Summary: The suit takes on a mind of its own when Ralph is injured in a car wreck, causing surprises for him, Bill and Pam. Rated T for violence, language, some mild adult situations. Dedicated to HD and Lone Wolfette for helping me with the nuances in the story.
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It was a warm spring morning as a tan sedan carrying two passengers rolled along the road. Bill was driving home from the desert after an early morning working out suit scenarios with Ralph. He glanced at the younger man, who was sitting on the passenger side taking a nap. Bill didn't disturb him as he knew Ralph needed to stay awake when he got to the school. He didn't want the kid to have to answer some very revealing questions because he passed out from exhaustion.
Ralph and Bill had a long morning fine-tuning some of the suit powers. It wasn't completely smooth, however, after Ralph tried another power again after a long hiatus from it. When Ralph tried telekinesis on Bill's gun, he sent it into a patch of prickly pear cactus. It took about half an hour to try and fish it out without getting any spines in their hands. Bill ended up losing that battle several times.
As they crossed the city limits into Los Angeles, Bill tapped Ralph on the shoulder to wake him. "Hey kid, you gotta put on your seatbelt. New laws make it mandatory for front seat riders to wear one," said the FBI agent.
"Come on Bill, those belts are nothing more than for show," groaned the blonde-haired man. "Besides, this new car of yours has airbags, and those will protect us in case we crash."
"Listen Ralph, I know you want to be a rebel sometimes, but you gotta do it. Carlisle will have my badge if someone's hurt in my car without a belt on," Bill said. "Besides, the green guys might have both our hides on the wall if we don't follow the rules here too."
Ralph groaned again and nodded, putting on the belt. "So, how are things at the grand world of FBI? Anything new going on that needs the suit's help? Seems lately all we, well I, do is try things in the jammies. Either that or fish."
"Things have been relatively slow at the agency lately after we caught that spy trying to set off a plague bomb, but..."
"But what? What's bugging you?"
"It's been too quiet, and that's what worries me. That's why all the practices in the suit. This guy was only part of a larger ring, but no one's been able to get him to crack as far as who the main leader is. All we know is that he's in the LA area and planning something, so we've added more security," said Bill.
"Well, the suit doesn't let me look into people's thoughts, well that we know of, or I'd known that," said Ralph. Seeing the other man give an odd look, he chuckled softly. "All right, but why don't you try to get a cup or something he uses today that I can get a holograph off."
"Right, I can do that this afternoon while you're at the school, and we can work it out once you get out of class," said Bill as he turned in to Whitney High. Ralph got out of the car and headed toward the building.
When he got inside, he went to the bathroom to change out of the suit. It was going to be a long day of classes and meetings, and he never liked having the button of the cape digging into his Adam's apple each time he sat down on the cape. Besides, Bill was getting better at not disturbing him during class, so he figured why be uncomfortable all day for a possible scenario.
Bill smiled slightly in sympathy, knowing Ralph was going to have a long day with Tony and the other kids. He turned on the signal light and left the parking lot, not knowing another person in a van was watching his every move.
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Inside the other van, a man picked up a phone. "Listen, this is Dusty, let me speak to the head honcho," he said.
"What do ya need Dusty," said the other voice as it answered on the line.
"We've been following that FBI agent who caught Sam. That partner of his is a school teacher."
"Ralph Hinkley, yes I know him. His wife is the lawyer for the city in Sam's trial," growled the other slightly.
"So, you want us to put him or Maxwell on ice?"
"No, not yet. Too many witnesses at the school and Maxwell will probably head toward the agency. Let's wait until after school's out and set up an accident," said the other man with a grim chuckle.
"Understood," said Dusty as he hung up the phone. It was only a matter of time until they put their plan into action.
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That afternoon, Bill picked up Ralph to head over to a local greasy spoon. Getting a strange feeling in his stomach, Ralph put on his seatbelt, and for some reason, checked that Bill did too. Bill naturally had his on, not wanting to face Carlisle.
"So, how was your day in the neighborhood of make-believe," said Bill with a slight smirk on his face.
"For your information, Bill, everything went well," said the blonde-haired man with a smile. "We're studying World War II. The kids were getting into the lesson, and it was great."
"Yeah, and I bet Villicona kept thinking Pearl Harbor is a place to get jewelry from," said Bill.
Ralph gave the man a funny look but didn't respond. Instead, he changed the subject. "So, did you get something I could get a holograph off?"
"Yeah I did, it's in the..." Bill stopped when he glanced into the rearview mirror. "Ralph, don't turn around, but I think a van's following us."
"Yeah, I can see it in the mirror," said Ralph with a frown. "Do you think you can shake them?"
"Should be able to," said Bill, "There are a few roads that..."
Just then, the black van that was following sped to the driver's side of Bill's car and proceeded to sideswipe it. As it made impact, Ralph and Bill were thrown around, their seatbelts keeping them from being thrown into the windows. Bill tried his best to keep the car in control, but ultimately the car fishtailed and crashed sideways into a telephone pole. The van continued on its course as though nothing happened.
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As the van drove down the road, Dusty smiled as he saw the sedan crash into a telephone pole. 'No one could escape that unscathed,' he thought with a smirk.
Dusty reached for the phone and called the leader. "What do you want Dusty," said the other man.
"Mission accomplished," said Dusty. "Maxwell and his partner just were in a car crash, and a pretty brutal one too. Looks like the right hand side was severely damaged, it'll definitely put at least one out of commission."
"Good. Now, for my next step, to see if I can get rid of Sam," said the other voice. "A colleague inside called and said he was getting to the point of confessing everything when he's questioned again. He's betrayed me just like the city did, so he's going to pay the price. What happens afterward, well, let's just say I always get what I want."
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Bill shook his head as he sat up and the airbag deflated. He was a bit dazed and bruised, but despite a cut on his head from where his aviators were between him and the airbag, was all right. "What the hell was that guy doing," said Bill, "Ralph did you see..."
He turned to check on Ralph, and found him slumped over in the chair, barely moving. "Ralph, you OK," said Bill as he leaned Ralph back in the seat and shook his shoulder. It was then he realized that Ralph was not wearing the jammies.
The younger man opened his eyes slightly and grimaced. "Hurts..." he said softly. "Shoulder...think ribs too...mrmph..."
Bill glanced around and saw that Ralph's right shoulder was dislocated. He reached around as best as he could to check Ralph's ribs. When he gently touched the other man's side, Ralph cried out in pain, causing him to frown.
"Ooh, kid, we gotta get you to a hospital...Ralph..." Bill was worried when he didn't get a response. "Ralph come on stay with me..." He saw the younger man's eyes roll into his head and close, losing his battle to stay conscious.
Bill checked Ralph's pulse as a crowd of witnesses gathered. "Ralph? Will one of you gawkers get an ambulance? We need to get to the hospital now!"