Prologue:
The alien woman looked from the view port on a spaceship to a planet below. Her planet.
It has fierily electric blasts shooting randomly about in it's clouded sky. What can be seen of the planet it's self are areas looked to have once been populated, on fire and empty of their citizens. Wasteland of what was once wilderness.
She stands crying looking at the sight below her.
An alien hand of the same species as her, takes hold of her shoulder.
In an tongue, not English, but for the sake of those reading this, the other alien, speaks and we notice from tone it's a male, and understand his words. "At least you're here, and not down there with those people. They doomed themselves remember?"
Stopping her crying, the alien woman quickly takes on a look of anger. Snapping at him without turning to face him, she says, "None of them would be dead if they had just listened. I knew, we knew this was coming if something wasn't done!"
The male alien turns the woman to face him, his muzzle crinkling up a little in annoyance. He retorts to her with, "We gave them every chance to listen to us, Midori. It's a shame we, those that have physic abilities, a minority of our race, are our planet's sole survivors. But it is because we are a minority, we weren't listened to!"
Both now look out the view port, as the devastated extraterrestrial planet seems to move farther away from them, as the space ship they're in pulls away from it.
The male alien, Lu-se removes his hand from his partner's shoulder, as Midori seats her self on the floor, now looking off blankly to nothing in particular.
Lu-se starts to walk away from her, ready to tend to other pressing matters that need his attention.
The walk is halted by Midori speaking up without his prompting this time, but prompting by other thoughts needed for his attention.
"Lu-se, other worlds are in danger you know? I can sense it."
"Me too, Midori. That is what I was going to take care of right now."
Midori jerks around quickly on the floor to face her partner, who is standing a couple yards away from her, now looking emotionless. His realization of her words being a known fact, a shock to her.
"How?! You're not as strong in your mental abilities as me! Also remember, we failed with that before. Trying to keep other planets from meeting tragedy. That is why our planets governments, besides our status as a minority, decided not to listen to us!"
With a shallow sigh let out, Lu-se continues talking to Midori, again returning to walking away from her to a destination else where in the space ship. "I did not sense it, it was Verte who did. Also I remember how we have failed in the past. That is a matter which will weigh on my heart till I die. But those worlds in dire need of our help. Verte and I plan to first revisit the watery one we failed with decades ago. They're no risk to any one but themselves. It will be a good starting point to try again."
As Lu-se leaves the room, Midori shouts out just in time before the door closes, "be more careful who you choose this time!"
With the closed door behind him, Lu-se replies in words too low for Midori to hear. "This time Midori, we're being more careful who is chosen. This time we're also making sure they're ready for us.
Chapter 1:
The class of students wasn't listening to him again. Not a new fact but one he was sure he could with time cure them of.
In this age that seemed to be controlled by online social media, Ralph Hinkley knew what would get the attention of the class fast.
Raising his left arm high in the air he made sure the class could well see his smart phone, and in an announcing voice, stated, ""Tweet" senior class of Whitney High, all get detention after school!"
A few of the class reseated themselves at their desks.
A brown haired girl named Rhonda Blake grabbing her boyfriend Tony into his seat, as she took her's.
Grumbling Tony muttered, "unfair" while looking at his desk.
As normal, hearing every thing said by his students, Ralph caught Tony Villicana's words, and was already ready with a reply in mind before they were even spoken.
The teacher's reply had been needing an excuse like having to talk to the likely of his worst student all day. Something which had seemingly stemmed from out of the blue. Something which would hopefully straighten him and those like him, out. "Tony, this class is for learning, not monkeying around. If all you and your friends want to do is monkey around." He gave a pause for effect. Then sounding a little bolder he continued seeing he really had the class's attention now.
"If all you want to do is monkey around. Then I guess you have no interest in an easy way to raise your grades by being out of school."
Tony exchanged a glance with Rhonda, before Rhonda spoke up. "That's impossible, being out of class and getting a better grade, unless you mean home work, and you know how we feel about that."
Pinching his forehead lightly with two fingers, Ralph slowly told the class his idea about how the class could get a better grade. A field trip he had started brainstorming about earlier in that week.
If they took a trip from out of their home city of Los Angeles. If they took a real interest in their country's history. That would help them, and maybe inspire them to learn more.
In Ralph's mind there was nothing more motivating for a social studies / history class than work & study in the field.
If his class of misfits agreed to this field trip to the desert to study the native american Tongva tribe's ruins of their former home. That would make his day. But something beyond turning around his student's lives nagged at his mind over the matter. What, he wasn't quite sure but it felt like something good and yet it made him feel queasy being unknown.
Always wanting the easy path, the class agreed to their teacher's proposal.
Ralph opened up a desk drawer before him and grabbed out the needed permission slips he'd hand to each student. His hopeful anticipation now coming into realized fact.
One bad lead after the other, Bill Maxwell's week so far had been nothing but disappointment.
The job he had sold his life to was currently trying to breath fire on him. The field office he worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation was running through it's top dog agents to see who would be best suited for promotion to field regulator. The man who would be seated to over look proceedings for every agent commanded from the Los Angeles office. Currently a younger agent with a better track record with the bureau was temporary in command of Bill's career. Carlyle, while only being reviewed at this temporary promotion had so far seemed to do nothing but hand Bill cases he knew were too hard for the dedicated vet to handle.
With the coffee in his paper cup, now finished off. He considered his next actions of the day.
But what could he do? While the office was in a state he considered chaos, his temporary partner hadn't touched base with him all day. By the book, he couldn't make a new move on his current case till he heard back from the guy.
Carlyle interrupted him in his thinking by telling him just what he should do with him self. Take a break.
With a smile and sarcasm barely being held back. Bill Maxwell, agreed to his wet behind the ears temporary boss's orders.
When the younger agent left Bill's sight. Grabbing on a suit jacket to cover his shirt with gun sling roping over it. He released his anger on the paper cup, crushing it before trowing it hard into a near by waste bin.
At that same moment unknown to Bill, his partner did want to make contact with him.
The few days he had been away from his work, wasn't a matter of his own doing, and it was also a matter he could never rectify. He was now for normally held definition, dead.
Shot by a group of people he had thought were unsuspicious of his actions. They made short work of uncovering his cover of being workman on the governor's estate, for being what he in truth was, an F.B.I agent.
In the run for his life across the acres of the southern Simi Hills, he had managed to evade their gun fire, and Polaris Donates 10s meant to handle the terrain much quicker than his human legs could carry him.
When he had stopped to catch his breath, it was all the time they needed to do the job. He felt foolish about the slip up that sadly there was no way he could have avoided.
Breathing he remembered was no longer a problem. His earthly cares were no longer a problem.
Correction, he did have one earthly problem still left. Telling the living on Earth what would happened if certain actions weren't taken.
Approaching a man he had drafted into service of a call beyond his normal duties to his nation, but to now the betterment of the world on it's whole.
He was grateful that to do this job, and not being mortal any more, he was not a ghost. Instead he was a zombie.
Something more to be grateful for. He was not the kind of zombie written of in horror novels & films, of the same nature.
He didn't have a beating heart, or even lungs that took in oxygen.
He had been turned into a zombie that instead of thinking of "Night of the Living Dead," more had him thinking of the "Terminator". His body had become reanimated by alien organic metal which was programmed like a computer to flow through his body, and replace his damaged biological components with machine created ones by way of the organic metal. He was a cyborg zombie.
A matter to be grateful for he guessed. That and where he was killed.
