Chapter 4

(A few weeks later back at CompuTech Headquarters.)

Alex Harrison was lost in thought as he worked out in his own personal gym. He was lifting up to two-hundred and eighty-five pounds easily and barely breaking a sweat. He looked at his image in the mirror.

Of course she had fallen in love with him. What living, breathing, female wouldn't with his chiseled body and handsome face? Not to mention his longer sandy blond hair. It was as Dedra had said many times before. "What other male could possibly compete with you?"

"None!" he said out loud to his reflection. He pressed the weights faster. He had to get her back. She was his. He had trained her. Of course they needed the activation device back, but he still wanted 'her'. She was the key to everything. Perhaps he could even change her back into what she once was before everything had gone wrong. Through her, his every wish, his every desire, would come true. He would show no mercy, no pity, for anyone who stood in his way.

He was lifting the weights at a much faster pace when Dedra walked in. "The transfer is complete, Alex. Would you like to take a look before we start testing the systems?" She looked down at him with a smile. With that girl out of the way, she was free to look at Alex anyway she wanted.

"Yes." He put the weights down and put his shirt on. He followed her to the first floor, then outside to a large hanger. They walked over to a lit area where a large form was covered by a dark sheet. Dedra stood back as Alex stepped forward and removed the cover. He admired what was underneath, the brilliant color, how it shined. Finally his father's dream was a reality.

"Is everything to your liking?"

"Yes. I'm very satisfied. Proceed with testing." He couldn't wait for it to be activated.

"What will be it's first mission upon activation?" she asked.

"To get the girl and bring her back to me."

"Devon, the last thing I want to do is put pressure on you." Mr. Stromburg said, sitting at the opposite side of Mr. Miles' desk. "But the Government would really like to see FLAG have a new field operative before they approve anymore funding for the Foundation."

"I understand, Carl. It's been the Government's generosity that's helped keep the Foundation going for the past ten years. And we appreciate all you've done yourself to help us."

"Wilton was one of my dearest friends. I'll work myself to the grave to see his dream doesn't die."

Devon was touched by Mr. Stromburg's words. "As will I, Carl. As will I." Mr. Stromburg got up to leave. Devon stood to see him out of his office.

"We'll do our best."

"I know you will, Devon." said Mr. Stromburg. The two men shook hands and hugged.

The moment was interrupted by Bonnie yelling from the bottom of the stairs. "Cara! Hurry up! You're going to miss the bus!" Devon gritted his teeth as Mr. Stromburg put his hands over his ears. "Bonnie, for heaven's sake! We have a guest."

"Oh! I'm sorry Mr. Stromburg." Bonnie apologized.

"It's alright, Bonnie." laughed Mr. Stromburg.

"I'm coming!" yelled Cara. She was flying like a bat out of hell, almost running into the two men as she ran towards the stairs.

"Cara!" called Devon. "Is that how a young person should behave?" he gently scolded.

Cara turned around. "I'm sorry, Devon. I just didn't want to be late on my first day of class. I'm sorry, sir." She said to Mr. Stromburg. She then kissed Devon on the cheek.

"Wait! What about breakfast?" asked Devon. "No time! Bye, Devon! Bye, Bonnie!" she said, hurrying down the stairs and hugging Bonnie on the way out. "See you when I get back!" The door slammed behind her.

"How about her as an operative? She's certainly fast enough." joked Mr. Stromburg. Devon laughed.

Cara walked down the long road from the mansion to the highway. Just as the guards let her through the gates, the city bus was pulling away. "No! Come back!" she called, waving her arms. But the bus driver never saw her. "Oh great. That's just great!" she muttered to herself. She had tried for days to get an opening for an art class at the local arts center, and now she was going to miss her first day. She made the long walk up to the main house, all the while kicking a stone and cursing to herself.

She supposed she should have just gone up to Devon's office and asked him or Bonnie for a ride, but something caught her attention, the black car from before that she had cleaned. 'No.' she thought. 'I couldn't. It's not my car.' But she needed to hurry, and Bonnie 'had' been giving her driving lessons on her own car. Besides, the class was only an hour long. Maybe she'd be back before the car was even missed. She made her way over to the Trans Am, careful so no one would notice her.

Kitt was running a self diagnostic on himself when he noticed Cara. She walked right over and tried to open the driver's side. He locked the door. Whatever did she think she was doing?

