Pop! The champagne bottles popped in unison as Michael and RC3 began pouring the next bottles for their tiny gathering. Devon was speaking to Jennifer Knight, who had recently secured funding for additional city units for FLAG. Michael was speaking with Bonnie, both of them laughing and comparing stories about KITT. KITT himself was parked in the centre of the room, RC3 now attempting to pour champagne over his bonnet.
"Don't you dare". RC3 laughed, accidentally spilling some on his bonnet anyway. Bonnie and Michael smiled. Bonnie looked up above KITT, noticing the large 'Farewell' banner above him. She would miss this place.
At the other end of the room, someone banged a glass. Everyone turned to see Devon.
"Now I know you said you didn't want this Bonnie but I feel words must be said."
"Oh please-"
"No we insist. You have been one of the shining beacons in the Foundation for as long as I can remember. The place will not be the same without you."
"Here here!" yelled Michael.
"We wish you all the best for your new position at Dynamo Industries. And if you ever need a place to come back to, I'll make sure they keep a spot open in the cafeteria."
Bonnie was more shocked than amused by the comment. Devon maintained his smile, despite the joke not going to plan.
"I'm gonna say a few words too" said Michael, staggering forward. Bonnie had lost track how many champagne bottles he and RC3 gone through.
"No please, don't bother" said Bonnie.
"No bother at all" repled Michael. "I'm gonna miss you April."
"Bonnie" she corrected.
"Who?"
The following day, Bonnie arrived at Dynamo Industries and was taken by a friendly guard into a meeting room. After 10 minutes she was starting to wonder if she'd made the right choice.
The door flew open at the other end of the room, and a tall bald man entered.
"Ms Barstow? Sincerest apologies for the delay" he said, stepping up and shaking her hand. "My name is Gerald Grainger, CEO of Dynamo. Now I would normally offer you a tour but I feel you'd be best served if we head straight down to the lab."
"By all means" she said smiling. She felt she would prefer to get stuck in rather than waste time on her first day with pleasantries.
In a corridor outside a lab, Bonnie and Gerald was walking. She found out the hard way he could talk without pausing for a very long time. In the time they'd taken to get from the meeting room to the lab, she learned Dynamo were attempting to perfect a smart car like KITT, but for the domestic market. They had five prototypes on the go and while all showed promise, none were anywhere near ready for mass production.
They entered the lab, Bonnie saw four men and two women in white lab coats, checking systems or focusing their attention on the car in the centre of the room. She noticed the car, and did a small double take.
The car was a 1986 model Trans Am, in a deep burgundy red. On the bonnet was a hexagon shape which pulsed a yellow light on and off like a heartbeat. Bonnie was taken aback by the clear theft of FLAG's smart car program.
"I know what you're thinking Ms Barstow… it's impressive isn't it? Pontiac have only just released this model to the world and we've got five of them."
"Why a Trans Am?" she asked.
"Why not? They're fast, sleek, powerful. Yes we could've gone with other makes but-"
An alarm went off on the wall. "Excuse me a minute" he said, and walked over and picked up a phone.
"Didn't think they'd nab you too."
Bonnie spung round and was surprised to see a familiar figure.
"April! What are you doing here?"
"They got me after I left FLAG as well. Been here about six months. Pay is fine." She glanced passed Bonnie to look at Gerald. "Management isn't."
"We should compare notes."
"Yes. We should."
At lunch, Bonnie and April sat alone by the window.
"How bad is it?" asked Bonnie.
"Shocking. It's not just systems they seemed to have copied but circuitry right down to little tricks we used to use to get round issues. Seems too much of a coincidence."
"Do you think-" Bonnie stopped mid sentence, as a man walked past them and took his seat on a couch. "Do you think there's a leak within FLAG?"
"Oh that much is certain. At this stage it's all minor. I've not seen any turbo boost modifications. Yet."
"Right, I need to make a phone call."
Devon hung up the phone and turned to Michael.
"Seems Bonnie isn't free from us after all."
"Is she in trouble?" Michael replied, concerned as he sat down.