The U.F.O. that had found him had only been in that area to try and find some one who could be considered influential enough, that they could sway the right kind of man needed for the right planetary outcome.
With physic probing, he had been found unworthy of being the guiding voice, to their tool to save humanity from it's self. He didn't have what they were looking for, and neither for that matter did the people pursuing him.
The aliens in the U.F.O. knew he was a good man. Knew he was in mortal danger, as they rushed to him. But as with most things in life, good fortune doesn't come often. They failed to reach him in time to prevent his death.
When he had regained consciousness, he felt nothing, then tingling.
Panic when he found this mental command to open his eye lids finally took action. He was surrounded by creatures, that had a strange anthropomorphic quality to them. Human shaped but green skinned with little hair, and animal like faces. Dogs? Pigs? He wasn't sure what animal species their mouths and noses looked more like.
When one of the ones looming over him began speaking, he tried to bolt from the surgical bed he discovered he had been laying on. A tingling feeling intensifying like the pins & needles, a feeling he was used to associating with a limb fallen asleep, waking up.
Falling to the floor instead of standing as his body continued feeling like electric jolts where hitting him from all over. He noticed his brown skin seemed abnormally pale.
The same voice spoke to him again. First in a language he had heard earlier, but didn't understand. Then it converted slowly into English.
"Timothy Noelle? Timothy Noelle, can you understand me?" The alien kept saying until met by a reply.
Timothy simply laid on the floor, and groaned a reply not meaning any thing but frustration.
In short time the aliens stood him up right and began to explain what had happened to him and what he was under going at that moment.
This communication lead to two things.
1: They would be tending to his needs for a time and setting him up with a new life to be lived with them. An apology for not saving his life in time when they knew he had been in mortal danger.
2: It helped them uncover a man Timothy Noelle, knew would be a worthy voice to help direct the tool they where preparing to recruit into service.
Timothy knew of no one he felt better qualified than his now ex-partner of Bill Maxwell for such a task. A bit of a right-wing thinker, yes. But when the aliens told him of the personality of the tool they had picked for the job. While left-wing wasn't an accurate description of the man. He did happen to be still peace loving, but not opposed to using force when necessary.
Chapter 2:
Except for dealing with typical L.A. morning rush hour, the trip was proceeding well so far.
The short school bus reserved for such outings which had nothing to do with picking up & dropping off teenagers from school, was loaded. The whole student body of Ralph Hinkley's special session social studies / history class had gotten permission to investigate the tribal ruins outside the city limits.
A series of rivets built into the highway's off ramp played with the school bus's suspensions momentary. Just enough to catch the attention of passengers of it's double sized seats from their cell phone texting, and hand held gaming devices.
Complaints echoed from the back of the bus about needing a smooth ride, but it was the other noise which got Ralph wondering if this trip was a good idea. The excavating tools which got rattled by the bus's suspension hiccup, reminded him to whom he would be handing them to.
The majority of his class had juvenile criminal records. Was handing them over sharp edged tools the best idea in the world? He thought about this as the bus turned from the highway's feeder road to another road which started to lead him away from closely patrolled by law enforcement urban sprawl to country sparsely populated areas.
He tried to remove the bad thought from his mind.
The class needed to know he had faith in them, trust in them. If he preached one more time before they reached the excavating site about tool safety. He knew that speech would flounder his efforts to get that trust.
As the short school bus proceeded further towards the Mojave Desert. One of the class's more morally respectable students started into his normal efforts on a field trip to help one of his fellow class-mates.
Scott Cannell knew every one, but one student had a packed lunch with them for the trip. The poorest of the bunch, and only student not of the middle class. Frank Beyerl, sat beside Scott, starring out the window nearest to him, day dreaming.
Scott knew what he must be thinking about, and not shouting, but making sure his teacher could hear him. Proceeded to vocalize what he was seeing along the roadside.
"McDonalds. Wendy's, Long John Silver's, Olive Garden, Jiffy-Lu, no forget that last one, " He stated.
Tony shouted not to forget that last one as every one gathered around him started cracking up at the thought it wasn't a matter for the bus, but a matter for Frank.
Ralph knew what Scott was up to, and Scott knew Mr. Hinkley was a soft touch.
The lude comments from the class's rough house students were annoying, but Ralph knew for once they were only meant in jest.
He would help the one kid who he knew needed this extra help.
"Every one we're going to make a quick stop soon, but not at one of these chain restaurants. I want you to see a place that makes real food." The statement trailed off as Ralph stated under his breath that they needed to see what food looked like when it wasn't deep fried, pumped full of MSG, or was so preprocessed you couldn't tell what animal the meat came from.
The heat bordering the Mojave Desert, Bill knew was only a pale comparison to what it felt like in the desert at mid-day. Fortunately this was something he was currently shielded from.
The diner he had chosen for a rest stop on the way to his favorite vacation destination, wasn't chosen at random.
The diner was a meeting place he had used many times with his partner when they wanted to discuss cases outside the office.
He as hoping for lack of calls & visitations to the F.B.I field office, his partner would show up here.
So far the effort had been in vain, and Bill had that feeling for over an hour from just after the three hours he had been sitting at the counter.
What at first was a wholesome breakfast with his normal cup of coffee, turned to a beer once he started realizing he might have made a mistake.
The clock struck 12pm on the wall, and despite being discouraged, he continued to wait.
He finally snapped out of his thoughts in pondering the where-abouts of his partner when he noticed a nosy bunch of kids leaving a school bus which had just pulled into the restaurant's parking lot.
The kids looked to be a rowdy bunch, and he betted more then one of them had had a blush with the law at some point.
The one adult with them didn't look that way. He looked respectable, as he guided them into the diner, with one kid staying close to him, being more quiet than his peers.
While the man with the quiet student made an order to the cashier. The other students proceeded to check out the entire diner, eying it with scrutiny.
One student seemed to be eying the establishment with more than common curiosity. He, in Bill Maxwell's book, seemed to be eying the diner with the eye of a preparing thief.
Tony noticed the man at the counter watching him in silence.
This annoyed Tony, seeing as how in Tony Villicana's book. The man looked to be a white-collar, stuffed suit, who was well off, and looked down on the blue-collar class.
"What are you looking at mister suit?!" Tony snapped to Bill, getting close to the man without taking a seat beside him.
Bill didn't reply but just narrowed his eyes a little at the youth in thought.
Tony slapped the back of the middle-aged man, continuing with, "Not good enough for a reply to the likes of me, eh?"
Now Bill's level of annoyance had risen, and with the tone of voice he normally reserved for criminals, and his temporary boss, of Carlyle. He replied to Tony, "You aren't good enough to be here, but I bet the county jail would love you. Tell me have you swiped any goodies I haven't noticed in your jacket?"
Grabbing Bill by his jacket, Tony pushed him into the counter, startling the man.
Ralph, who had just finished helping out Frank place an order, got startled when not only had he noticed Tony pressing the well dressed man, into the diner's counter. But also the fact that the well dressed man was reaching for something under his jacket.
Every one but the woman behind the counter who knew Bill Maxwell, reacted in panic at seeing the gun, the gun he had produced from his jacket to the student.
She simply ginned at Bill, and continued cleaning up the space where a family had recently left the restaurant.
"Hes just a kid, he didn't mean you thing by what ever it is he told you," Ralph said as slowly made his way over to Bill & Tony. Looking between the man holding the gun and the gun it's self.
"Are you this animal's keeper?" Bill said as Ralph took hold of his hand gripping the gun.
