately laid clue left solely to suck you in further... Mulder, think about what you're dealing with. There are many cases of intellectually advanced teens snapping, and leading authorities on wild goose chases. It could be a cry for help. He knows that it will attract your attention."
..........Mulder stepped around a table and scanned the floor."No, Scully... this attracts my attention." She stepped over for a look. Sprawled on the floor, staring up at the ceiling through sightless eyes, was a dead man. Scully kneeled down and checked the body. The man had been shot in the chest, and been dead for several days. Since Friday evening, she guessed. "He's got a shoulder holster... but no gun. And, there's no ID."
.........."Well," said Mulder as he bent down to examine the corpse, "I'd say this is definitely a cry for help."
..........The lights suddenly came on. Scully and Mulder spun around as one, diving behind the worktable for cover. They came up, guns pointed at the stairwell.
..........Only to see Rocky. "Geez...don't you guys know how to turn on the lights?" He sniffed the air. "Ehhh...what died in here? Billy must've left something out."
.........."That is one way of looking at it." Mulder muttered. He gestured for Rocky to come closer and showed the kid the body. "This wouldn't happen to be anyone you know, would it? The milkman maybe?"
..........Rocky's eyes bugged out. Up until that moment, he had been treating the whole situation like a typical Lord Zedd scenario. Not that he didn't think Billy wasn't in danger...but the idea that people were trying to kill his friend...and that someone, possibly even Billy, had killed another human being in a place as familiar as the lab.... He checked out the corpse. "No...it's not the milkman...it looks like the guy that was subbing for Mrs. Appleby in advanced physics... I think his name is...was Mr. Temple." Rocky considered his words carefully. "He was new at school...I'd never seen him before... but he seemed okay."
.........."Not the way you'd expect a paid killer to act." Mulder added. He started thinking out loud, ignoring Rocky's shock and Scully's irritation. "They came after him... threatened him maybe, and tried to kill him. He somehow got the better of a trained killer... not that surprising considering his martial arts training."
.........."Um...Agent Mulder," Rocky said hesitantly, "How well do you know Billy, anyhow? I mean, Billy isn't.... bad at karate but... um... he isn't exactly an expert, either." He gestured to the cluttered lab. "That's not really his specialty."
..........Scully shifted through the debris. "He's the team think tank?" Scully had never really thought about the hierarchy of the Rangers... she'd tried to forget the entire episode... but now, she found herself curious. "So, you think it's unlikely that he could've overpowered an armed gunman?"
..........Rocky hesitated. "It would been difficult... but he could've done it. You should never underestimate the strength of the human spirit, Agent Scully."
..........She nodded, slightly amused by the kid's naivete. "I never do. I also never underestimate the strength of a psychotic. Do you know that it's possible for people in the throes of insanity to perform incredible feats of strength?"
.........."Jumping to conclusions, aren't you?" Mulder asked.
.........."Aren't you?" she countered. "Consider Occam's razor. The simplest solution is the most likely to be true. What do we really have here? Some definite evidence that in last few days, Billy Cranston became increasingly paranoid. We have some cigarettes... which for all we know, he may have smoked himself. We have a corpse with a bullet hole. A corpse tentatively identified as the boy's physics teacher...."
.........."Don't you think it was a little odd that the substitute physics teacher was carrying a concealed weapon?" Mulder asked.
.........."It's not against the law."She walked around the body, forming her own scenario." The teacher, Mr. Temple, noticed that one of his top students seemed to be acting odd. He stops by for a visit... not realizing the paranoid delusions of the student were in full force. Billy assumes that it's one of the evil government agents sent to "get him" and reacts violently. In the tussle, he gets the gun, kills the teacher and runs off."
..........Rocky sat down on the stairwell, and tried to think. "There's a problem with that." he said suddenly. "Agent Scully.... Billy wasn't acting really weird... just kinda nervous. You really had to know him to pick up on it... and Mr. Temple was only in school for a day or two. And... even if Mr. Temple had noticed, and was concerned... Remember, Billy came to my house real late, like three in the morning... in a hurry, like he was being chased. If he'd just killed Mr. Temple... then I'd kinda wonder what this teacher was doing at the house that late." He sighed heavily. "I have to admit though... Agent Scully's idea makes a lot more sense.... If that's really what happened, Billy'll end up in jail, won't he?"
..........Both agents were silent. Finally, Mulder spoke. "I'm not convinced that the government isn't involved. This is all too convenient.... and you, Rocky have made some good points. We still have to check out this Temple fellow, and the crime scene up in Washington before I'll change my mind."
.........."And no," added Scully, "he more than likely wouldn't go to jail. If Mulder's right, this never... officially happened. And if I'm right... Billy's age and mental state would probably land him a short stay in a psychiatric hospital."
.........."Which," Mulder said simply, "wouldn't be a bad thing if Scully's right." * * *..........They ended up in the park. They had gone to the school to check on "Mr. Temple," who they quickly discovered, didn't seem to exist. According to the school, there had been no sub called in for advanced physics... the kids had study hall for two days.
..........Mulder didn't like Angel Grove Park. He didn't much like Angel Grove either... the whole place had a creepy feel to it. He was reminded of the old film "Invasion of The Body Snatchers..." all the people in San Martin looked so normal, but there was an underlying feeling of something not right. That was the way Angel Grove made him feel. Mulder fully expected to touch something and find it slime coated.
.........."Well... you guys want lunch?" Rocky asked. At that moment, a horde of Tengu warriors dropped down from the sky. "You guys don't know when to quit!" He took a martial stance, while Mulder and Scully gaped about at their attackers. "Red Ranger Power!"
..........He morphed. Both Scully and Mulder were suitably impressed, but they quickly realized that the kid was badly outnumbered by the purplish giant birds. Scully pulled out her pistol, and nodded to Mulder. "You take the ones on the left, I'll take the right."