"Not yet, but she is worried about this Dynamo Industries. Seems their progress into the world of smart cars is much further along than we thought."
"How far along?"
"Enough for Bonnie to warn me to get the lawyers ready. Seems Mr Grainger has stolen more patents from us than I've had hot dinners."
"I didn't even know we were patenting our materials."
"We patent everything Michael. Right down to your hair cut."
Michael was worried at this new humor angle Devon was attempting, but let it go. "Do you need KITT and me to investigate?"
"It's pronounced 'KITT and I', and yes, it would be prudent to send you in first. This does seem to be a legal matter however. I doubt we'd need KITT for this."
Gerald was standing at the window, staring out at the lab buildings in front of him. Behind him in the shadows of the back of the office, a voice spoke to him.
"How goes the new prototype?"
"I never asked to make any of this" said Gerald. "This was your doing remember?"
"I know what I want. What I need. A means to an end."
Gerald turned to face the shadows.
"When the program is complete I'm shutting it down. All of it. It's drawing too much attention. We've just hired another ex-Foundation technician."
"Which one?"
"Bonnie Barstow."
"Bonnie…. Yes I remember her. She helped me in the past. She will speed things up I'm sure."
Gerald attempted to look imposing.
"I will pull the pin if things get too dangerous for me-"
"Always thinking of yourself aren't you, Mr Grainger? How very self-serving of you." The voice rose in aggression. Gerald was having none of it.
"Self serving?" Gerald indicated the buildings out the window. "These are all for YOU. Not me!"
"You may threaten to 'pull the pin' all you like. The phrases you humans use is humorous to say the least. If you pull the pin on a grenade, you get an entirely different outcome."
Gerald stepped back. "I saved you. I found you lying there in that canyon. I could've left you."
"And I am grateful to you. This will all be over soon. I guarantee you that. Remember, I saved you as well."
Gerald didn't say anything. A knock at the door and an intern came in with some paperwork.
"Can't you see I'm in a meeting?" he snapped at her.
The intern looked around the room. "But there's no one in here sir, and the phone line wasn't busy."
Gerald stormed passed her and left. The intern looked around the room. Aside from a cabinet at the far end, the room was definitely empty. She turned off the light and hurried after her boss.
KITT pulled up outside Dynamo Industries and started scanning the buildings. Almost immediately, he stopped.
"Michael, I'm detecting at least five, maybe six signatures identical to my own."
"Cars?" asked Michael.
"Yes, they're emitting signals on a different but similar carrier frequency. Definitely autonomous vehicles."
"Devon was right, this Grainger fellow is up to something. Keep scanning, I'm gonna check it out."
"Right away, Michael."
Michael left KITT in the car park as he entered the main doors. After a few minutes of debating with desk staff, he had managed to arrange a meeting with Mr Grainger. A guard showed Michael to a meeting room where he waited.
Michael was staring out the window when he heard a noise behind him. A slight clicking noise. He let out a breath, and saw the steam rise in front of him. He suddenly realised how cold the room had gone.
"Michael, can I talk?"
Michael raised his wrist watch up to speak into. "Yeah buddy, what is it?"
"Over the past eight months there have been three missing persons reports, all of which involve Dynamo Industries."
"You mean some people come in here but don't leave?"
"Effectively yes, Michael."
"That's very reassuring KITT."
At this the door opened and Mr Grainger walked in. He immediately noticed the temperature drop.
"Oh Mr Knight, I'm very sorry about the air conditioning in this room. Lets move to another shall we, I'll get maintenance to fix this."
Bonnie ran one last check on the red prototype, which everyone referred to as Red One, before the planned test drive that afternoon. April sat in the driver's seat, checking the last of the systems. Compared to KITT, the interior was very spartan. The goal of the car was for the AI to control almost everything, and so many dials were removed. The AI could report speed, fuel consumption, temperature and anything else the driver needed, plus control speed as necessary. As Bonnie stepped back to observe the changes she had made to the front panel, one of the technicians to her right suddenly yelled.