"I'm his teacher, and - and," Ralph stumbled still in shock at what was taking place.
Looking at the woman behind the counter he continued, "I can't believe you haven't called the police on this man!"
Not looking away from her task the working woman, replied with, "He was never going to shoot the kid, only scare him. He does that to punks."
Ralph looked in disbelief from the woman to the man with the gun.
Tony backed out of the way of the adults, never looking away from the gun.
"Every one back in the school bus," Ralph ordered his class.
Rhonda caught Tony as he started backing up into a stray chair. The young man, never letting his gaze leave the gun, had failed to notice the objects that were between him and the restaurant's door.
From the cooking area a man shouted that he had just finished the meal set to go.
Finished with her task of cleaning the woman behind the counter, went to the back, before returning with a plastic bag which contained a thin cardboard box with Frank's lunch in it.
Ralph looked again at the man with the gun and released his hand. The threat was over, now that his students were outside.
Quickly shelling a few dollars from his pants pocket. Ralph slapped the money on the counter top and grabbed the bagged lunch.
"No offense to your food, but I'm never coming back here again," Ralph stated as he went out of the diner.
Chapter 3:
Aside from the incident at the diner, the day had been a total success for Ralph's class field trip.
Once a few minor discoveries had been made, the students were eagerly moving around the ruins for artifacts.
Ralph explained each discovered artifact, and the visible ruins which had been uncovered long ago. What he was doing filled him with pride, seeing his students attention so captivated by the history they were unearthing.
While the pride filled him with hope that what these kids were learning, might change their lives a little for the better. What didn't fill him with pride was that some of them were talking about what profits they could gain by selling the artifacts on eBay.
That lead to him having to tell the class that every thing they had uncovered would stay at the Tongva tribe's ruins.
The students protested the statement from their teacher, but calmed down after a while.
They stayed calm until they noticed the school bus. Their sole transportation from the ruins site, was busted.
Ralph tried starting up the bus over and over, for over an hour. Frustration building because nothing on the dashboard to the bus, or even anything notably not wrong under it's hood, could explain why the bus wouldn't move.
It was now nearly dark and the shared joy among them all had now faded out completely. Nothing could be done to improve their situation. Not even calling for help which had been tried early on. The show of zero bars on their cell phones prevented even that.
The class was restless, and Ralph couldn't blame them for being that way. He felt the same way himself and resolved he'd solve their problem.
With a promise from the class they would act like responsible people while he was away. Ralph Hinkley started down the desert road for a gas station he remembered seeing on the drive to the site of the ruins. A good long walk at what he thought might be ten or fifteen miles away.
Covered in sweat, he felt the temperature change slowly take effect as the night sky fully made it's presents shown. 107 degrees fahrenheit, dropping to 40 degrees on the same temperature measuring scale. He shivered lightly for a time continuing his roadside walk.
Noticing a tan car swerving around in the road, made him stop thinking about how cold he was. The car as it got closer, appeared to be gunning for him.
Ralph jumped out of the car's way and rolled out of the away from the road's boarder and into the desert's sand.
Once coming to a stop, Ralph got up and saw the car had stopped in movement too. It's driver trying to get the car started again.
It's driver, Ralph recognized after a few seconds of taking him in was the same man from the diner, who had pulled a gun on Tony.
This was too much, and Ralph's hours of walking on the road side were taking their toll on him into rage. A student being put in danger. His loaned out school bus breaking down, and this guy returning into his life, trying to hunt him down with his car.
"Why the hell did you just do that?! What have I ever done to you aside from stopping you this morning from hurting one of my students!" Ralph shouted at Bill, grabbing him by the shirt, from the car's open front driver's side window.
Perplexed Bill turned to face Ralph, and replied, "Sorry, sorry listen I don't mean you any harm. I didn't mean the kid any harm either. I just wanted to shake him up a little, because he looked like he was ready to pull off some dirty stunts in that diner, I've seen happen before."
"Ok, what you did to Tony I can understand a little, but you just ran me off the road with your car!" Ralph shouted letting go of Bill's shirt and throwing him backwards in his car seat.
Bill tried to roll up his window, and despite noticing his effort was in vain, he just kept trying. Replying to Ralph, he stated, "I told you I didn't mean you any harm. The car, the car is acting like it's out of my control! It has been for the last mile or so, and now I can't get it to work at all!" He griped, frustration at the non-working window controls.
When realizing they were both in a similar boat, Ralph calmed down. "Almost the same thing happened to my bus back there, but it never lost control. It just plain doesn't work any more, no explanation to it," he stated.
After taking in and letting out a deep sigh, Bill asked Ralph if he had any luck getting a hold of the AAA or any body, that maybe in addition to his bus, they could look at his car.
After Ralph replied no, and stated he was walking to a gas station he remembered some miles down the road. Bill decided for about half a second he would join Ralph in his journey to seek auto repair.
Bill changed his mind just after discovering that instead of climbing out his car's window, he could still open his door. at least that hadn't given up the ghost on him for his car's control's.
His mind changed when he looked up to spot where a light source had come from, shining on the ground. "What in heaven's name?!" Bill shouted, as he looked at a set of glowing orbs dancing about high in the night sky.
Ralph stood simply in disbelief at the sight.
"Am I dreaming?" He questioned to himself, just before Bill grabbed his arm and tried to rip open the door to his car to get back inside it with the school teacher in tow.
"We're not dreaming, but I sure wish we were! Quick give me a hand opening this door! Heck any of them!" Bill stated in fear as he wiggled the handle on the front driver's side door.
The car seemed to reply to Bill Maxwell's and Ralph Hinkley's effort to get into it, by rolling up it's windows. Bill's eyes went wide at the car's independent act. Wider still if possible, when he looked again up into the night sky.
The lit orbs where lower in the sky now, and also they were merging into each other and flattening into a disc shape.
The two men looked at each other, and grinning, Bill tried to lighten the mood to try and show no fear to the younger man. "Now I regret that coffee, beer, and two glasses of water I drank back at the diner," he stated.
Ralph didn't even have to look down on Bill to guess at what the man meant by the comment. fortunately for him, he had better control over his bowels at this moment.
"Greetings - hello - O-la - welcome," came a voice, correction voices from the car. The car's radio spoke, seeming to switch about from station to station, one radio personality to another one when stations changed.
"Hello?" Ralph replied to the car, with Bill looking at him funny.
The car replied, changing Bill's look into one showing shock and a bit of a frown. "You - save - from -destruction - save - life - all - save - with - powers - equipped -". The F.B.I agent cut off the radio's dribble with his own. His sense of humor a thing which never turned off in his personality, even when he was scared out of his mind.
"That's some talk from a Honda. All you're equipped with are airbags."
A reply came to Maxwell's quip, but not from the source expected by the two men.
"They want him, Bill. The guys up there. They want Mr. Hinkley to save the world, save it from it's self. They are giving him a suit with unearthly powers. It will only work for him."
It was Timothy Noelle who spoke to the pair from behind Bill.
When Timothy had started speaking, Bill turned around in a flash to the sound of his voice.
"What?" Was all Bill could say, staring at his partner. Unsure why he was seeing the man here, and why he didn't quite look right.
"I'm dead, Bill. I can read your mind. They changed me up there. Brought me back." Timothy ended the statement with looking down at an object in his hands. A black case with a rectangular slot on one end, and the rest of it's body seemed to only conform to the wildest imaginings of a drafter using CAD for the first time.
"What is that?" Ralph asked Timothy, pointing at the oddly designed case.