..........He grinned. To Rocky he shouted, "Get down!"The kid dove, thinking that the agents were warning him of a sneak attack. In a way, they were. They opened fire. In seconds, the air was filled with pained squawking and purple feathers.
..........Rocky looked around. The ground was littered with dead Tengu, which slowly disintegrated, leaving piles of purple feathers. Mulder stepped from behind the tree where he'd taken cover and nudged one of the piles. "Well," he said to the kid, "You said you wanted lunch... you like white or dark meat?"
.........."None for me," said Scully, in a rare playful mood, "I prefer extra crispy skin."
.........."How very high fat of you, Scully." Mulder retorted.
.........."Are you two through?" Rocky was trying hard to control his anger, but it came through. "You coulda killed me! And there are kids that play here! There's a reason why the cops let us handle these things!" As he lectured them, the other Rangers finally responded to the situation.
.........."Jeez, what happened here?"asked Aisha.
.........."These idiots opened fire!" Rocky said, more to Tommy than to the rest.
.........."Didn't anyone tell you not to?" Adam asked. "We specifically told the police to warn newcomers."
.........."We are not idiots and no, no one mentioned that when attacked by giant birds, it wasn't cool to defend ourselves!" Scully's patience limit had been reached. She grabbed Rocky by his ninjetti outfit and shook him. "You didn't exactly say don't shoot the giant purple birds, Rocky!" She let go, and put a hand to her forehead. "It's this town... it's gotta be this town."
.........."How come she knows your name?" Aisha asked Rocky.
.........."Yeah...." both Kimberly and Adam glared at Rocky.
.........."Uh-oh... guys, believe me, this isn't as bad as it looks." Rocky was going to explain but then remembered his promise to Zordon and Tommy. He looked beseechingly at Tommy.
..........Tommy understood his dilemma. "All right look. We're all," and his gesture encompassed Mulder and Scully, "going to go back to the command center and discuss this...." He noted the FBI agents looks of concern. "This is a team... we shouldn't be keeping secrets."
.........."Well... shouldn't Billy come too?" Adam looked around. "You know, its not like him to not show up."
.........."Really," said Kimberly. "I haven't seen him since Friday, and we were supposed to study together. And where have you been, Rocky?"
.........."Guys...." Tommy took a deep breath and tried to regain his patience, "We'll discuss it at the command center. Let's go." He and Rocky grabbed the FBI agents and they all transported. * * *.........."Now, let me see if I've got all this," Kimberly paced around and command center while the other Rangers and the agents watched with worry. "I was kidnapped by the government, Tommy was shot, and our physics teacher is lying dead in Billy's lab? Have I got this summed up correctly?" Rocky and Tommy nodded. "This just too weird!"
..........Mulder chuckled. "Trust me kid..." and he gestured around the room, "It only gets better."
..........Adam ignored the chatter. He was considering the situation carefully. He knew he didn't have Billy's lightning wit... but with Billy gone, someone had to do the thinking. "You know, I understand why you guys never said anything about this, and I think I understand why Billy didn't want the rest of us involved... I don't understand though, why didn't you two,"and he pointed to the agents,"go to Washington first? Honestly, it seems to me you'd probably find him there, not here." The other rangers nodded.
.........."That's assuming that the government has anything to do with this," Scully said patiently, "And I'm not ready to say that it does for sure."
.........."And," Mulder said, "Let's not kid ourselves. Whatever theory we accept, it doesn't change the fact that Rocky's car was found full of blood and bullet holes. Now, we did call the various hospitals... and morguesÉ to see if Billy turned up. There was nothing. Who ever was responsible, it doesn't matter. The outcome of this is well...."
.........."Potentially disastrous." boomed Zordon. "Rangers, I fear Agent Mulder is correct...you must be prepared for bad news."
.........."So..." Rocky turned to the agents, "when are we going to Washington?"
.........."Yeah." Kimberly added. "Billy's in trouble...we have to help him." The other rangers nodded.
.........."And what if you all get killed?" Scully asked. "Maybe you didn't understand... the odds of Billy even being alive at this point are so low..." She turned to Zordon. "Help me on this."
..........Zordon nodded. "Rangers, I must advise against this. I suggest you allow Agents Mulder and Scully to continue their investigation.If the government was involved, we can be certain that you are all being monitored."
.........."I think one of us should go with them." said Tommy. "I don't think Lord Zedd has picked up on the situation yet, but if he does...."
.........."That would be a wise decision." Zordon eyed the agents until they nodded in agreement.
.........."I'll go." Rocky chimed. "After all, if their watching anyone, it's Tommy and Kimberly. And, maybe they haven't picked up on Adam and Aisha yet... I'm the logical choice."
.........."Are you sure?" asked Tommy.
.........."It's the best way." Rocky said with finality.
.........."Well...ok, but watch your back." Tommy said, while the other rangers nodded. They waited, until Mulder and Scully nodded in defeat.
..........If they hadn't been happy about dragging Rocky along before, they were really not thrilled now. Still, there wasn't really a good reason to say no... even to Mulder it seemed as though the chances of government involvement weren't too high. The odds suggested they'd find Billy Cranston dead in a ditch somewhere. * * *..........The sheriff of Port Lewis was, Mulder realized after a few moments, rather awed by the FBI agents. An unusual attitude. Normally the local authorities resented the presence of FBI investigators, but the roly poly sheriff, Sheriff Dinkins was his name, seemed to be almost exploding with desire to give out information.
.........."Over here," Dinkins led them through the small station, "is the impound area. That's where we put the car." He held the door open and Mulder and Scully stepped out into the lot, with Rocky trailing behind self consciously.
..........The car was the only one in the lot. Riddled with bullets, and with all the windows blown out, the car was totalled. Scully peered into the driver's side. There was dried blood, both on the seat and on the steering wheel. Scully scraped some of it into an evidence bag. "Do you know his blood type?" she asked Rocky.