A shelf of heavy equipment right next to Red One started to topple over. April quickly slammed the door and braced for impact. The gear fell on the roof and window of the driver's side. The loud clatter drew the attention of not only their lab but nearby labs as well.
Bonnie went to get April out of the car then stopped. Something about what just happened didn't add up. She took off her lab coat and threw it at her supervisor.
April got out of the car and reacted the same.
"What's with you two? Accidents happen" yelled the supervisor.
"We quit. And for good reason."
The supervisor was about to follow when he looked down at Red One. "It isn't even dented…"
"You saw what I saw I'm guessing?" April asked, as they both reached the exit.
"Yes" said Bonnie. "They have the molecular bonded shell formula."
As they walked down a corridor, Mr Grainger spoke with his arms gesticulating wildly speaking about how amazing his company was.
"I assure you Mr Knight, any advances we've made in the field of autonomous vehicles is entirely coincidental and parallel to your own development."
"Seeing as you've recently hired one of our best and brightest, she'll find out before long."
"And Ms Barstow is welcome to investigate as she pleases. We have nothing to hide. Here we are."
Mr Grainger ushered Michael into his own personal meeting room.
Michael smiled. "Much warmer, thank you."
"Michael Knight."
The voice at the back of the room spoke.
"Who said that?"
"That is… the first AI I created. I am planning on fitting him into the first prototype later this week. He's very excited."
Michael walked to the back of the room, which deliberately had some lighting panels removed.
"Why is it dark?"
"This is gonna sound strange but he prefers the dark."
"Mr Grainger, you are needed in Lab 3" said the voice.
"Please excuse me."
Mr Grainger left the room as Michael turned and walked to the back of the room.
"So, I'm familiar with artificial intelligences. Care to have a conversation about life, the universe and everything?"
Silence followed. "Do you have a name?"
"Michael, please respond."
"KITT? What is it?"
"I'm detecting two M134D miniguns near your location. They're powering up."
"KITT, wha-"
The whining of the spinning barrels filled the air as two panels slid back either side of the cabinet. The guns levelled themselves as Michael dived for cover behind the large metal tables. The guns opened fire as Michael flipped a table over, just in time. The shells tore through the top of the table like paper as Michael flattened himself against the floor as best he could. He barely had a foot clearance as he found the guns couldn't drop low enough to reach him. After 12 seconds the guns stopped firing.
"Forgive me Michael Knight. I normally don't react so strongly to people, but I've never forgotten what you did to me."
Michael stayed low to the ground. "Who are you?"
"You know who I am. Ironically like your resurrection, I too was found in the desert, near to death. And like you, I plan on rising from the ashes like a phoenix."
"I never leave people to die. I try and get them to a hospital if I can."
"Hospitals only treat organics. I am far beyond that."
Michael's eyes went wide.
"KITT, scan the room I'm in. Report on anything familiar."
"Familiar, Michael, I'm-"
KITT went silent. He'd clearly found it.
"Well buddy?"
"I'm detecting a signal which matches my signature. How much has Mr Grainger copied me?"
"It's not a copy buddy, I have a feeling this predates even you."
Mr Grainger burst back into the room. "What is the meaning of this? Explain yourself!" Outside, Michael could hear the sound of running and screaming, alarms going off. The building was being evacuated.
The cabinet remained silent. Grainger flicked a few switches on the wall.
At the end of the room, the cabinet finally became illuminated.
Michael flipped up the table and crawled under it, popping up right in front of the cabinet and well out of the range of the guns.
Inside the cabinet was a small box, dented and scorched from some past incident and fresh wires connected to it. Michael immediately recognised it.
"KITT, it's a Knight Industries 2000 microprocessor. And unless I miss my guess, it belongs to KARR."
"Devon has been notified Michael. Authorities are on their way."
Michael turned to see Mr Grainger holding a gun at him. "Yes it belongs to KARR. The poor soul was dying, so I repaired him. Something had happened to him out there, must've got caught up in that bridge that collapsed nearby."