"It's your suit Mr. Hinkley, and also it's the suit's instructions." Timothy replied, and then looked to the sky to the space ship above them.
"They can't stick around, and neither can I for that matter."
Returning to looking at Bill, he concluded, " Bill, they want you to guide, Mr. Hinkley. Tell him where to go to do the most good. I have faith in you both. I'm going to put the suit in the car. You will find it's working now. That and your school bus, Mr. Hinkley."
Timothy Noelle then proceeded to open up the driver's side back door, and place the case with suit & it's instruction book, on the backseat. Shutting the door behind him, he looked again to his former partner.
shakily, Bill got out words that were chocking up in his throat. "It's been an honor having you for a partner." He said extending one hand to shake Timothy's.
"The same," Timothy replied, shaking Bill's warm hand with his cold hand.
Once they parted Timothy walked away towards the desert.
He vanished into nothingness but a green glow which showered him down slowly from above.
Ralph removed the case from the back seat to examine it while Bill rushed back into the car. The space ship, now moving away from where they were.
"Mr. Maxwell, this is incredible. Do you believe this?" Ralph said while continuing to look at the case, and then pulling out the suit's instruction book.
"No, I don't believe it, and no I don't think I belong in a padded room! I'm out of here!" Bill snapped as he turned the car's key.
Before Ralph could react fast enough, The F.B.I. agent fearing for his sanity at what he had just witnessed, had left the school teacher to the road side. The car zoomed off down the road in the direction it had been heading in before it ran off to the road's side.
With a sigh and shake of his head. Ralph let the case flop to his side still holding it. Unknown to him, letting the suit's instruction book, flop out on to the sand.
Knowing the school bus was working again, he headed back to it. Hopefully, his students had been good to their word not to destroy it.
Chapter 4:
From outside Ralph's bedroom, filtering in, could be heard laughable voices and the sounds of crazy antics.
It woke Ralph up. His seven year old son Kevin, was already well awake watching his favorite line up of cartoons before school, munching on what Ralph was sure, cereal that was no good to Kevin's health.
His legs still ached from the long walks of the night before.
While he laid in bed, he thought over the day before's events. The normal and the unreal.
A snippet of Kevin's cartoons caught Ralph's attention during his reminiscing. Part of a show's theme song, "now he's got superpowers, he's no ordinary kid."
The case the alien super suit was in was still sitting on his dresser from where he had plopped it the night before, before he fell on to his bed.
Finally ignoring complaints of soreness from his legs, Ralph got up from the bed to come to the case on the dresser.
Finding a set of buttons to either side of the case, he pressed them, and it proceeded to open up to him, revealing it's contents.
He groaned at the sight before him, and then produced a louder more drawn out one, in further disgust when pulling out the suit to examine it.
Bright red, with white trimmings, with a strange symbol placed over the chest region. Plus to top off all that, it had a black cape, and set of tall red boots.
"Daddy?" came Kevin's voice from the other room.
"I'm up," Ralph replied and under his breath he spoke, "and in no way shape or form am I wearing this to court today."
He tucked the suit back into it's case before, getting dressed in his finer than normal clothes.
The timing of his attorney's / girlfriend's knock at his home's front door was perfect. He had just left his bedroom when she announced her presents at his door.
When he greeted her, she knew his timing but more accurately his hygiene however left something to be desired.
"Have you showered yet, Ralph?" She said noting the smell of sweat which still clung to him from the day before.
"I hadn't thought about that, hold on while I fix that," he said running to the bathroom.
Pam Davidson smiled to her self, and joined Kevin in the living room.
She watched the small kid cram a fist full of cereal into his mouth. Then after she was sure it was down his throat, she spoke, "Kevin, do you know what is taking place today?"
The kid looked to her and then to the floor, answering, "daddy and mommy fighting over me, with your help."
His voice sounded to melancholy with a sadness only a small child could produce. Pam at hearing it, leaned over and embraced him in a hug.
"It's sort of a fight, but one I'm sure your dad will win," She replied still embracing the child.
Kevin pulled away from her and looked at her business suit before stating, "I think it would help you wore what the professionals wear when settling fights."
Looking down at herself, Pam saw nothing wrong with the two pieced suit she was wearing.
Talking half to herself an half to Kevin she replied with, "This is one of my best suits. Lots of attorneys wear suits like this."
Playfully Kevin, answered what really wasn't a question, but felt like one to him none the less. "You need to wear one of those shirts I see people wear settle fights in sports games on TV. You know, the shirts with up and down black & white stripes, like zebras."
"Lawyers don't wear funny shirts like those, Kevin," she said laughing, cocking her head back in response to the kid.
Funny shirts, Ralph thought to himself after having heard Pam's words.
He had just stepped out of the shower, wearing a towel around his waist, the bedroom just a few feet away from him.
He entered his bedroom with just the thought to change back into his formal wear that he had greeted Pam at the door with.
Now an extra thought occurred to him.
Why not show her, his "funny shirt"? Plus funny cape, and funny boots for that matter.
Show it to her as they parted ways after their short meeting outside his home.
After they talked about the custody case with Kevin. He would show her what a crazy night he had the night before. That would make her laugh more thinking about what he could then expect in the high school class room. While she ushered his son, into her car so she could take him to his elementary school.
A half day for once at Whitney High for him. He thanked his lucky stars, he had been granted a work day like that, with a court case on the same day, but later in the day.
When the time came for his parting with Pam and Kevin for his work day. The thought to tell her about the suit made him blush in fear, thinking over the words of the stranger who thanks to a zombie, he had learned was named Bill Maxwell. The words of Mr. Maxwell ringing over and over of he would be put in a padded room if he spoke of the alien visitation.
Pam had questioned him what was with the odd case he was carrying, and with the words of the other man still echoing in his mind he said it was a gift for one of his students.
The school's vice principle greeted him as he pulled into the high school's parking lot.
Rolling down his car's window he cracked to him, "I told you I would bring back the bus in one piece."
As Ralph stepped out of his car, the vice principle replied, "That wasn't my concern Hinkley, but it does worry me that you left it in the care of your students for a few hours. You do know that Villicana one does drag racing right?!"
"I know about that Mr. Pierre, but the bus was dead at the time," Ralph replied.
Then he realized his wording and pitched the bridge of his nose, and uttered to himself, "god I can't believe I used that word."
Mr. Pierre, the vice principle then felt the need to ask a question he hadn't thought to ask before Ralph's statement to him self. "Can't believe you used what word?"
"Dead," Ralph replied.
The vice principle, became mystified at what was so wrong about the word "dead".
Then he remembered again why he wanted to talk with Ralph Hinkley to begin with.
"Do you know the federal agent outside my office with the hangover, Mr. Hinkley?" Pierre snapped to Ralph, catching him off guard with such a strange question.
"I don't think I know any federal agents. Could you describe him?" Ralph replied puzzled.
As the two men walked into Whitney High, the vice principle described Bill Maxwell.
Bill knew he couldn't take a break from his job, not now.
Now was an opportunity he'd never thought of before in his years of federal law enforcement.
If he understood it right, this high school teacher had just been tapped to be the world's first real superhero.
And He had just been tapped to be his guide.
If such a thing could work out, the nation could become safer than it had been in years. This new partner could even out shine Homeland Security in detecting foreign infiltrators with hostile intentions to the United States, before they became a real threat undetected by normal means.
Why just imagine the unsolved cases this guy could help him crack?
But could he be the cure to the nation's woes?
