Okay, so I recently watched the new season of Mystery Science Theater 3000 on Netflix... and I have to say, it was pretty good, a return to form! Invention Exchanges returned, the bots are as good as ever (though Tom Servo's new voice had to take some getting used to), and the riffing was top quality! So, I have to say, for fans of the old MST3k, I would recommend checking out the new season on Netflix! Why bring up MST3k, you ask? Well... I had an idea for a one-shot based around the new season, and I knew it had to be written down! Just a warning, there will be spoilers for those that haven't seen the season all the way through. Anyway, enjoy!
It was another day inside the laboratory known as Moon 13. Inside the lab, a man, known as TV's Son of TV's Frank... or 'Max', as that was his real name... was sitting alone, looking up into the roof. He didn't understand just why Kinga Forrester would find interest in someone like Jonah, the test subject for the reopening of the experiment. He sighed as he looked down, feeling very conflicted.
Max was willing to work for Kinga very much, but sometimes, he felt like she didn't appreciate the work he does for her. But ever since Kinga had tricked the robots (somehow) into entering back into a rebuilt Satellite of Love, coming across a test subject was pretty tough. Mike Nelson had escaped Kinga's wrath and wasn't seen since then, and Joel Robinson was still working in Osseo, so she figured it was time for a new test subject... and lo and behold, it came in the form of a Gizmonic Institute employee, known as Jonah Heston. And Max had to admit, at first, hanging with Kinga was pretty fun, even if he insisted on being called 'TV's Son of TV's Frank'.
But she didn't want to play along with it, she preferred to call him by his real name. Which, Max thought it was fine. But, when he heard that she had a plan to marry Jonah to 'boost ratings' (despite the fact that the channel they were doing this on didn't have 'ratings'), he felt jealous and always wondered why Kinga was NOW taking an interest in someone like 'her test subject'. Wouldn't the guy who worked alongside her and agreed with her every motive be a much better match?
Even now, he wasn't quite sure if Kinga REALIZED that he liked liked her, but the matter of his crush wasn't important. So, when the wedding came in, he figured he'd show how tough he really is (thanks to a little help from a certain visitor)... and unfortunately, it didn't end quite so good... Jonah had been eaten by Reptilicus Metallicus, and thus the experiment was left without a human test subject. Naturally, it upset Kinga, that she didn't even want to talk to Max.
It was at this moment Max knew that he had screwed up. He had spent a few days since then trying to monitor the inside of Reptilicus Metallicus, trying to find a way to get him out so that Kinga would be happy once again that she got a test subject. He groaned as he knocked his head.
"MAX!"
Max jumped as he turned to see the object of his affections walking inside. Max smiled nervously as he said, "Ah, Kinga... I'm close to finding our test subject. He'll be out in no time so we can put him back on the Satellite!"
Kinga glared at him as she said, "You better! I still can't believe you ruined my wedding AND experiment! Just... just why, Max?"
Max looked up at Kinga nervously. "W-well..." Max felt conflicted. He wanted to tell her that he liked her, but he felt that if he told her that, he would be fired. But how could he try to convince her without saying the truth. "Y-you see..."
"I'm waiting!" Kinga crossed her arms.
"W-well... it... it was Doug McClure's fault!" Max said nervously. "He told me to prove myself to be a threat, and you didn't really appreciate me lately, and I just wanted to prove myself..."
"By KILLING my test subject?" Kinga growled.
"It wasn't my intention, really! I was just trying to prove that you can't marry Jonah because he wasn't the right guy for you." Max said nervously.
Kinga paused. "Why?"
"Well... think about it. Your father and grandmother never got THAT attached to their subjects when they were doing the experiment. And I'm sure your father would have been VERY disappointed in you if you went and married the subject you were torturing." Max winced as if ready to be punched.
Kinga looked at Max... before pausing. "Do you really think that?"
Max paused. "Well, from what I've been told, your grandmother NEVER gave your father the appreciation he deserved, even when she was living with him for a short time. I mean, didn't you tell me that she smothered him with a pillow after getting a 'second chance of doing it right'?"
Kinga sighed. "I know my grandmother wasn't exactly someone who liked my father... and most certainly wasn't TOO fond of me... at least until the failed wedding... but regardless... I guess I was trying to make her and Dad proud."
Max nodded. "Exactly. But you know... you are different from your family in a way. You just want money. They wanted to rule the world."
"And I do intend on ruling it... I'm just doing it in a... "fair" way." Kinga said.
"Really?" Max raised an eyebrow.
Kinga paused. "I suppose so... I mean, I still have a crush on Jonah... but you know, living with him... ergh, it wouldn't be fun. I mean, I would have to visit the satellite all the time, and... man, I almost lost myself back there, didn't I?"
Max nodded as Kinga looked over at him. "You know, Max, despite the many times you say you're related to my father's assistant... I guess you're not... too bad."
"Thanks, Kinga. That means a lot to me." Max said as he looked back towards the screen.
"By the way... when Jonah comes out... tell me so that I can tell him that the marriage is off, but he's still my test subject!" Kinga said. "Pardon me, but I need to check on the robots up in the satellite. Last I heard, the red robot was about to do a ski trick."
As Kinga left, Max looked over at Kinga... then gave a smile as he turned back to the monitor. It may not have been a 'I forgive you', but it was a slow start... and it gave him more determination to find Jonah and get him out of the body of Reptilicus Metallicus!
And with that, this one shot is going to come to an end! How did you guys like it? It's been a while since I wrote anything MST3k related, but overall, I'm glad I was able to get this done! Anyway, thank you all for reading, and have a wonderful day!