"KARR originally had a 1982 Trans Am body, heavily modified" offered Michael. "He was the one who brought the bridge down. Nearly killed two security guards with it."
"So what happened to him?"
"My associate and I, KARR's brother if you like, managed to put a stop to him. But I thought FLAG had sent a team to recover the parts."
"They did" said Grainger "but they never checked the inventory to make sure it was all there. Or to make sure they didn't fire anyone on that team a couple of months later."
"You took his microprocessor with you?"
"Why not? It made for a nice paperweight for the last three weeks I was at the Foundation. No one even noticed I had taken it. Security was lacking in certain areas."
Michael stared at the microprocessor in the cabinet. "I don't think you realise what you were getting into-"
"Oh I knew exactly what I was doing. KARR could make things happen. I hooked him up and he was able to access bank accounts, manage the stock exchange, provide me with what I needed, on the condition I gave him what he needed."
"Let me guess. A new body."
"He doesn't like being in a cabinet all day. Do you KARR?"
The cabinet remained silent.
"KARR?"
While distracted, Michael quickly punched Grainger in the face and disarmed him. Using the gun handle, Michael smashed opened the cabinet and checked the microprocessor. None of the lights were going.
"KITT, lock down the labs, KARR may have just transferred his program into one of the new prototypes."
"Michael, one of the cars just left thirty seconds seconds ago. I have sealed the other cars in their labs."
"I'm on my way." He turned to Grainger. "You'd better stay here. I think my boss has a lot of questions for you."
Michael turned to leave. As he got to the door he turned back and raised his gun at Grainger.
"No wait-!"
Grainger ducked out of fear. Michael kept his aim true and fired.
Three bullets flew straight into KARR's microprocessor, smashing the main boards and removing any chance of it being used ever again.
As Michael ran down the corridor he bumped into Bonnie and April coming the other way.
"Michael, you came."
"Couldn't keep me away. Listen, KARR is here, or at least he was. You need to make sure those other prototypes don't leave the lab. Tear the tires off them if you have to."
Bonnie put her hand on his shoulder to slow him down. "Michael, KARR gave Grainger the formula for the molecular bonded shell. It's likely all the prototypes have it."
April stepped forward. "We've also found a list of components he's been sourcing these past 18 months. He virtually has all the pieces to build a car with the same strength as a Knight Industries 2000 vehicle. But there's something else, something even more worrying."
"What could be more worrying than that?"
"He took a shipment from someone in Libya four months ago. Judging by the security and safety measures involved, the shipment was radioactive in nature."
Michael stopped. "Are you saying KARR has access to nuclear weapons?"
Bonnie shook her head. "We don't know how it was used. But you need to be careful. If KARR detonates anything in a populated area-"
Michael broke away from them, heading for the door. "Then I need to stop him as fast as I can."
Michael leapt into KITT and did a full 180, speeding off as shell shocked workers and technicians from the now evacuated building watched him go.
"KARR is heading through the city Michael. I believe he's taking the shortest route to get onto the freeway."
"Hope he's leaving the city. Either way we have to catch him. Go for super pursuit mode."
The panel slid back and Michael engaged the green button. Hidden panels on KITT's outer shell began to open, dynamic airflow changed and the modified turbine engine powered up. The car accelerated to 256mph in an instant, blasting past the light traffic.
Within three minutes KITT had reached the city limits, and Michael took super pursuit mode offline.
"KITT, scan for him buddy."
"Already scanning Michael. I'm detecting a possible signal three blocks ahead."
KITT showed a map on the screen, indicating theirs and KARR's relative position. Suddenly KARR's indicator shifted position.
"Michael, he's coming right for us."
"Good. That's what I want."
Michael swung the car around and accelerated away, just as KARR emerged round the corner. He knew KARR may gladly sacrifice himself again if it meant he and KITT would be vaporised, but on the chance KARR simply wanted to hound them down he didn't want civilians getting hurt, who frustratingly had come onto the street to watch the car chase.
"This is your last day, Michael Knight" KARR began. "By the end of today I will have killed you then I will escape. Forever"
"Michael, I've scanned KARR's vehicle and something puzzles me."