Bill had to research up this Hinkley guy to discover more about him. Who he was, where he lived, what he did for a living, where he worked.
The F.B.I. agent was glad the man had no record, but that forced him to dig into his files by way of another federal agency, the NSA.
The guy was a dove in Maxwell's eyes looking over the data collected on Hinkley.
Former Boyscout.
Straight arrow.
Never publicly protested.
Never even had a parking violation.
The man did have an interest in the law, but Bill assumed that had to do with a divorce he was undergoing with his wife. The tracking on his internet research was mainly focused on custody in the case of minors.
Hinkley's son Kevin, Bill supposed.
"What are you doing here? How did you even find me? You shot off like a bullet last night after -," Ralph couldn't say it.
The teacher stood over the federal agent half bent over in his chair.
Neither wanted to talk about the close encounter in the desert the night before.
Both knew the result if the school staff in the office heard of the event.
"One, getting a hold of you kid. Two, I'm a fed, I have resources," Bill answered trying not to let this current state inflect on his speech.
From what Pierre had told Ralph about Bill Maxwell's current state, and the pacing of this speech. He knew the man had, "how many have you had?" Ralph asked looking annoyed at the hunched over man in the gray business suit.
"Nothing today but last night after out last encounter, enough to be just below the BAC of .08," Bill answered not facing Ralph.
Steadying himself as he got up from the chair, gripping the wall, he continued, "I-I'm because of what my ex-partner said. About you and I and doing our part for peace justice and the American way."
"I'm not. No forget it, that's crazy. Mr. Maxwell, I have a class to teach right now, and then a very important court appointment," Ralph replied angrily before quickly leaving the office waving off the federal agent as he did so.
Chapter 5:
To any one who knew Bill Maxwell at the F.B.I field office he worked. They knew what kind of dedicated patriot law officer he was. One who would never give up on a case, be it to a good satisfactory end or one that would end in disappointment.
He wasn't about to give up on this Ralph Hinkley person, little green guys from Mars or where ever they were from, had fated he would work with Hinkley to save the world from it's self.
While waiting in his car gave his body time to recover from the night's drinking. It also gave him time to think over a better approach to getting Hinkley to comply with his wishes.
The waiting did serve a purpose.
It was like an old fashioned stakeout in his opinion but for once he wasn't waiting to catch a criminal in the act. This stakeout was a waiting game to see opportunity knock.
The background check he had done on Ralph could be used in his favor for custody over his son.
Bill knew he could help him win the court case with the data he had obtained on the man. Every thing would be said before the judge but the little green men, and the judge would love Hinkley.
Hinkley, would then being a person of good etiquette, accept him.
He was going to take the kid under his wing, and mold him into America's secret crime fighting weapon.
Just after the start of the 12 o'clock hour at the start of the afternoon, Ralph left the front door to Whitney High School.
Bill watched him enter his car and pull out of the parking lot.
In the sedan style Honda loaned to him from the F.B.I. field office he worked from. The federal agent started to tail his objective in a trained professional matter he had been practicing for years.
In the herding of commuters to their jobs at mid-day down Interstate 5, he had a hard time tracking the teacher's car, till he moved for a turn-off.
The court appointment the teacher had was nearing and Bill knew the other man wouldn't make the deadline.
Moments like this made Bill wish he still was a cop.
If he still had a squad car, he could chaperone Hinkley to his court appointment with ease by way of the good old red n' blues which told other drivers to move aside fast.
Bill's opportunity finally knocked when Ralph got forced to park at a gas station.
"I don't give up easily, Hinkley," the federal agent snapped at Ralph, as he sifted through his wallet for money to buy a few gallons of gas.
"And I don't believe you followed me. Don't you have any thing better to do like investigate people who have done crimes," Ralph replied. The after discovering he didn't have the needed money, he continued with, "cripes."
For a moment Bill Maxwell smiled, but that faded quickly.
Far be it from him to take some amount of pleasure seeing fast how he could help the man surface.
"You could just park it here, and I could give you a lift to the court house," Bill said walking towards the teacher.
"You're scary you know that? Christ, what don't you know about me?" Ralph replied as he searched through the car for loose change.
"Enough that the," Bill still was having a hard time wrapping his head around the alien factor of the night before.
Finally gaining the strength to say it, he did, but low.
So low only Ralph could hear the man's voice as he bent down to him to get in the man's ear shot. "Enough that I think the green men from Mars pegged you right."
"I suppose there's more to you here than begging me to join you is there?" Ralph said slamming the car door shut, in anger.
"Would it be bad if I got you where you needed to be? You leave the car behind here. Not the best of places to leave one's car, I'm sure but I could convince the ones working this station not to tow it off on yuh," Bill replied lightly smiling.
Now Bill had let it show that he was in fact deriving pleasure at seeing an the opportunely to present it's self.
This time Ralph saw the smile on the face of the other man, and this made him more angry at the fed.
Getting back into the car, Ralph moved it to the side of the fuel station before removing it's alien cargo, and locking it back up.
"I'd rather hitch-hike," he shouted at Bill who by now was out of sight.
Ralph knew the older man had to have heard him, given the distance he just traveled was relatively short.
But hitch-hike to get to his appointment? Nah, that would be too dangerous.
There had to be another way. His train of thought locked quickly on to the strange case he held in one hand.
The funny suit?
Some superheroes in comic books could fly. Some could move at speeds not even possible by car or jet. Some superheroes in the comics could even do both.
This was insane for him to even be thinking about it, he knew. But being able to move faster then his car, or fly over mid-day traffic would certainly get him to court on time.
He went into the men's bathroom located by a door on the side of the fuel station.
The federal agent watching the pass of Ralph from one side of the building to the next.
Knowing the younger man was in trouble but was too stubborn to take his offer to help, just made Bill shake his head no in frustration at the sight.
The coast seemed clear to Ralph, as he looked both ways before leaving the men's room.
Wearing the alien super suit which he had dubbed the funny suit, made him feel silly for even wearing it. If he was caught wearing it, he felt he'd die of embarrassment.
With his normal attire packed in the strange case which had held the super suit. Ralph thought he'd try flying first.
A joke to attempt, but one he'd live out just for the fun of it.
He did a small hop.
Nothing came of it but the voice of a child near by.
Ralph froze in embarrassment as he heard, "You have to take three steps before you jump." Came the child's voice.
Blushing, Ralph brought himself to reply, "Are you sure?"
"It's what Superman would do," stated the kid who had to be about ten years old.
Just as Ralph stated he'd try that. The child's guardian walked around the corner to see Ralph in his skin tight red costume with black cape.
The adult took hold of the child, and moved him away from Ralph. Eyes locked on the man in the strange outfit.
Not knowing what to do, Ralph's reply came non-verbal as he gave a friendly wave of one hand to the protector of the youth.
Being alone again, Ralph thought he'd try out the kid's advice.
After three boldly taken steps and a jump, Ralph Hinkley unexpectedly found him self airborne.
Bill caught the sight out the corner of one eye.
By the time he had fully turned his head to view Ralph's flight, it had ended.
Ralph mere moments into flight had hit a building.
"You brought him here?" Pam questioned the fed on route to Ralph's hospital room.
When Bill Maxwell found Ralph Hinkley unconscious on the ground outside the building he had hit. He did an act unthinkable by EMS. He went over to where the alien case had fallen, removed the man's normal clothes from it, then dressed them over the super suit.
No bones appeared to be broken.
No scrapes or cuts appeared on the young man.
Nothing but a clear bump to the noggin.