She pulled on the handle again. "Oh, come on." she said more to God than she did to the car. "I was put on a waiting list for this class! I can't miss it!" She tugged again. Then a thought came to her. Maybe the car was voice activated. It was worth a try.

Cara stood back and made her voice firm. "K.I.T.T., open up." Nothing happened. "K.I.T.T., open." she ordered. Still nothing. "Open sesame!" she said, throwing her arms out. Kitt suppressed a laugh. The door remained locked. She looked at her watch. She was already five minutes late.

"Please, Kitt." she pleaded. "I can't miss this class. I just can't." Kitt liked that tone better and took pity on her. He unlocked the doors. Cara opened up the driver's side and got in. She looked around. This was certainly different than the car Bonnie drove. "How do you start this thing?" she asked. Kitt turned on his turbine engine. Cara moved the steering wheel, stepped on the gas, and took off.

Cara parked in the parking lot and ran inside to her class. 'Room 201.' she thought. 'Good'. She knocked on the door. "Come in." said a man's voice. She walked in and saw that the teacher was in the middle of a lecture. Everyone's eyes turned to her.

"Ah, you must be Cara." said the teacher. She nodded and brushed her hair to the side so no one would see the marks on her head. "Hi, I'm Mr. Casey. Class, we have a new student today, Cara Bennett. Please make her feel welcome. Have a seat anywhere, Cara."

She was grateful for the chance to sit down. She went to sit next to a couple of boys, but one of them tipped the chair over just as she reached for it. "Sorry." he said, chewing his gum with his mouth open. "Seat's taken." He and his friend laughed silently.

"That's enough, Trevor." warned Mr. Casey. Cara picked up the seat and sat as far away as she could at the table she was sharing with the young men.

"Now," continued the teacher, "who can tell me what movement in the arts is Monet responsible for?" No one raised their hand. Cara thought. Somehow, she knew the answer and raised her hand slowly. "Yes, Cara?"

"The impressionist movement?"

Mr. Casey smiled. "Very good, Miss Bennett. That is exactly correct." He walked over to the chalkboard to write something.

"Aren't we the teacher's pet?" said the guy next to Trevor. She looked at them. He pressed his lips together and made a kissing gesture at her. Trevor whispered something to him and they both laughed again.

"Trevor? Keith? Care to share with the rest of the class?" called Mr. Casey. "No, sir." they both said.

Mr. Casey continued with his lesson. Soon it was over. "Okay, class, for the rest of the hour, just work on your projects from yesterday." He brought over some paper and art supplies over to Cara. "For this week you can just sit and draw whatever you like. It's too late for you to start on this project. You can make up the credit later."

"Thank you, Mr. Casey." she said. She began to draw. Soon, she completely lost herself in her work. Her hand seemed to have a mind of it's own as it pressed against the paper. She was drawing a bouquet of flowers, just like the ones that were sent to her.

Mr. Casey leaned over her shoulder. He reached over. "May I?" He picked up the drawing. "Oh, wow, Cara. This is beautiful. And you pulled it right out of thin air too." He held it up for the class to see. "Class, look at this. I believe Miss Bennett is a natural." Everyone was in awe except the two guys seated next to her. "I'd like to put this in our showcase once you're done with it if that's alright, Cara." She nodded and Mr. Casey went to look at another student's work.

"Look at her skin and those marks on the side of her face. God, wouldn't want 'that' as my girlfriend." Keith laughed with his yellowish grin and red hair. A girl nearby giggled.

"Yeah." said Trevor. "What a freak."

Cara propped up her arm and lowered her head. She kept to herself for the rest of the class.

Cara got up as soon as class was over. She made her way outside to the black Trans Am. The sooner she got out of there the better. Trevor and Keith followed her, making catcalls. Passers by laughed.

"Hey, baby. What's the rush, sugar?" called Keith.

"Hey, we're talking to you, freak." said Trevor. "Hey FREAK!"

Kitt watched helplessly as a dark haired man came up from behind Cara and pushed her . She landed on her back and arms. Her drawing fell to the ground. Something then came over her. She stood up and glared at Trevor.

"Oh!" he said. "Maybe the freak wants to fight. That it, little girl? You wanna prove yourself? Think you're better than us? Huh?" He shoved her. "Come on. Let's see what ya got." Both men laughed. Cara put her arms up, ready to fight. A male voice spoke in her mind. 'Remember, let your opponent make the first move.' She steadied her breathing.