"Go on" replied Michael, taking a corner so fast it nearly flipped them over.
"KARR's new body possesses none of the features I have. It's autonomous and has a decent engine, but beyond the molecular bonded shell I'm detecting not other advances."
"That's strange."
On the outskirts of town, Michael saw a large seven storey building being prepped for demolition. The outer shell of the building had been removed, so only the pillars and floors of each level remained.
"KITT, I got an idea."
Michael threw the car into a spin, and crashed through a barrier blocking the building from the outside world. KARR stayed right on their tail. KITT drove down into a basement level, through another barrier and into the open confines of the lower level.
"Michael, please don't hit any of these pillars, they're primed with explosives."
"KITT, give me some cover, we need to shake him."
"Right away, Michael."
KITT ejected a black cloud of smoke from the rear of his vehicle. Michael took KITT on a loop, slowly removing all visibility on that level.
"KITT, shut down your transmitter. We need to run silent."
KITT obliged, and ran silent. Michael put the car on auto, allowing KITT to navigate through the now completely black basement.
KARR circled then slowed. "Come out Michael Knight, we all must die sometime."
Elsewhere, KITT and Michael were running parallel with KARR.
"Michael, I've detected a flaw in KARR's new body. May I exploit it?"
"Go for it!"
KARR slowly crept along. "If you insist on hiding, I will have to leave and fight another day. "
At that instant KITT turbo boosted from the shadows, impacting on KARR's right rear wheel. The sheer force of the impact tore the car in two. The forward section of the vehicle slowly came to a rest while the rear section was blasted 20 years away, impacting against a blank wall.
Michael drove KITT around so he was facing the remains of KARR's front section.
"Nowhere to go KARR. Time to surrender."
"Your overconfidence is amusing. You've assumed you've won."
"KARR, you're half the man you used to be. I can't see how you can get out of this one."
KARR started revving what was left of his engine.
"I never intended to survive this one."
KARR began to vibrate. KITT scanned him.
"Michael, I'm detecting a build-up in KARR's turbine. It's increasing exponentially."
Michael threw the car in reverse and spun around, accelerating for the exit.
"If I am destroyed… so shall you be…."
"Michael, I can not guarantee we will make it in time."
"Yes we will" replied Michael, and activated super pursuit mode.
KITT transformed and accelerated away from KARR, as the turbine engine collapsed in on itself, detonating the large explosive packs hidden under the bonnet. The blast began to trigger all the demolition charges prematurely; the floors above them began to collapse.
The shockwave hit KITT but Michael managed to keep them steady. They were nearly at the ramp.
"Michael, we're not gonna make it!"
The floors above them collapsed as the building imploded. KITT felt concrete slam into his roof. The opening was just ahead. Michael saw a large dump truck on the other side of the road, and was in their path. There was no way to avoid it.
"Hang on!" yelled Michael, as KITT slammed into the basement ramp at 240mph. With nothing else left, Michael did the only thing he could think of.
He hit turbo boost.
Already travelling at speeds well beyond a normal turbo boost, the car blasted out of the basement as the building collapsed. It flew over the dump truck and cleared a full empty city block even before reaching the vertex of his climb.
Ahead of them, KITT could see a building coming up fast. He knew they would impact with it before they reached the ground and were able to brake. He calculated the point of impact would be somewhere on the second floor, but decided Michael didn't need to know this. He also realised a conversation at this point was beyond useful, as by the time they'd decided on a course of action, they would be destroyed. KITT thus decided to act to save Michael's life. When Bonnie and RC3 first developed super pursuit mode, they also created the emergency braking system to slow them down. While it may arrest some of their momentum, they were travelling too fast to save them, not to mention help them land safely. So KITT accessed a system he'd never used before. Until Bonnie had perfected the EBS, she installed a single-use drogue chute.
KITT blew the rear compartment and released the chute. In the same instance, small pockets opened in Michael's seat, and restraints criss-crossed Michael's chest, preventing him from falling into the dashboard. KITT also had protective air bags at the ready.