The suit must have protected him, Bill guessed as he checked Ralph for brain damage, opening his eye lids to check his pupils.
He didn't need to call 911 for the teacher. Some one had witnessed him bending over him, checking his vitals.
Things went standard after that point till Pam Davidson's arrival.
"No, councilor it was an ambulance. I just followed behind in my car," Bill replied.
"How did you know I was an attorney?" She asked before the hospital nurse who guided them to Ralph's room, opened the door.
"Government business," Bill answered not feeling in the mood to explain to her how he knew the man.
"What?!" Pam shouted at him as she came to Ralph's bedside.
The nurse who had acted as the guide to them finally spoke up since the time she had first met them in the ER waiting room.
"Please don't shout in here, Ms. Davidson, and mister -," At a loss to explain the unknown man who didn't appear as an emergency contact.
The nurse continued with, "Family? Friend?"
"Get out," Bill replied sternly.
"Do I need to have security escort you out sir?!" The nurse snapped at Bill, waving a finger at him.
He answered her in silence by pulling out his F.B.I. badge from a shirt pocket and showing it to her.
Her eyes went wide with shock at the sight, and answered with, "I will need your name for hospital records, sir."
"Bill Maxwell," he answered.
As the nurse left the room, Pam noticed that without realizing it her mouth was open from shock.
Closing it, if how ever momentitary before saying, "Is Ralph in some sort of trouble with the law?"
She had asked the question timidly, but the reply she got wasn't as expected.
The now formerly unknown inturder, of the salt & pepper haired man in three piece suit, replied to her as if she was the inturder. "No he's not. He's as clean as a whisle, but I DO need to talk to him when he comes to. So if you could leave this room for a moment, you can have all the time you want with him after I'm done with him."
"Federal Officer or not, I'm not leaving ralph's side! He got hit by some bozo throwing a brick at him, and this is no time for him to be left alone!" Pam replied angerly looking at Bill before sitting at Ralph's bed side.
As Ralph was coming to, he had heard part of his girlfriend / attorney's words.
Weakly he stated, "It was a wall. I hit a damn wall."
Chapter 6:
"How?!" Pam asked trying not to shout at Ralph, remembering where she was.
Groaning with one hand to his head he looked over to the federal agent.
"I think I'm beginning to hate you," Ralph stated weakly to Bill.
"I made you um presentable to be here, Hinkley. Besides I'm not the one who threw the brick," Bill replied to Ralph.
Given the other man's show of concern, Ralph had a sickening feeling about some thing, people other than Bill Maxwell might have seen.
"The suit?" Ralph asked Bill.
But it was Pam who replied, "it looks fine, and Ralph you're in trouble. As much as I know you and I want you to win the custody case. Fine suit or not, you didn't show up for the court appointment."
Coming down to her knees to face Ralph better, she continued, "I know this wasn't your fault. I'll try my best talking to the judge.
"Are you done, councilor?" Bill asked.
Looking to the federal agent momentarily, Pam returned her attention to Ralph with saying, "I think I'm beginning to hate him too."
Crossing his arms in annoyance over his chest, Ralph snapped out in a slightly stronger voice then before, "You tell her, Bill. Tell her why you've been following me around. Tell her "what suit" you were talking about. Tell her about the brick "wall"."
Suddenly Bill felt he needed a glass of water, "I think I'll leave you two alone for a minute," he replied.
"You don't stop with me, I won't stop with you," came back Ralph showing more strength as he further woke up from his forced nap.
"Will one of you two boys tell me what is going on here?!" Pam shot at the two men.
With one hand on the doorknob, ready to turn, but now stopped. Bill answered her question, "Madam councilor, you wouldn't believe it I think if either of us told you the truth."
"About what?!" Pam replied, her anger, now more into being frustration.
"I think, I think showing you would be best," Bill said, removing a set of carefully folded papers from an inter pocket of his jacket, before handing them to Ralph.
"What is this?" Ralph asked while unfolding the papers.
"What was my partner's and my case. which now is our case," Bill replied solemnly remembering how he had just lost Timothy Noelle.
Starting to read over the raw facts gathered by F.B.I. intelligence prior to Noelle's personal investigating & death. Ralph started to reply, "Mr. Maxwell. I'm not going to play hero especially after what just happened with the -." His words trailed off.
"Ralph? Honey, what's wrong?" Pam asked with concern.
"Weird," was Ralph's reply.
The words to him on the paper had turned into a large ink blot, with single frame images turning slowly into video.
"Is that Governor Morris?" Ralph asked half to himself, but also to Pam and Bill. His eyes fixed on the video image of the distinguished state official.
"Yes, but weird isn't the word I'd use for the report," Bill replied while coming over to Ralph to read over the words with him.
However putting a hand on Ralph's shoulder while bending down to see the papers with him. Bill pulled away from the other man in shock.
"Lord o'mighty what the hell is that!" He shouted at Ralph.
"I don't know," Ralph answered in a low voice.
The inky video of the governor moving about his office turned back to images again. The images not being alone by themselves, but almost rough animation in nature.
Slow moving hands picking up weapons. Trucks passing by stop stations near the U.S. / Mexican boarder. The outside to the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, and voting numbers.
"What was that?" Ralph questioned after the show ended.
"The suit! The suit is under your plain one! I bet its responsible for that strange holograph I saw when I touched you!" Bill exclaimed pointing a finger at Ralph.
"One of you clue me in to what is going on here?" Pam asked looking to both men.
"Do you feel good enough to walk, Hinkley?" Bill questioned Ralph, holding one of his hands at bay.
"I feel fine now," Ralph replied.
"Are you still seeing Governor Morris and other weirdness?" the fed questioned.
"No." Ralph stated sternly.
With Bill relieved of his fear, that he'd have to share more visions with the teacher. He reached out the hand he had been holding at bay, and helped Ralph out of the hospital bed.
"I don't believe either of you!" Pam snapped at the men as they quickly made their way in the hospital's parking lot to Pam's car.
"I'm having a hard time thinking that I'm going along with the E.T.'s game plan, Maxwell is forcing me into," Ralph stated to Pam while she unlocked her car's door.
"Listen, Hinkley it's clear a lot of good could come of this. You, seem to know better than I do what's going down at Morris's mansion in the Simi Hills." Bill shot as the men stood by the car, Pam was now inside.
"What have I done to the universe to deserve this kind of karma?" Pam asked her self leaning into the steering wheel.
"Pam, please get out of the car." Ralph requested of her gently.
"Why?" She replied in a drawn out voice.
"I want to show you we're not making this stuff up," Ralph stated opening up the car door for Pam.
"Can I guess at what you're up to kid?" Bill asked as Ralph placed his hands on the back of the car's undercarriage.
"Call me Ralph please, and yes, I'm betting on super strength here," Ralph replied.
"I still don't believe this," Pam muttered to herself while shaking her head no.
She dropped her keys, when the event happened.
Ralph before her eyes did a feat that put her in shock and Bill into a wide grin.
Without the help of a tow truck or mechanical lift in a mechanic's shop, Ralph lifted up the back end of her car to nearly his full height with ease.
Grabbing up the keys from the ground, Bill in a jovial voice asked if they could now get on with his case.
As he placed the keys back in Pam Davidson's hand, folding her fingers around the keys as he placed them there.
She nodded her head yes, watching her boyfriend, high school educator, normal man, gently set her car back down.
"Maxwell, I'm not sure how much more I know than you from that report data," Ralph stated as Pam drove him and the fed along Route 118 towards the Simi Hills, to the governor's mansion.