.........."You mean the blond kid's blood type, right?" said the sheriff. "Well, we never got a chance to get him to a doctor before some of your government friends messed things up."
.........."Excuse me?" Scully was surprised. There had been no mention of finding anyone at the scene. Rocky let a smile cross his face... it was good news...sort of at least.
.........."You're looking for the kid, right?" Dinkins waited until they nodded. "Why?" The sheriff's face grew stony.
.........."He's my friend." Rocky said simply. "And Agent Mulder and Scully agreed to help me and my friends out."
..........The sheriff studied them intently. "So... this isn't an official investigation?"
..........They shook their heads. He smiled. "Good," he said, "because, officially speaking, I didn't find no kid in that car. Why don't you folks come to my office and have a coffee?" * * *..........Dinkin's office was neat but purely functional. No decorations at all, save a small, aging photograph of two little boys, which Mulder assumed were the man's children. They sat, the agents and Rocky on an aging leather couch, and the sheriff behind his desk. Dinkins stared at the photograph for a second, and then turned his attention to his guests.
.........."We got a report of a high speed chase taking place out on the road by the park." he began. "I got out there just in time to see the kid's car spin outa control into a ditch. I pull up by it, and my deputy sees the chase car, a big black Ford 4-door, make a u-turn and peel out of there. We called that in to the other cars but no one caught'em. I see the kid holding his head and go check on him." The sheriff paused. "Must've cracked his head on the wheel... happens a lot even with seat belts. He gets out of the car, sees me, and tries to take off but at least one of them bullets got him. In the leg, not too bad... back in the war, we'd have called it a good wound. So I grab him, ask him what the hell is going on, and he clams up. He wasn't hurt too bad as far as I could tell, so I put him in the backseat of the car to take him to the hospital."
.........."Did he escape?" asked Mulder. That, he thought to himself, would have shown a lot more resourcefulness that Mulder had ever given the kid credit for.
..........The sheriff shook his head."No... he was pretty done in. What happened is that we get a call over the radio from some fed ordering me to bring the kid right to the station. Now, you don't ignore something like that. Now, these guys grab the kid... pretty rough, and throw him in our only cell. I didn't like that, and I told'em so. We go into my office and discuss... if you want to call it that." He snorted in disgust.
.........."Let me guess," Mulder said wryly, "They took over the investigation... it was a matter of national security...."
..........The sheriff nodded. "They told us not to make any records." Dinkins eased back in his chair, musing pensively. "And then, it gets strange. It was late, you know. Dark outside. The government people were in my office, both of them... I didn't put a guard at the kid's cell... it just didn't seem necessary. Anyway, I was arguing with these fellas when the lights went out. The whole town blacked out for about five minutes. When they came back on, I went out to check on the boy... and he was gone. The cell was still locked." The sheriff laughed. "Boy, let me tell you, those government folks weren't too happy. And, I still haven't figured out how the kid did it... in a power outage, the lock automatically clamps down. Same kind they use in big prisons."
.........."So then what happened?" asked Scully.
..........Dinkins waved his hand. "Oh, they looked all over the town, but no kid. I suspect he ran off into the park. Good place to hide, really. The agents... oh, they told us not to say anything...you know the routine."
..........Mulder nodded. "Sheriff, I have two questions for you, if you don't mind."
.........."Go ahead."
.........."First, when the power outage occurred, did you get any calls about strange lights in the sky?" Mulder ignored the glare from Scully.
..........And his hunch was right. "Matter of fact," said Dinkins, "We got about thirty calls complaining about low flying planes, ball lightning, and weird lights. Think it's connected?"
.........."Maybe." Mulder said noncommittally. "My other question is personal." He waited until Dinkins indicated that it was all right. "I assume you were sworn to secrecy. Yet, despite that, you've..."
.........."Spilled everything." Dinkins finished.
.........."Yes." Scully, too, was curious. "You're putting yourself at risk for a teenager who's name you don't even know. Why?"
.........."Two reasons." Dinkins leaned back in his chair. "First, that kid didn't... seem like a threat to national security. I've been a cop for a good long time. You can tell a good kid from a bad one...he was a good kid. And second," He leaned forward and tapped the aging photo. "Those are my two boys. They both died of cancer about six months after that picture was taken. It went through them like wildfire. My doctor said that, when I was in 'Nam, I was exposed to Agent Orange... screwed up my genes, and passed 'em on to my kids. They never had a chance, he said."He looked at the agents."No one ever told me that Agent Orange was dangerous... it was a matter of national secrecy. I find, the older I get, the less important national security means to me." He looked at the photo again, and then at Rocky, "You, son, are about the same age as my youngest would've been. So was your friend. Somehow, I can't believe that the safety of the free world is worth hunting down a seventeen year old like a dog. That reason enough?"
..........Mulder nodded. * * *.........."So, whats with the weird lights, anyhow?" Rocky had to admit, he was struggling to keep up with the information. He wasn't a stupid person, but he knew that sometimes things just didn't click with him. He wasn't dumb, he did fine in school, but he often missed connections that seemed obvious to others. For instance, he could not comprehend what the lights in the sky had to do with the power outage. And just how did Billy get out of the cell, he wondered. Billy was great, he knew, with mechanical stuff, but getting out of that high security cell was the Macgyver move of the century... and Billy was no MacGyver.
.........."Yes, Mulder, what is with the lights?" Scully's tone was sarcastic. She had a pretty good idea what Mulder's theory with the lights entailed, and she was not pleased. The case was already strange enough.
.........."Power outages are often associated with reports of UFO's." Mulder told Rocky, hoping he wouldn't have to explain further... Rocky, he had noticed, wasn't a quick study.
..........Rocky considered. "You mean... you think the UFO's... the aliens... got Billy out of jail." He took a bite out of his hamburger. "That's crazy."
