Alias Mars

An Alias/Veronica Mars crossover

By Michael Weyer

Alias owned by ABC, Veronica Mars owned by UPN. Don't sue me, I've got nothing to give.

As a major fan of both shows, this stuck in my head and I just couldn't get rid of it. This is my take on the truth of the bus crash so don't be surprised by how it differs from the show.

For Veronica, it takes place just before the election and before Wallace's dad shows up. Now, because of the two-year jump in the "Alias" timeline, 2005 would be the fourth season where Vaughn is still alive (Yay!).

Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 1: The Calm Before the Plunge

Picking up the phone on the third ring, Veronica Mars spoke into it. "Hello, Mars Investigations, how may I direct your call?"

"What's with the formal tone?" Keith Mars' voice came on the other end.

"Oh, just practicing," his daughter said as she leaned back in the chair inside her father's office. "You know my ultimate plan is to become the next Carolyn Kepcher."

"Honey, you know I don't like 'The Apprentice.'"

"Well, no one does anymore so you're not alone. So, how's San Diego?"

"Dry and cool."

"Ah, just like the martini I'm drinking now. Any luck with the rundown?"

"Don't say 'rundown.' It reminds me of that movie you rented with that wrestler that I didn't like."

"Philistine."

"Anyway, hope to have this guy tracked down by tonight, be back sometime tomorrow. How's things over there?"

"School is still normal, in the tenth circle of hell kind of way. Substitute French teacher who's apparantly the oh-la-la among the bimbo set. Oh and new clerk in the office who seems wrong for the job."

"Getting outside high school, any other important matters?"

"Ah, nothing too major. Car accident, robbery, a suicide but nothing too hectic."

"All that in one week? Boy, get fired as sherrif and the whole town falls apart."

After chuckling, Keith went on. "Staying out of trouble?"

"You know me."

"Then the answer's no. What are you getting into now, Veronica?"

"Nothing major. Some hacker's trying to get into the school system and fix some grades, probably for cash. So, figure I'll track it down."

"And what are you getting out of this?"

"An everlasting place in the yearbook?"

"Try again."

"Leeway for having to cut geometry for a stakeout last month?"

"That's my girl. I'll call back soon. Love ya."

"Love you too, Dad," Veronica said as she hung up. She perused the folder before her. It was one she had been checking on for some time now. It was the file on all the information about the bus crash. Veronica was almost sure that she was the target, that it was the work of Aaron Echolls. That all those people died because of her lay a guilt trip on Veronica worse than anything she could imagine. She needed to know the truth and nothing would stop her from getting it.

Neptune High was your typical high school, with its class status and the way teens ran with their own packs. It took a lot to be an outsider but Veronica managed it quite well. Truth to tell, it was starting to bother her a lot less than it once did. It wasn't like she missed that much of that life to be honest, aside from Lilly of course. And it wasn't like she was totally alone here.

"Hey, Nancy Drew!" Wallace said as he came up to her.

Veronica rolled her eyes. "Wallace, how many times do I have to tell you…"

"Hey, soon as they come out with another teenage slueth on TV, that's the best name," the black teen replied. "So what's up with the Miss Marple gig?"

Veronica stared at him. "I don't know what's more amazing: that you read Agatha Christie or you're comparing me to a sixty-year old Englishwoman."

"Seriously, what's on the clock today?"

"Classes, then checking with Mac on that computer lead," Veronica replied as she came to her locker. "But first, I need to check in with the office, the usual paper delivery."

"And they say detective's lives are dull."

"'Charlie's Angels' has nothing on me," Veronica said as she walked toward the office.

"Hello?" Veronica said as she came up to the desk. "I'm Veronica Mars. I was supposed to pick up some standarized test forms?"

The woman behind the desk looked up. She was in her late twenties and obviously very beautiful even dressed down with glasses set on her nose. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore a drab black dress with heels. She made a goofy smile at Veronica. "Oh, yeah, I remember you," she said in a slightly ditzy tone. "I'm Sherry."

"Right," Veronica said, not wanting to spend too much time with the woman. "So, ah, the tests?"

"Oh, oh, right!" Sherry spent a few moments rummaging through the desk, pushing aside piles of papers and notes. As Veronica waited, she saw the substitue French teacher on the other side of the office, going over some files. She had to admit, he was a babe: Same age as Sherry with short dark hair, strong features and a nice body clad in slacks and a dark golf shirt. Hmmm….maybe I outghta check out French after all.

"Okay, here we go!" Sherry called out as she pulled out a folder, knocking over a shelf of papers in the process. "Oh, geez! I'm sorry, such a butterfingers…"

"Hey, no foul," Veronica said, taking the folder. "Good luck with the job." She turned to march out of the office and thus missed how Sherry was gazing after her with a look of intelligence that belied her demeanor.

Being an ace student was pretty much a prerequiste if one wanted to be a detective. With her keen memory and reading skills, Veronica was able to balance her studies with her investigative work and used her class time to mull over her current cases.