"What you claimed you saw, the weapons, A.R.D.E.C., the voting numbers. That seems to be confirmation of what I've had a gut wenching feeling about with this case," Bill replied with just a little bit of unease in his voice.
"ARDEC?" Pam questioned that odd sounding acronym.
"It's the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center in Jersey. There are a few others on the east coast, but the Jersey one is the big one. It's where all our top military toys get made," Bill replied.
"Wait does Governor Morris have these military weapons? Were those what I was seeing?" Ralph questioned nervously.
"What I think you saw were, yes was some brute fire power. But that A.R.D.E.c. stuff is where things get dicey. That's a new factor in this scenario. The Bureau has been trying to piece together Morris's activities and agenda for a while," Bill replied.
"And just what is it you think Ralph can do for case? No offense, hon," Pam replied.
"None taken, Agent Maxwell, thats something I'm wondering too," Ralph said giving the fed a worried look.
Bill bringing Ralph into a shoulder manly hug to the side, "It's from what I gather. No trouble for you getting me in there. Fly into the air up over the defenses, crack open some doors and maybe a few ribs of the guards. Let me talk to him, and find out what nasty business this slime covered eel has involved him self in and if my persuasion isn't enough, I bet you could do one hell of a job making him talk!"
This was not Ralph's scene, but it was also hard to ignore.
"Maxwell, I'm not really a violent person," Ralph stated moving away from Bill in the car a little and pitching pulled off the other man's arm from around his shoulder.
The fed at the pitch winced in pain and tried to with hold a cry.
"Can't we just call you William or Bill? Sorry but I think of my coffee breaks hearing your last name," Pam said stifling back a small laugh.
"Bill will be just fine, and Ralph for a non-violent man, you just -." The fed finally let go a cry of pain, breaking off this speech to the teacher.
After some apologizing and protest they arrived at the outskirts to the mansion.
Pam sat in her car annoyed for being left behind by the two men.
After all the effort put in the last 50 years for women's lib, she found herself caving into the points put forth by the teacher and the fed.
She had no training in combat and interrogation.
The first points put forth by Bill. Counterpointed by her with stating neither did Ralph.
Ralph augured back that while he wasn't skilled in either. He was sure he could learn on the fly, and so far the funny suit he was wearing beneath the missed court date suit, had proved it's self so far to be invaluable.
He was sure it could help him help the F.B.I agent fulfill his case and self exclaimed mission.
Pam had started to argure she could help all the same, but Bill quashed that in stating unlike her boyfriend, she wasn't wearing the super suit.
Ralph and Bill, in a slinkyness only a car burglar could admire, went all the way around the perimeter to the mansion's property looking for a way in.
The darkness awarded by the new moon night acted in their favor not to be detected by the property's guards.
What didn't work in their favor which the practiced fedral agent was quick to point out to the teacher at every near encounter, were the sercurity cameras spread about.
Some were in very predictable places, some were not.
Both men once circling the brick fence surrounding the yard, now found themselves in as much an annoyance at their predictament, as what they had left Pam Davidson in back in her car.
No easy way to get in without drawing attention to themselves, but one possible way.
"There has to be some route we've over looked here Bil, but one I don't want to do," Ralph stated to the older man as they stood starring up at the brick wall fence before them.
"Ralph, the gate sure isn't a pleasant option, and neither of us can scale this brick and mortar, unless, only you in your funny super suit can now climb like Spiderman. Flying over is your best option kid," Bill stated in what he hoped was his best persuasive manner of voice.
"What if I hit the wall while carrying you? Then we'd both need the hospital," Ralph stated with concern and fear.
After mulling over Ralph's words for a couple moments, Bill came to a decision.
"You fly over without me, then get the gate open from the other side," finally came Bill's reply.
"What if," Ralph started, and then realized this must be a fact, "Bill, I'm sure these guards have guns," he continued.
Pulling out his government issued pistol from underneath his jacket, Bill stated smiling, "Well you got one gun on your side."
Showing disapproval as he backed away from the brick fence, Ralph readied him self for flight.
With three steps taken the school teacher jumped, ready to be airborne like a bird springed from a cage.
Instead he fell to the ground into dirt and leaves.
"I don't understand it," Ralph stated weakly as he pulled himself up from the ground to his feet.
"I think I do," Bill replied.
Grabbing and tugging at Ralph's shirt collar, Bill continued with, "You need to have your super suit showing. That's how you were back at the gas station. I bet that cape untucked helps your flight power."
"The suit makes me feel like I'm impersonating some kind of flying fool of a clown, Bill. I don't like it's look," Ralph said as he unbuttoned his shirt after removing his jacket.
"Some how I don't think our men from Mars read Vogue, Ralph. Now will you hurry it up," Bill replied taking the jacket and shirt from the other man. As the teacher who had now exposed the long sleeved tight red shirt, and kilt. Was now working down his dress pants to reveal his underlying red pants which matched what came above them in the alien made outfit.
Chapter 7:
Grace was still a factor Ralph's flight lacked on his second attempt at it, but this time at least he made it to his goal.
He crossed into the mansion's yard, but he also made it into the mansion southern wall.
This time he saw the flat surface coming and crossed both of his arms over his head as they with the rest of his body crashed into the building.
The guards heard nothing but a thump they looked around for but couldn't find the source to.
Be it loud with the distinctive crumbling of stucco consisting of Portland cement and glass fibers told them little of interest because their sound source could be any thing from a small tremor, to weapon's fire from inside the building.
While there had not been any earthquakes recently, the house had been host to characters of a devious sort as of late, that some times would test their newly acquired prizes of commerce inside the building, much to the displeasure of the residents who lived there.
What did catch their interest and made they want to truly seek out the source of the noise was what followed the tumb and crumbling sound.
The people who acquired weapons here for business to the south, normally would never say to themselves like curse words and exclaimed they couldn't believe they hit another wall.
Ralph was found within minutes by a quintet of armed guards in the company of a trio of dogs dedicated to the same job as themselves.
Remembering how he had prevented injury to his head the second time of hitting a wall while flying in the same day, Ralph shielded himself with his arms.
"I don't want a fight!" He shouted at them, as he continued shielding himself.
When one of the guards asked him why he was there, and the reply given by the teacher was unsatisfactory. they opened fire on him.
Ralph simply took the barrage of bullets at first.
The men stopped their firing when they realized they were getting no where to their puzzlement at Ralph's invincibility beyond his chest where a normal bulletproof vest would be located.
Being a man who wanted peace, and would prefer not to pick a fight ceased his normal lines of thought when the gun fire ended.
Ralph rammed into the gut of the nearest guard knocking him to the ground.
The other guards ran to the two men and piled on one another.
"You didn't have to shoot at me!" Ralph yelled at the man he had knocked down, while the others around them pulled him up.
Without remembering his strength given to him by the alien made super suit, meaning to simply back off the men, holding the teacher at bay. Ralph instead made them fly backwards by yards in the yawn behind him.
"How did you do that?!" The guard who Ralph had rammed, now standing asked.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Now open up the main gate, and no alerting re-enforcements." Ralph stated and demanded to the shaken standing guard.
"Are you here to rob the place?" The guard questioned Ralph.
Ralph slid his hand down over his face rolling his eyes while doing so.
"What do you think?" Ralph finally replied while brushing off himself on the shoulders, from some stucco which still clung to him from the mansion wall he'd crashed into earlier.
Bill watched the teacher and armed guard reach the gate.