..........Scully raised her eyebrows at Mulder in amusement as she sipped her soda. Mulder decided to press the kid... mostly for his own amusement. Somehow, he didn't think it would be difficult to outmaneuver the kid. "Well, Rocky," he began, "Do you deny the possibility of alien life?"
.........."No." Rocky sensed he was being made fun of. Mulder's tone was like that of a parent to a very young child. It ticked him off. "There's all kinds of alien beings," he lowered his voice so the other patrons of the diner didn't overhear him, "I know... we sometimes work with them when we visit other planets." As Mulder's jaw dropped, Rocky congratulated himself. That'd teach him to tease me, he thought with amusement.
.........."You've... been to other planets?" That little tidbit was not shared out the last time Mulder hooked up with the Angel Grove teens.
.........."A few...." Rocky said nonchalantly, enjoying Mulder's discomfort. "Phadoes, Edenoi... we've met aliens here too. The Bookala. Billy and it really got along well...." His voice trailed off, remembering the reason why he was sitting in a greasy diner in Olympia as opposed to being home.
.........."Do you have proof?" Mulder didn't doubt the kid, but proof would be nice, if just to wave in the face of authority.
.........."Agent Mulder... We don't ask our alien friends for ID." Rocky sipped his soda. "That would be rude."
.........."Really, Mulder... you wouldn't want to be discourteous. Scully covered her smile with her hand.
.........."But seriously..." Rocky continued, "Lights in the sky aside... we're at a dead end, aren't we? I mean, Billy hasn't exactly left a trail of bread crumbs through the forest. Who hangs out in a national park, after all?"
..........Mulder looked up from his burger, a smile flashing across his face. "Who hangs out in parks? Park Rangers." He stood, leaving his lunch half finished. "Let's go." * * *..........The ranger held his Smokey the bear hat in one hand and the photo in his other. "Yeah... I've seen this kid. I think," he qualified. "The kid I saw seemed a little spaced out, if you know what I mean."
.........."Could you be a little more specific?" Scully was patient. She didn't expect a medical diagnosis from the ranger, but his description was a bit vague.
..........The ranger rolled his eyes. "Spaced out... you know. High as a kite. On drugs, maybe. Maybe having a mental disturbance... we get more of that than you'd think. In fact, the last time I saw this kid... he was talking with the local nutcases." The ranger pointed across the parking lot to where three older men were standing, smoking cigarettes around a trash can.
.........."Well, if he didn't seem okay... why didn't you help him?" Rocky was appalled.
..........The ranger scoffed. "I'm not a social worker, kid. I spend most of the day dodging bullets from the loggers and the environmentalists... Your friend wasn't breaking any laws so what could I do? Every time I walked near, he ran off. As long as he wasn't being disruptive, I can't interfere." The ranger donned his hat and walked off.
.........."I don't believe how cold that guy is." Rocky said suddenly.
.........."You don't get out much, do you?" Mulder started walking across the lot to the three men the ranger had pointed out. "Welcome to planet Earth. Sometimes I think you kids live a vacuum where the fifties never ended."
.........."Mulder...." Scully's voice had an edge to it. There came a point where she thought baiting Rocky was simply not funny. Besides, they had work to do... and Rocky, unlike Billy, the only other ranger they'd ever really talked with, seemed easily hurt by Mulder's rudeness. Innocence, she thought to herself, can be a burden sometimes.
..........The men smoking by the trashcan barely glanced at them as they approached. One sociably offered them his flask. They didn't seem, to Mulder, to be particularly crazy. Dirty, yes. Unhealthy, certainly. Suffering from obvious mental illness? He couldn't tell, though he was on his guard. He held out the photo he carried to the men. "The ranger over there said that you men might have seen this boy. Have you?"
.........."Who wants to know?" The tallest one puffed cigarette smoke in Mulder's face.
..........Mulder started reaching for his badge and then stopped. He looked over the men. Older than him, ragged... a sudden show of authority might scare them off. By the furtive glances they were making at the picture, he knew they had at least seen the kid. So, instead of pulling out his ID, he said softly, "It's my son. He ran away. My wife and I," and he pulled the surprised Scully closer, "are worried sick."
..........The three men glanced at each other. Finally, one said, "Yeah... we seen him all right. Real polite he was. Didn't say nothing about running away."
.........."He said the government wanted him for evil alien experiments." said another. "You know, where they get alien scientists to plant electrical devices in humans..."
.........."Don't forget the mutilated cows." said the tallest. "They steal cow organs too. Did you know that?"
.........."We had heard something to that effect." Mulder flowed with it. "Did he mention where he was going?"
..........The three men looked at each other. Then, oddly, they started obviously examining Rocky. Finally, the tall one said, "Look... did you beat him? Cause we saw bruises on his face, and I ain't telling where he said he was going if you're gonna hit him."
.........."Don't forget the burns, man." another said.
.........."Burns?" Rocky asked... but suddenly, as he looked at the smoking men's hands, he flashed back to the night Billy had left. Billy had grabbed him by his pajamas, slammed him into the wall...and on the back of his hands... hadn't there something strange? Dark spots. He hadn't been paying attention and until then, it hadn't registered but he knew then what he had seen. Cigarette burns, like the men standing before him. Except that the burns were on the backs of Billy's hands... Rocky didn't know much about smoking but he did know that burns happened when a person let the cigarette burn down on their fingers. Burns on the back of a hand were... intentional. An ugly thought.
..........Mulder again took the situation in stride. "No, of course not. Look, our son has a condition...epilepsy. He hasn't had his medication in a couple of days now."
.........."We're really worried about him." added Rocky. the three men looked at each other, swayed by Rocky's innocent face.
.........."He was asking about the old caverns." the tall fellow said. "Wanted to know how to get up to 'em. He was real nervous... didn't say why he wanted to go there."
