Hodgins' Unworldly Adventure

The phone rang, echoing throughout the lab.

"Hello?" Angela answered.

The sinister voice trailed out from the receiver.

"Dr. Jack Hodgins has …" Angela changed the output to loudspeaker. "… been taken. Provide information about your human life or risk never seeing him again."

Brennan, Booth, Angela and Cam, looked at each other in utter shock. The message sounded very much like the Gravedigger's strategy … but the Gravedigger, she was caught right?

"Probably just Zach and Hodgins playing a joke." Booth suggested, shrugging his shoulders. "Hodgins went to see him earlier right?"

The four of them looked at each other, looked for answers.

"It's a possibility." Angela agreed hopefully.

"Well, actually." A voice came from the labs entrance. "If that were indeed a possibility, Hodgins would have come to see me earlier and I would not in fact be here."

They all turned to face the doorway in haste to see Dr. Zach Addy; his black gloved hands, although healing; were still badly injured from the explosion.

"That is true." Brennan agreed. "But did he in fact not come to visit you?"

Zach confirmed that he did not.

"So, first things first, what are you doing here Zach? How did you escape this time?" Cam asked

"The same way I did last time." Zach shrugged. "If that method was effective, why would I use another?"

"Makes sense." Brennan agreed.

Booth, who had remained rather silent up till now decided to take control.

"No Bones, it does not make sense!" He disagreed. "It does not make sense in any way."

"Why not?" Bones asked. "It was an effective method, time and effort would be wasted if he chose to discover another means of escapism"

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Hodgins woke and started to examine his new surroundings. All he could see was masses of metal … a circular room completely silver in colour. But wait … he wasn't quite in the room. He was in some kind of glass pod, forced to do nothing but stand on his own two feet. He managed to force his head to the right and saw on a clear white board, a detailed diagram; a diagram, of himself.

"That's …. odd." Hodgins thought to himself.

Hodgins' attention was drawn back to the door way as he saw … himself, walk into the room. Except this wasn't really him, he was grey in colour with two small antenna emerging from his hair. Then two more of him walked in … then another two. These though were not grey; they were blue, pink, green and orange.

"Cool!" Hodgins spoke out loud, unable to control his excitement at his first encounter with aliens.

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They were all gathered around an evidence table, but with no evidence to hand they had nothing to work with.

"Poor Jack." Angela voiced her concern out loud.

This was Hodgins' second time being captured by the gravedigger, if that's indeed what happened.

"What's the plan of action?" Zach asked.

Booth looked at him, a totally horrified expression drawing on his previously vacant expression.

"The plan of action?" Booth repeated, prodding Zach in the chest. "The only plan of action for you is getting you back in that hospital."

Zach sighed then took Angela's phone and replayed the message.

"Dr. Jack Hodgins ……"

They all listened intently, searching desperately for any hidden clues.

"Wait!" Booth exclaimed. "That voice is familiar! SWEETS!!!!!"

Dr. Lance Sweets was in fact scanning his key card in order to enter the main Jeffersonian lab at that very moment. He walked towards the bemused huddle of his colleagues and formally asked Booth why he was so agitated, a slight chuckle resounding behind his words.

"It was Sweets!" Brennan started to laugh hysterically. "He's the Gravedigger!"

Sweets smiled and nodded.

"Sorry I'm late!" Hodgins hurriedly scanned his key card. "I slept in. But man I had such an awesome dream!"