One after the other the four youngsters laid their left hands against the the dome, closing their eyes in concentration. When they opened them again they saw two figures approaching. One of them was an old man in a lab coat with a melancholic, craggy face. The other was a younger man, tall with curly brown hair.

Fascinated, the four kids watched as the strangers halted just outside the dome. Apparently they had not noticed the barrier, because the old man also raised his left hand as if in greeting, smiled and said something. Angie pointed at her ear, shaking her head to indicate that they couldn't hear them. The two men exchanged puzzled glances. Then the younger one seemed to notice the glow around the teens' hands, and he stepped closer to examine the effect. When he tapped against the barrier - an outline of a shiny handprint appeared.

The four inside exchanged puzzled glances. "What the heck?" Norrie said.

Joe shrugged.. "Maybe the four of us are enough for the mini dome, but not for the big one?"

"But they're outside," Junior pointed out.

"And why them? Never saw them before," Angie added.

The old man appeared fascinated by what he had just witnessed, and although his companion tried to stop him he poked the surface of the dome with his finger. At the exact spot, another glowing handprint appeared.

A lively discussion ensued outside. Obviously the lab-coated man wanted them to put their hands on the spots, while the tall one was against it.

"Oh come on, the dome wants you to. Do it!" Joe muttered. The others joined in. "Do it! Do it!" they chanted.

The two men got the message. The older one resolutely indicated the handprints, and the younger one finally agreed with an eye roll. They put their palms against the indicated spots.

There was a loud crack - then the two men materialized between the four youngsters.

"Ouch! Dammit, why do I always get zapped?" the younger man complained, shaking his hand.

"First teleportation, and now we permeated a solid barrier. How extraordinary," the other one exclaimed. Then he turned to the four kids. "May we introduce ourselves - my name is Dr. Walter Bishop, and this is my son Peter. I assume you brought us here?"

Joe introduced himself and his friends. "No, sir, it must have been the dome that brought you. I guess it... needs you."

"Dome?" Peter cast a dubious look around. "You mean we're now trapped in this fishbowl?"

Angie nodded. "The whole town is, It came down about ten days ago. Nobody knows why or how. It's really weird."

Walter beamed at the girl. "That explains our presence. Weird is our specialty, isn't it, Peter?"

"You can say that again," Peter sighed. "Okay, how about we go somewhere more comfortable and you tell us all you know? Then we'll see what we can do about this thing."