.........."It's awful lonely up there." added the man with the bottle. "Quiet. You can see the stars for miles."
.........."You oughta take better care of your kid, mister." The tall man continued. "He didn't look right."
.........."We'll take that under advisement." Mulder said. * * *..........Scully opened the map over the car hood. "The caverns are located all over Strega Mountain. He could be anywhere." She gestured to the small wooded clearing they had pulled off into. "This can be our base camp."
..........Rocky raised his hand, a habit from school. "Um..., you know, I'm all for searching the woods but... we don't have any food. And, it's cold. I vote we get some supplies before we do this. We won't be doing Billy any good by getting messed up in the woods."
..........Mulder nodded. He was hungry too, and it was cold. He could see that while Rocky was damn anxious about his friend, at the same time he was shaking from the cold. The kid was in the same light windbreaker from before. No gloves on his blue fingers. Mulder himself was feeling the wind's bite. His trenchcoat was not meant for extensive outdoor wear. He also had no gloves. Scully, he noted wryly, was wearing a nice, warming looking parka complete with down filled gloves.
.........."I've got some extra gloves...." Scully pulled out some old ratty gloves but Mulder shook his head.
.........."Look... Scully...why don't you look around for the kid. We'll head back into town, get some supplies and join you." He glanced at his watch. 2pm. "We've got about four hours of daylight... it'll only take us an hour to get in and out with supplies."
.........."Okay." Scully pulled a back pack out of the car's trunk. She pointed to the map. "I'll start looking in this area. We'll meet in, say, three hours?"
.........."Agreed." Mulder motioned for the kid to get in the car, but Rocky hesitated.
.........."Whats in the bag, Agent Scully?" He was simply curious... Agent Scully was a different breed of woman. Most of the females in Rocky's life were like his friends Kimberly and Aisha. Nice but not too serious.
..........Scully gave the kid a smile. "Just some emergency items. A flashlight, matches, an emergency blanket, some candy...a first aid kit." A tranquilizer for your friend if he's still alive... but that she kept to herself. She hoped Rocky didn't have his hopes up. The men at the trashcan had last seen Billy four days ago. Four days in the cold and wet... and who knows what else was wrong with the kid. Add in the car accident, the gunshot wound... in six days Billy Cranston had managed to accumulate more life experience than was really prudent. She figured the kid was probably dead by now. Exposure... or possibly an accident. If they were lucky, they would find the body.
..........Scully waited until they drove off to start climbing up the steep hillside. She was depressed. As a pathologist, she didn't mind corpses... she just didn't like having to hunt them down herself. * * *.........."Yeah mom, I'm fine." Mulder listened for a second to Rocky's conversation and then went into the general store. He figured the kid would be fine for a few seconds without his supervision.
..........He grabbed some sandwiches from the deli and some soda. After a moments thought, he added in a bag of sunflower seeds. It could be a long search, after all. As he went up to the counter, he glanced at the newspaper rack. On the front page was a picture of Billy Cranston.
..........He grabbed the paper and scanned the story. Evidently, Ward and June were more conscientious about leaving the Beaver home alone than he had given credit for. According to the paper, they had gotten concerned when they failed to reach their son on the phone after trying several times. They had a neighbor check on the house. The neighbor had found an unidentified dead man in the basement. The police were theorizing that it was some sort of kidnapping or perhaps a burglary gone bad. They believed that the Cranston boy was being held by the burglars/kidnappers and were asking police in surrounding states to be on the lookout. It was, Mulder realized, a very nice cover story.
..........He bought the paper along with the supplies and went out to grab Rocky. The kid was sitting, slumped over in the phone booth. Mulder thought nothing of it... the kid was tired. So was he. Then, he saw the broken glass at the kid's feet. He dropped the bag of groceries and ran to the booth.
..........Rocky was out cold. Mulder quickly checked him over. It looked as though someone had snuck up behind the boy and slammed his head into the glass wall. And, what was this? An envelope addressed to "Agent Mulder" pinned to the kid's jacket. Lovely, Mulder thought as he opened the envelope... Federal Express does muggings now.
..........There was just a brief message. Wait by your motel room phone. How cryptic, Mulder thought to himself. He looked at the boy, still unconscious. Scully would be all right for a while. She'd have to understand. * * *..........Scully cursed as she slipped on a moss covered rock. The ground was damp and there was a light mist in the air. She considered turning around but decided against it.
..........The truth was that there were obvious signs that someone had been through the area recently. Bark torn off of trees... footprints by a stream. A fire pit, soaking wet true, but again, with footprints around it. She still hadn't found the caves the men had spoken of. More importantly, she had that creepy, tingling fear that someone could see her.
..........She looked up ahead. Through the trees, she could see a clearing... and a dark cave opening. Aha, she thought. She glanced at her watch. Her three hours was almost up. Oh well, Mulder would understand.
..........Stepping carefully around the boulders, she spied a flat patch of ground. Grateful for even a few steps of easy footing, she went for it, not noticing how laid out the whole area was. Until she plunged ten feet down.
.........."Ahh!" she shrieked in surprise. A pit trap, of all things. She wiped herself off and looked up. She heard rustling above her. She tensed.
..........A ghostlike blond haired wraith peered over the edge. "Hey... you're not the sasquatch."
.........."Billy?" She looked closer. In the waning light, it was hard to tell... but she was pretty sure. After all, who else would be out in the woods?
.........."Agent Scully... what are you doing in my sasquatch trap?" The wraith was irritated. She held out her hands in a gesture of peace. There was no telling what sort of mental state he was in... whoever it was. She was pretty sure but... and even if it was Billy, he was armed at last check.
.........."Billy...." she said hesitantly.
.........."That is no longer my name." said the wraith in a low growl. "I've transcended to a higher plane of existence." She heard the click of a gun safety flicking off. Uh oh.