"Hey, Trevor," called Keith. "Save some for me when you're done, will ya?" Kitt felt his anger reach a boiling point. How dare they treat Cara like that!

Trevor and Cara walked in circles. By now, a small crowd had gathered. "Go on, girl!" yelled a woman. "Kick his ass!" "Come on, Trevor, just leave her alone." said another boy.

Trevor slowly walked over to Cara. "Sure hate to mess up that pretty little face of yours…freak."

Suddenly, he swung at her. She blocked his punch and hit him upside the head. Trevor wobbled back, stunned. "Lucky shot." He came at her again. This time she raised her leg sideways and kicked him the ribs. He fell to one knee and she hit him again with several leg kicks and punches.

Keith came up from behind and grabbed her, holding her for his friend. Trevor came charging at her. She ducked and Trevor ended up slugging Keith right in the face. He was sent to the pavement with a thud, his glasses breaking. Kitt could not believe what he was seeing.

Cara caught Trevor on the chin, but it didn't faze him. He then grabbed her and threw against the car, knocking the wind out of her. Trevor ran at her yet again. Kitt had had enough. "Roll to the side!" he told her. She didn't bother to ask who had said it, but she did as she was told. Trevor barely missed her. Kitt instantly rolled up his window, trapping the man's arm.

"I beg your pardon!" he snapped. "Is that anyway to treat a young lady?" Cara suddenly froze. It was him! That voice! It was coming from the car!

"Hey! What the hell?" yelled Trevor. "Let go!"

"I'll be more than happy to, once you apologize to my friend." He rolled the window up further to make his point.

"Ah!" Trevor screamed. "Alright! Alright! I'm sorry! Now let me go!"

"Good." said Kitt, letting him loose. "Now, scat!" He spun his front wheels.

Trevor and Keith ran into each other trying to get away. They were like frightened children on Halloween. "What's a matter, Trevor?" called another guy. "Get beat up by a girl and her car?" Everyone laughed and soon the crowd dispersed. Cara simply stood there, dumbfounded.

"Cara!" said the car. "Are you alright?" He scanned her. "You don't seem to be hurt anywhere."

Cara couldn't find words at the moment. She was surprised she could even breathe. She had waited for this moment to meet him…and now…. She began to take a step backwards.

"Cara? Don't be afraid, dear. I'm a friend."

"It's…it's you isn't it? It's you who saved me…again." was all she could say. She swallowed. "You…you're a car?" she asked as she knelt to pick up her picture, keeping an eye on him.

"Well I'm more of a computer 'inside' the car, but yes, it's me. You can call me Kitt if you like. You're right. I'm afraid we must stop meeting like this." She was quiet. "That was a joke. Cara?"

She suddenly felt very tired and her body was shaking. Kitt scanned her vitals. She was going into shock. "Hurry! Get inside!" He opened the driver's side. She got in just as it felt as though the ground were to give way. He shut the door. "This has all been too much for you." he said, concerned. "I'm taking you back to FLAG." She was too weak to protest as he pulled out of the parking lot.

They rode in silence for a few moments. Cara took a deep breath. As she exhaled, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the rearview mirror. 'Evil.' said the female voice. She brushed her hair to the side again and looked down, unsure if wherever the computer was, he was even able to see her.

"Are you sure you're alright, Cara?" Kitt asked her. "You're very quiet." Bonnie was right she 'was' shy.

"Yes, I'm fine…Kitt." She went to run her hand through her hair again when Kitt noticed something.

"Your arm!" A picture of a woman's lower arm came up on one of the monitors.

"What's that?" she asked.

"I'm running a medical scan on you." He looked through the readings. "Thank goodness it's not broken. But it is a bad scrape. Bonnie will have to put something on that when we get back to Headquarters."

A beeping noise then sounded. "And when will that be, Kitt?" came Devon's voice. Cara saw Devon appear at his desk on the left screen. "Where are you? We thought you'd been stolen."

Cara spoke up before Kitt did. "It's my fault, Devon. I was late to my art class. I didn't mean to steal him, honest."

Devon sat down. "Well, I wish you had asked first. But I accept your apology. How was your first day?"

"Different." was her response. She didn't want to go into the details.

"Different?"