The guard eyed the fed up and down before stating to Ralph, "I don't question his appearance, he looks respectable. You look like a reject from Hollywood superhero movies."
"F.B.I. bucko, and he's my partner," Bill stated flashing his badge to the guard.
"Two more federal agents. Do you know what we did to the first one to show up?" The guard said with a mean looking smile to Bill.
Ralph had to hold back Bill from beating up the guard, as the fed proceeded to curse with language even unthinkable to the troubled class he taught.
As Bill stopped trying to fight Ralph's hold on him.
Both men frozen in movement as they noticed the guards reinforcements come into view.
The men who Ralph had accidentally thrown across the yard were now back and with bigger guns than before.
The guard who had opened the gate for Bill insisted, the two men come with him inside the building for questioning.
Even though Bill was armed, he wasn't impervious to bullets like Ralph knew he was at this moment, thanks to the suit.
They had no real choice but to be escorted into the building by the guards
When the governor saw Ralph Hinkley and Bill Maxwell, he only took the one who didn't look to be dressed in a circus outfit seriously.
"I had the last fed who snooped taken care of. You're the person he was trying to contact when we took away his mobile aren't you?" Morris said approaching Bill.
"Where does A.R.D.E.C. fit into your plans Morris? The Bureau is already damn sure of you smuggling weapons over the border." Bill questioned and stated to the man in a growling snapping voice.
Coming in close to Bill, Morris replied, "Spill my guts out to you here when you're at my mercy? What do you think I am some kind of cliche villain?"
"I don't think you're a villain Morris, I think you're a pig byproduct that my friend here will turn into slop if you don't tell me what I want to know," Bill replied, not letting any fear show.
Ralph looked worried as the fed looked at him in hopeful anticipation.
"Seriously?" Ralph questioned Bill as they continued to be held at bay by Morris's guards.
The governor punched Bill sideways to his jaw.
With the show of force used on his ally, Ralph forgot about the men holding him, broke free and went straight for Morris.
"Damn for a clown you have guts," Morris exclaimed as Ralph approached him.
"I'm not a clown, I'm a high school teacher who only has to deal with clowns all day." Ralph said grabbing the back to the governor's shirt.
"What do you think you're doing!?" Morris snapped as Ralph started to drag him towards the door in the room leading to the outside.
"Should we fire at him, sir?" One of the guards asked.
"No!" The governor shouted emphatically, as Ralph forced him outside, still holding on to the back of his shirt as if it were the scruff of lose skin you'd find on a kitten's neck.
As Ralph slammed the door behind him, Bill laughed.
"What's so funny?" the guard holding Bill, demanded.
Cracking up further, Bill stated his thoughts, "with that funny suit on I can only imagine what my buddy could do to that man in interrogation."
Remembering his failure at the fence, Ralph reached behind him with his free hand to ruffle out his cape to flow better with his stride over the grass.
"Where are you taking me!" Morris demanded of Ralph looking at him with a glare as he continued to be toted / dragged into the center of the backyard of the mansion.
"Up up and away," Ralph replied with a calm determined voice.
"What!?" Morris was in shock, unsure how to take the man's words.
After three steps and a jump Ralph was in flight with the governor still in tow.
The governor screamed as they ascended into the sky.
"Hmm, it seems I'm getting a little better at this," Ralph exclaimed to himself, making sure the other man could hear his words.
"How is this happening!?" Morris asked in absolute panic looking down at the ground dozens of feet below them.
As Ralph tried is best to do a control circling around the governor's estate, he started interrogating the official.
Gaps in his knowledge of the case got filled in as the man blubbered out the missing facts the F.B.I. didn't know and what Ralph wasn't shown when he had his psychic vision.
Confirmation that their neighbors south of the boarder where buying weapons from him.
That they were financing his coming presidential campaign.
That once in office, he would have access to A.R.D.E.C. and he would be able to loan out experimental weapons, hidden from public knowledge.
That knowing any acts of violence committed while using them, would give the United States reason to wage war. Given the taken from resource, the weapons would not have yet markers on them indicating which country they belonged to. And given their deadly nature, the U.S. would never admit to having created them.
The governor knew war threatening country would always the best way to gain the trust of the people of the United States of America.
Ralph got more and more disgusted at the governor's confession the further he got into it. and what made him feel worse was remembering he had helped vote the man into office.
For a moment Ralph felt like doing the unthinkable to the man, before hisnormal sense of morals kicked in, restoring his reason.
Looking about below him and trying to ignore the cowering man who he was still holding by the back of his shirt.
Ralph looked about for a place to set him down. Some where he could do no more harm and could not escape from till Bill Maxwell's associated colleagues from the Federal Bureau of Investigation came to claim the man.
He spotted the perfect place much to the governor's disapproval.
It was a Sugar Pine that bordered the brick fence that had been an earlier cause of frustration to him and his ally.
The pine looked to be nearly a hundred feet tall and barren of branches at it's top. Nothing at the tip looked strong enough to grip in a clime to the bottom.
A crane could be used to get the snake down, Ralph mused to himself.
Getting Morris hooked on to the tree was another matter however.
Morris felt the impact of the tree before his flying interrogator did.
It knocked the air from his lungs, and forced him not to think of the trouble he now had to face from the law, but now the ground he was towering over with dead thin branches preventing a safe way down.
Finding the one sturdy branch attached to the trunk of the tree, Ralph hooked the man to the pine.
"Are you going to leave me like this?!" Morris questioned in a whine as Ralph held on to the tree with one hand, as the rest of his body floated in the air.
"No," came Ralph's reply as he fished the governor's cell phone from his pants pocket.
Getting back to the ground, Ralph rolled over a few times before stopping.
He readied himself to call to 411 to discover the number to the field office of the F.B.I., Bill worked for.
Bill stopped him.
The guards had let got of him to discover why they heard governor screaming.
"Ralph, you can't make the call to the Bureau. I can't explain you to my superiors," Bill exclaimed removing the cell phone from Ralph and proceeding to make the call.
"Please remember that when, if you decide to come into Whitney High again and make a scene." Ralph stated in a low voice as the fed relayed where he was to the force dispatcher at his office.
Before Ralph made his way back to Pam, he told Bill every thing Morris had told him.
The attorney was half asleep head turned towards the sound of the commotion over the fence when Ralph approached the car.
As Ralph got closer to the car, Pam noticed he was getting lower to the ground in his walk, which was slowly becoming a crawl.
"Ralph what are you doing?" She questioned him as he fiddled with opening the back door to the car, not facing the road.
"I don't want people to see me in the super suit," he replied as he made his way into the car still trying to be as low to the ground as possible while doing the act.
"There's no one around to see you in it," She replied as Ralph buckled him self into the backseat.
"There will be police and more feds arriving soon. We need to leave, Bill can't go around explaining to them a guy impersonating Captain Marvel helped solve and put an end to his case." As Ralph finished his statement he noticed how tired his girlfriend looked.
Surely it had been a long day for her too.
"Honey are you ok?" He asked.
"I'm just a little sleepy, Ralph," She replied to him before turning her attention to turning the key in the ignition to the car.
For now his fear of being seen would have to take a backseat.
Pam was in no shape to drive the both of them back to Westwood Village.
As Ralph encouraged her to take a nap in the car as he drove it back to his place, he wished more then any thing he could make himself just disappear from sight as he drove towards more populated areas.
All that went awry on the ride home was shock followed by night owl people staring at a Chevy Cruze going down roads with no driver in sight.
The end or the beginning. You choose.