.........."I'm sorry." she said quickly. "I didn't know. I didn't mean to offend you." She waited a moment until she saw the barely visible shock of blonde hair nod in acceptance. "So... what should I call you?"
..........There was a long pause. "Well...." he said thoughtfully. "My spiritual name, I've discovered, is Ten Sticks... but for you to use it would suggest a certain degree of familiarity that is not appropriate at this juncture." His vocabulary hadn't suffered, Scully noted. "You may call me... Will."
.........."Will?"
.........."Like Will Riker on Star Trek." He paused again. "Did the aliens send you? Or did Rocky completely disregard everything I told him? Everyone is against me, you know."
..........Oh boy.... someone was having a serious break with reality. Paranoia, hallucinations.... She squinted in the darkness. Sure enough, she spotted dark bruises on the kid's face. The steering wheel, she recalled, a head injury... a bizarre stressful situation to begin with. "Will... I just want to help."
.........."Oh right." he growled. "You all lie. I believed you and Agent Mulder when you said you weren't going to tell about us... but what was the first thing that physics teacher asked me? Who are the new rangers, that's what! Well, I didn't tell, even they were lighting cigarettes and putting them out on my hands!"
..........Scully kept her hands where the kid could see them. She made no sudden moves. The first thing to do, she thought to herself, was get out of the pit. Then, maybe I can get him to take a Valium or two. "Will... I didn't even know there were new rangers until your friend Rocky told me."
.........."You know, it's becoming obvious that Rocky can't keep a secret." In the growing darkness, she could barely see him standing over the pit. "Well, are you going to stay there? I really doubt the sasquatch is going to walk into an already filled trap, you know."
.........."The sasquatch?"
.........."You know... the sasquatch. I think he lives with the giant and the dwarf."
.........."And you want to catch him?" Scully realized as she pulled herself out of the pit that Billy was keeping the gun on her. Nice and slow... always remember that he's not rational right now.
.........."Yes." He waved her out ahead of him and pointed towards the cave. She noticed that he didn't bother covering up the pit. She decided not to mention it. They started walking to the cave. He continued with. "The aliens are afraid of the sasquatch."
.........."The aliens?" The kid was beginning to sound like Mulder.
.........."You know...the aliens. The ones with the needles." The kid shuddered. "There were a lot of needles... and bright lights... and the cigarettes... Agent Scully, there was blood everywhere. Even on me."
..........Well, Scully thought with something akin to horror, if Billy Cranston hadn't been a good candidate for a nervous breakdown before, he certainly had the inside track now. * * *..........Mulder sat by the phone, chewing on seeds and keeping a close eye on his young companion. Rocky, upon coming to, had been "worshipping the porcelain god" so to speak for well over an hour. Ordinarily, Mulder would've taken the kid right to a hospital but he had a feeling that this case was different. Besides, he had to wait by the phone. That was what was important. Rocky would live.
..........Rocky staggered out of the bathroom and crawled onto the nearest bed. He curled up around a pillow. He wanted to cry... his head was hurting that badly. Agent Mulder had made an icepack for him but it wasn't helping. He groaned and closed his eyes.
..........Mulder shook him. "Don't go to sleep. Here... have a seed."
..........Rocky looked at the bag of salty, oily seeds and cringed away. He never wanted to see food again. He was getting to the point that he didn't care if he ever saw Billy again either. Stupid Billy... why couldn't he share his problems the way every one else did. Jerk... ruining Spring Break for everyone...causing him to get stuck in a hotel room with a grade A flake like Mulder. He scowled at the FBI agent.
..........Mulder ignored it. He was not there to mother the kid. He wanted the phone to ring. And, he admitted to himself, he was a little worried about Scully. It was getting dark. The park was fairly remote. But then, Scully wasn't a child... she'd understand.
.......... The phone rang. He picked it up.
.........."Agent Mulder... how good to hear from you." There was a long, audible drag. Mulder could almost smell the smoke. "I had no idea you were a player in this game too."
.........."Where is the Cranston boy?" Mulder didn't want to play games.
..........A low chuckle. "We have him under surveillance. I'll be up front, Agent Mulder... William Cranston is a secondary concern. For a variety of reasons, I find him to be... unsatisfactory."
.........."What? Didn't like the way he killed your hired thug?" Mulder said coldly. Dealing with the Smoking Man always got his temper up.
.........."The only concern you need to have is with me, Agent Mulder. Understand this..."Another long drag. "The boy will be killed if we do not come to an agreement, as will your partner."
.........."You've got Scully?" The bastard...
.........."My organization has need of...certain skills. Skills that Mr. Cranston, amongst others, posses. My first choice was the Cranston boy... circumstances have changed my mind. The boy in your hotel room... which is it? Jason Scott or Rockwell DeSantos?"
.........."None of your damn business."
.........."Agent Mulder... put the boy on the line." There was another long drag. "Now... before I give my man orders to open fire."
..........Mulder hesitated. He didn't like the implications. The voice on the phone was going to try making a deal with Rocky. Rocky, while not exactly a half-wit, was also not exactly an experienced negotiator. Mulder could almost see Rocky trading a cow for magic beans. But... there was really no choice. He handed Rocky the phone. "Someone wants to talk to you."
..........Rocky took the phone. "Hello?" Mulder watched as the boy frowned. "No, I'm sorry... but that would be unacceptable. Yes, in this situation... I do have the authority to make this decision. No, it would be the same from any of us... I wouldn't bother trying that." A long pause. "I'm sorry you feel that's necessary... but I think you're underestimating Agent Scully. Its obvious you underestimated Billy." Another long pause. "Yes, you've underestimated Agent Mulder and me too." Mulder was starting get impatient but then Rocky abruptly hung up the phone.
.........."Well?" Mulder asked. He didn't like the pale shade of grey Rocky was turning.