The chute successfully filled with air, giving them a sudden deacceleration. For a few seconds, KITT was suspended vertically with his nose pointing downward, but then his nose touched the pavement and he slide back into position on all four wheels.
"Wow! That was intense" yelled Michael.
"Promise me you'll never do that again."
"If I have to save you buddy, I'll do it again. Besides, always wondered what a turbo boost at super pursuit mode would look like."
"I haven't."
Michael got out of KITT and looked back. The remains of the building were shrouded in a massive dust cloud.
"Michael, that explosion contain no nuclear material that I can detect."
"That's good but that also worries me. We better get back."
KITT and Michael arrived back at Dynamo headquarters. Most of the crowds had dispersed by now. A handful were still being spoken to by police and FLAG officials.
Devon and RC3 were standing with Bonnie and April. Michael parked beside them at got out.
"Looks like we did it."
Bonnie couldn't take her eyes off KITT's front bumper. It was bent upwards, and the forward acceleration foils from super pursuit mode hadn't retracted properly. "What did you do? It'll take me days to beat that back into shape."
"You?" asked Michael. "So you've given her the job back already Devon. That's nice of you."
"She never left Michael."
"What?"
Bonnie smiled. "April and I were under cover. We 'quit' the Foundation in order to get into Dynamo. Things went a little faster than expected."
"So you're both back…?" asked Michael, a big smile on his face.
"Don't look at me" said April, "I'll probably be in another department. One year with you lot was enough for me."
"I hear ya" said RC3. Devon shot him a look. "Hey I'm just sayin', I can understand where she's coming from."
"So wait a minute…" began Michael, "are you saying we said all those nice words and drank that nice champagne for nothing?"
"Nothing?" said Bonnie.
Michael was about to reply when an explosion tore through one of the Dynamo buildings. People nearby ran for cover.
"KITT?" asked Michael.
"Scanning Michael. It seems the explosion came from one of the labs-"
Another explosion, then another. Michael had ushered April and Bonnie into KITT for their protection as the others huddled behind him.
"Are they blowing up the labs?" asked RC3.
A fourth explosion caused one section of the front of the building to collapse, blanketing them all in dust.
"Michael, I've analysed the explosions. They're coming from the prototype vehicles."
"Why would KARR have destroyed them all?"
"Because I no longer need them."
Michael quickly scanned all the cars in the car park to see if he could see anything familiar, before realising the voice came from within KITT.
"KARR?"
"Correct. As you can see, I have successfully risen from the ashes. As I predicted."
"It's his voice" said Bonnie. "The original, from when he first escaped from the Knight museum."
"Where are you?" demanded Michael.
"You're not gonna catch me that easily" said KARR, "in fact I don't think you'll catch me ever again."
One of the FLAG officials ran over to Devon with a piece of paper, pointing at something part way down the page. Michael continued.
"We've tracked you three times already KARR, we'll find you again."
"Michael, I can't get a lock on his signal, it's being redirected through a communications satellite."
"Next time will be different" began KARR. "Next time if you find me you will not survive. I am fitted with a nuclear warhead. Any attempt to stop me and I will obliterate the nearest city. You may track me. You may see me. But you won't catch me. I want to be free."
"We'll catch you one day. Count on it. KITT, sever the link."
KITT shut down his communicator. Devon stepped forward, handing Michael the piece of paper. "This was pulled from a file in Grainger's office. You'll note the six cars listed."
Bonnie looked over his shoulder. "These are all the cars that became the prototypes. Well all except the last one- oh no."
"Oh boy" said Michael.
KITT spoke. "What is it Michael?"
"The sixth car on the list is a 1982 two-tone T-Top painted black and silver with a customised front fender… sound familiar?"
"My goodness… KARR got his own body back."
"And better" said April, glancing at the fine print on the same piece. "He's upgraded with everything you've got. Super pursuit mode, passive restraint system, emergency braking. He's your equal again."
Michael stood staring at the ruined buildings, then turned to face the others.
"Devon?"
"Yes Michael?"
"I think we should get that car back."