"Devon," interrupted Kitt, "I'm afraid Miss Bennett has had a very trying morning. Might I show her around before returning to the Foundation?" Cara had been through enough already that day, and he was sure she wanted to forget what had just happened.

"Yes, Kitt. That should be just the thing. I'll see you both when you get back." He smiled and the screen went dark.

"I hope he isn't too mad with me." said Cara. "I should have asked first."

"He's just glad you're okay. So am I." He paused. "May I ask where you learned to fight like that?"

"I don't know. I…don't remember anything from my old life." she said sadly.

'Old life.' he thought. 'Where have I heard that before?' "That's alright. I'm glad you were able to handle yourself against those delinquents." Just then a low growl could be heard. "You skipped breakfast, didn't you?"

"Yeah, guess I did I was in such a hurry."

"Will a cheeseburger do for now?" he asked her. He had already learned from Michael how much younger humans sometimes loved fast food. They could easily pick one up on the way back.

"That would be fine." She was starving. Kitt drove around until he found one the burger joints many of his former partners had frequented. He pulled up to the intercom and ordered for her since she was still visibly shaken from her fight.

"Would you like anything to drink?"

She looked at the menu. "A small lemonade if it's not too much trouble."

When they pulled up to the window to pay, Cara checked her pockets and panicked. "Kitt, I only brought enough for the bus!"

"It's okay. Just sit back and let me take care of everything." A drawer opened on the dashboard and out came a ten dollar bill. "You even have a ATM machine in here?" she joked.

"Sort of." said Kitt. "It's an auto currency dispenser. Comes in handy at times like these."

Cara took the money and paid they guy at the window. Once she had her food, Kitt drove off. Cara looked around. "What do I do with the change?"

"Keep it. Save it for a rainy day."

"I'll pay you back, Kitt."

She heard the car smile. "That's very kind of you, Cara, but it isn't necessary. I wanted to. Now, eat up." he told her.

"Yes, sir." she said, jokingly. She ate quietly, enjoying the sights and her food. Suddenly, she had a flashback. Something about the way she used to eat in her old life.

"Food tastes a lot better warm." she said quietly. Kitt heard her comment and noticed her expression. Was she starting to remember her old life?

"There wasn't warm food where you came from?" he asked.

"No, I…" She had visions of someone sneaking her food, hiding it. "There was warm food. But…I…think I had to sneak mine. All I had was stale water and cold macaroni and cheese. I don't remember much more." She finished her burger and lemonade.

Kitt felt pity for this woman. Not only had she been robbed obviously of sunlight, she didn't even have any decent nutrition in her. No wonder she looked the way she did. He would have to talk to Devon about changing her diet when they got back to the Foundation, so she could get the proper vitamins she needed. Why would anyone treat another person in such a manner?

"Cara," he said, gently, "you don't have to hide food anymore. I'll see to it Jacob gives you all the hot meals you want. Would you like that?"

"Yes." she said as they passed through the Foundation's gates. "I don't deserve to be treated this well. You've all been so good to me. Especially you for saving me three times already. I wish there was something I could do to pay you back, Kitt." She patted his steering wheel.

Kitt pulled up in front of the Knight Mansion. "For now, I'll settle for your friendship and a smile." he said. She had barely smiled since that night he had found her.

She did smile. "Thank you, for everything, Kitt."

"My pleasure." said the car. "We should do this more often."

"I'd like that." There was a short, awkward silence between them. Cara was thankful to have a new friend, someone on her side. And Kitt truly enjoyed her company. There was 'something' about this girl, and it made him want to get to know her better, even if she didn't know much about herself.

Devon came outside to greet them. He opened up the door and helped Cara out. "Did you have a nice ride, Cara? I trust Kitt behaved himself this time." He still couldn't believe what he had done to Tony Jackson, although Devon still found himself still chuckling about it at night.

"He was the perfect gentleman, Devon. He even took me out to lunch." She gathered up her things.

"Terrific. Good job, Kitt. Now, my dear, I'd like to see you in my office. There's something I've been meaning to give you." He put his arm around her.

"Oh Devon! Wait! I'll be right back. I forgot something!" She ran back to Kitt.

"What?" Kitt asked her. He didn't seem to notice anything she'd left behind.

"This." She quickly kissed his roof. "Thank you." She then ran back over to Devon, who then got an interested smile on his face. Kitt watched her go, his scanner flashing quickly. The car seemed to smile to itself.