.........."He said... he said...." Rocky's knees gave out and he sat down heavily on the bed. "He said that if the Power Rangers didn't take assignments from his organization... he'd have Billy killed. Agent Scully too. I said no... We can't do that sort of thing, Agent Mulder. It's wrong."
..........Mulder heard the horror in Rocky's voice. The kid was honestly appalled at the idea of working for a bad government organization. The kid was also rather obviously repulsed by his own actions. "You did the right thing, Rocky."
.........."Yes." Rocky said flatly. "But that doesn't help us, does it?"
..........Mulder grabbed his jacket. "You feel up to a hike?" Rocky nodded. "Good. We're going back to the park. That's where we left Scully.... and that must be where Billy is." * * *..........Scully looked at the cave walls and wondered just what was going on in Billy's head. A large portion of the space was given over to mathematical scrawls. Her education had been in physics - she understood some of the basic concepts that Billy had started with, but... She traced some letters with her hand in awe. If she understood the math correctly, while digging sasquatch traps and waiting for the aliens, Billy Cranston had apparently solved the problems with time travel and matter transport. She knew the kid was bright... but this was stark evidence. She wondered if the government had any idea just what they were dealing with.
..........Probably not. She remembered the kid from her prior encounter. A nice kid, a kid that didn't understand why the government didn't just ask for his ideas. Exactly the type of kid that civics teachers drooled over. And exactly the naive, wholesome sort that was attracted to government service like moths to a streetlight. He'd probably volunteer his services if asked. She didn't understand what the instigators of the whole weird scenario were trying to prove.
..........The rest of the wall space was taken up with a rambling flowchart detailing exactly how to build an interstellar space vehicle, including a detailed plan of the ship and an extensive star chart with labeled destinations and distances. She was boggled.
..........There was nothing else in the cave, she noted. No blankets, or food... or remains of food. No wrappers or cans.... she wondered. Exposure, coupled with a lack of food, could be causing a lot of the problem. Starvation was known to cause hallucinations... maybe the kid was not completely gone.
.........."Will..." she said hesitantly. "What have you been eating up here?"
..........The kid looked away from the wall he'd been staring at. "I've transcended the need to eat." He paused. "And... there isn't very much to eat around here."
..........Score one for the no food theory. Taking in the kid's physical state, she made another guess. "Have you transcended the need for sleep too?" Lack of sleep was a known cause of temporary mental illness.
..........He nodded. "The aliens come when I sleep." He shivered and Scully could see fear on his face. "I can't sleep. They'll get me. Or the sasquatch will.... Everyone is after me."
..........That was a subject she wasn't sure it was wise to get into. Depending on his delusions, he could easily lump her into the category of everyone. Still... gun or no gun, she was curious. She leaned up against a wall and sat down. "So..." she said softly, "Do you know how you got here, Will?"
..........He sat down near the entrance of the cave, keeping the gun up and constantly glancing out into the growing darkness. "It was an accident...." His voice was shaky. "I didn't mean to kill him... he was trying to shoot me... the gun got twisted around...."
.........."I'm sure...." Scully waited. She wasn't a psychologist... but she had dealt with the unstable before. And the kid's words were the first bit of good news she'd had on the case. Self defense.
.........."I had to leave. I had to protect everyone."
..........Whatever psychiatrist ended up with Billy as a patient, mused Scully, was going to have a real hard time separating what was real and what was fantasy. "Will... what happened to Rocky's car?" A fairly safe topic, she thought.
..........The kid flinched. "Rocky is going to be so mad. The government guys shot up the car. They threw me in jail... they said they were gonna kill me... Do you think Rocky will be mad? I didn't mean to wreck the car...."
.........."Probably not. He's been worried about you." She tried to sound reassuring. "How did you get here?"
.........."The aliens...." The kid shook even more. "But they said not to tell anyone about that." From the way the boy was trembling, that little message had been quite emphatic. "It's pretty cold...."
.........."Yes." Scully agreed. "I have some matches. I could start a fire..." As she reached for her bag, the kid raised the gun.
.........."Don't." His hands were shaking, but Scully knew that at that range, the bullet would kill her.
..........She let go of the bag. "Okay, Will...."
.........."Why are you calling me Will? My name is Billy, Agent Scully." The gun lowered a bit as he stared blankly at her. The level of confusion the kid was in was written on his face. In a way, Scully was deeply relived. Unstable at the moment, yes, but there didn't seem to be anything wrong with Billy Cranston that food, sleep and reassurance wouldn't cure. Of course, getting him to calm down and go with her to a hospital was probably not going to be easy.
.........."I'm sorry. Billy, why don't you want a fire?" She was cold and she didn't understand.
.........."The sasquatch will find us." He turned away and stared out into the falling darkness. "It's a mean sasquatch, Agent Scully."
.........."Mean?"
.........."Angry... dark... No fire..." From the terror on the kid's face, she decided to go along with it. Besides, if he passed out from the cold, her job got much easier. He was just about nodding off anyway.
..........From outside, there was a sudden noise. The kid jumped up, pistol in hand. Scully felt sorry for the hapless forest creature that'd come too close.
.........."Don't come any closer!" The kid grabbed at his chest suddenly and dropped to his knees. As Scully watched, he pulled what looked like a tranquilizer dart out of his chest. He held it up, looking at it in abject horror. "I... Agent Scully... they're coming for me." His eyes rolled back in his head and he fell backward.
..........Scully pulled her own gun out and reached over to check the kid's pulse. He wasn't dead, though his breathing was getting shallow. She picked up the dart. No make or identification... though she didn't really expect to see "U.S. Evil Organization" embossed on its side.
.........."Not bad, eh?"
..........Scully jumped at the low raspy voice. Standing before her was a large, black clad burly man holding a trank gun casually in one hand and a 9mm pistol in the other. The guy was a huge specimen of a human being, almost as broad as he was tall, and he was tall. And with the hairy hands and face, all that Scully could see, the whole sasquatch fantasy suddenly made sense to her.