A wise investigator, her father was fond of telling her, always knew their limitations. Which was what brought Veronica to the computer lab after school to meet up with her unoffical tech support expert. "Hey, Mac."

Mac smiled at Veronica. She was a pretty but shy girl with long brown hair streaked with blue and wore black jeans and shirt with a jacket thrown to one side. She was seated before a computer, tapping away at the keys. "Hey, Veronica. I've been going over the system and…well…something's not right."

"You find the hacker?" Veronica asked as she came over.

"Huh? Oh, sure, that was no problem," Mac said with a wave of her hand. "No, I found something else inside the system that shouldn't be there."

"Okay," Veronica frowned as she sat next to her. "What is it? And remember, while I'm good with internet searches and photoshop, I've got a low tech-savvy level."

Mac pointed at the screen. "Okay, to keep it simple, it looks like someone's ingrained a new program deep inside the system. It's quiet now but seems ready to be activated at a certain command from another server. It's connected all over the school and the administration's system as well."

Veronica rubbed her chin. "Hmm…weird."

"That's not all," Mac said. She typed a couple of keys and brought up what looked like some sort of map of Neptune. Another tap and a bright red line went from the school to a small building in the town's center. "This is where I've narrowed down where the signal is originating from."

Veronica nodded. "Well, then. Looks like I'm going signal hunting."

"Do you want me to go with?" Mac asked. "You might need some help with the technical stuff."

Veronica paused. "I don't know. I'm usually better on my own."

"Aw, come on!" Mac whined. "I really have nothing else going on in my life, you know. This is the most excitement I get without having to play EverQuest online."

Veronica paused to think about it. On the one hand, bringing along someone with so little experience in detective work could be dangerous. On the other hand, it might actually help to spread out the work a bit. "Okay, then. Bring up the laptop and let's go to town."

Neptune was not exactly a high criminal area, despite what Veronica had seen in her many cases. Thus lock-picking the rear of the ramshackle store wasn't a hard task. She unlocked the back and slowly swung it open. She smiled at Mac as she pocketed her small lockpick device. "My favorite Christmas present."

"Wow, this is exciting," Mac said as they entered. "I feel like a spy here."

"Detectives are cooler," Veronica said as she took out a small penlight and turned it on. "We have to get by on smarts alone and not rely on ass-kicking." She carefully stepped around, her tennis shoes squeaking a bit on the floorboards. She swept the penlight around and nodded. "Hmm…for an abandoned store that hasn't been rented out in nearly four months, the dust factor is quite light."

"No spiders? Good, I don't like spiders that much," Mac stated as she did her best to emulate Veronica's slow stalking motions. The penlight swept over to a table at the rear and stopped. "Well, well," Veronica stated. "Looks like the jackpot, she is found."

"Wow," Mac whispered. She moved up, brushing past Veronica and to the table. Lying on it was a large and quite advanced computer system with a large monitor and three laptops, a laser printer and some large box-shaped devices. Veronica didn't know too much about the system but evidentally Mac did.

"Oh, wow," Mac repeated as she circled the table. Her fingers reached out, grazing the computer almost revelantly. "This is…oh, man, this is stuff that shouldn't even be out yet! Seriously, this is a system way beyond what's available! Believe me, I've looked!"

Here we see the geek female in her habitat. Veronica gazed carefully at Mac. "Um, Mac, I think you're drooling."

Mac instinctively wiped her mouth. "Oh, sorry. I just can't believe someone's got something so advanced in a place like this." She pulled back the chair and sat down, moving to the keyboard.

"Ah, Mac, maybe we should hold back a bit…" Veronica started but Mac was already typing on the keys. Veronica sighed. What should I expect? It's like putting Brando before a buffet or Logan before the Sports Illustrated bikini issue. She watched as Mac brought up a screen and typed a few commands. A slew of information flew before her. "So what are we looking at?"

Mac typed on the screen more. "Well, this is definitely the source of that signal. Now I just need to figure out what it is."

Veronica nodded and backed up. "Ok…I'll go hunting for anything that could indicate who owns this place." She turned and swept her penlight around again. Either someone is opening the most low-key computer café of all time or there is some sinister shannigangs going on in Neptune. All she could see was clean floors and no signs of anyone being around recently. "Any luck?" she called over her shoulder.

"I'm trying," Mac said. "Someone's got some big time blocks here, it's taking a bit to-----" Her voice suddenly caught off with a sharp gasp.

"Mac?" Veronica whirled around to see Mac slumped over the keyboard. "Mac! What's wrong!" She moved forward and had taken two steps when she felt a sharp pain in her neck. She yelped and reached up, her fingers brushing on some sort of small protrusion on her neck.

Before she could realize what it was, Veronica felt a wave of exhaustion coming over her, the strength flowing from her body. Her knees gave way and she felt herself falling, both physically and into a deep black hole. She was already asleep by the time she hit the floor and knew nothing else.