.........."Damn kid." The burly man nudged the boy with his toe. "Never sits still. Let me tell you, I've had so many shots ruined because of this kid's hyperness. And those damn pit traps...."
.........."Must've been inconvenient." Scully muttered.
.........."Hey look, it's nothing personal, but I have to kill you both." The burly guy raised his weapon. "I have orders...."
..........This was, Scully thought, almost exactly her worst nightmare of her own death. Trapped in a cave in the woods with a near psychotic genius teen and being shot by a ape-like government thug. She looked around for some sort of exit. There was none. She briefly entertained the idea of trying to disarm the thug or use her weapon but it was really impossible.
.........."I'm really sorry about this." The thug slowly took aim on the boy. Suddenly, a red splotch appeared on his chest. His face took on a surprised countenance and blood dribbled out of his mouth. He fell to the ground.
.........."My apologies, Agent Scully." A tall distinguished looking black man stepped into view. None other than Mulder's mysterious informant. "I was hoping to take care of this before you were threatened. Is the boy alive?"
.........."Yes...." Scully leaned over Billy protectively. "What are you going to do?"
..........Mr. X held out a cell phone. "I was thinking of calling an ambulance
.........."An ambulance?" That was a surprise.
.........."Or perhaps a rescue unit... the terrain is a bit rough." Mr. X casually waited for some sort of response. When he got none, he said. "Agent Scully... I'm not the enemy here. Neither is my organization."
..........The pointed way he spoke of his organization got Scully wondering. "Your organization.... this wasn't your work?"
..........Mr. X rolled his eyes in disgust. "Agent Scully, we serve the United States government. Anything that threatens its security threatens us... and anyone that defends the United States from possible invasion does not deserve the barbaric treatment that young Mr. Cranston has been subjected too."
.........."Then you know about the Power Rangers...." Scully was more than surprised, she was shocked.
.........."Most of the key decision makers in this country have been briefed on the Angel Grove situation." Mr. X allowed. "My organization's interest in Mr. Cranston has been put on hold until that situation is resolved. Once that resolution occurs, we were planning on recruiting him in the usual manner."
.........."Oh really?" Scully said, "And that is what? Clubbing him over the head?"
..........Mr. X frowned darkly. "No. Someone with his potential would be offered educational opportunities through the government. A little gentle prodding, coupled with some perks, and William Cranston will volunteer his services to us. That is the way we prefer to do our recruiting. No one stays with us against their will. We like our people happy, and we could make William Cranston very happy. But not until the Angel Grove situation is resolved."
..........His words made a great deal of sense to her. She had been wondering why the government was being so... brutal about the whole business. "Look... if you're not behind this... then whats going on?" She nudged the unconscious boy's body with her toe. "Who's behind this? And why?"
..........Mr. X sighed. "My organization has what we call'finder's rights' to Mr. Cranston and... others. Some members of more international organizations became upset and employ their own recruitment methods... crude as they are. When Mr. Cranston proved too difficult...."
.........."He was used as bait for the others...." Scully said slowly.
.........."It didn't work, of course." Mr. X added. "Our intelligence already discerned that, but... others needed to find out themselves. There are a rare few people in this world that can't be bought or threatened. Inconvenient, but it can be dealt with if you have patency. I have patience." In the background, Scully could hear Mulder and Rocky shouting. She turned and looked. Sure enough, Mulder and Rocky were blazing a trail with flashlights.
.........."So... now what?" She turned back to Mr. X, only to find him gone. Figures, she thought to herself as Rocky and Mulder found the cave. * * *.........."So you really don't remember trashing my car?" Rocky asked.
..........From his hospital bed, Billy shook his head. "Honestly Rocky, I don't even remember asking for your car. This whole thing is so fuzzy. I'm just glad its over."
.........."And hopefully," Scully added, "These shadowy government organizations have reconsidered their... interest." Both Billy and Rocky nodded along.
..........Mulder stepped around the hospital bed. "I have a few questions...."
.........."Okay..." Billy said hesitantly, "But I really don't recall very much."
..........Mulder didn't expect to get much from the kid. From Scully's tale of paranoid hallucinations and from talking to the doctor, they were probably lucky the kid could say his name, let alone account for all the missing time. Still, he had to try. "Do you remember being locked up by some government agents?" he asked. The kid nodded hesitantly. Despite Scully's warning look, he pressed on. "You were in a high security jail cell...but you got out. How did you do it?" Mulder waited. Between the sheriff's testimony and the boy's ranting, he had a theory.
..........A theory Scully didn't approve of. She gave him a disapproving look. But, as she watched Billy obviously struggle to think of an answer, she had a feeling that the question was not going to be answered.
..........She was right. "I really don't know, Agent Mulder." Billy's voice was apologectic. "I remember getting thrown in there and one of the guys was saying they were going to kill me... then it gets all blurry. I remember a white light... then I remember waking up in a ditch."
.........."Weird...." Rocky added, "But at least you're ok. That's what's important." Both boys nodded.
..........Mulder gave up. He and Scully walked out into the hallway and he threw up his hands in frustration. "Dammit Scully! I know something happened."
..........Scully sighed. "Mulder... the electrical interference the sheriff described could have caused a power outage. The locks failed. The boy escaped."
.........."It could have been extraterrestrials." Mulder insisted.
.........."Yes, it could." Scully agreed. "But there's no proof, and your witness can't remember where he was for a period of six days. Even if he gave you an eyewitness account of how he was abducted, I would question it simply because he wasn't rational. Mulder, let it go." She walked off.
..........Mulder sighed. He would let it go... for now. In he back of his mind though, he knew something had happened. Something important.

Disappearing Act A Sequel to "Missing" by Stephanie Moffett

End

Disappearing Act
A Sequel to "Missing"
by Stephanie Moffett