"Welcome to my humble abode, gentleman," said Sardonyx with a slight smirk on his face. Bill and Ralph lowered their hands and looked at their current surroundings. It had all the comforts of home, that is if your home was set in the Middle Ages. There was a suit of armor, a shield and other sorts of weaponry in addition to brown leather furnishings.
Ralph, realizing he'd probably be more believable in showing force in his current guise, decided to not mince words. "All right, Sardonyx, we know that you were the one trying to poison the lone witness in your case," he said as "Bill." "And we know you have an antidote, so why don't you make this easier on yourself and just give it to us?"
"My dear fellow, why would I do that?" Sardonyx mocked. "Even though I wasn't able to get rid of that punk, having the counselor die will be just as good. They don't have enough time to get a new attorney, and the judge will have no choice but to declare a mistrial. And, while they try to get a new attorney, I'll be gone before they know it."
Growling slightly, Ralph started forward, only to receive a punch to the jaw from Sardonyx's henchman. He fell to the ground, but despite a slight cut on his lip, he was otherwise all right. "Good thing Bill doesn't have a glass jaw," he mused, rubbing his jaw. "But, I hope he remembers that I do."
Bill saw Ralph go down and winced. He knew that would sting when he was back to his normal self. He turned back to Sardonyx. "Listen, mister, he's right. The prosecution's got a great case on you as is and that witness will still want to testify. If you give us the antidote, we'll make sure that they don't add kidnapping and assault to your charges."
"What makes you think that two measily charges will get me off the hook," Sardonyx said. "Besides, I can get rid of you two quickly. Andrew, you know what to bring me."
As Andrew left, Sardonyx pulled out a bottle containing a clear liquid. "Now, before you go on the trip of your lives, I'll let you in on a secret. The poison itself is a special concoction of mine, something I learned in pharmacy school. This is the only antidote to the poison your friend took. But, that won't matter now since the two of you will be going on the trip of your lifetime."
Andrew came back with a bag of a bluish green substance, which the two recognized as sapphire comets. He gave it to Sardonyx and pulled out his gun, aiming it at Bill and Ralph.
Sardonyx poured out a measure of the drug onto a piece of paper. "Now, you have a choice. Either you can take this, or we'll just shoot you on the spot. I'd much prefer that you take the drug though, because it'll be easier to pass off your deaths as suicides than homicides," he sneered.
Bill turned to Ralph. He knew that "Bill" would not be able to survive if he took the drug, but he wasn't sure about his own scenario. Ralph looked at Bill, as though he knew what the other was thinking, and nodded. He knew that there was a risk with what Bill was thinking of doing. "All right, since we have no choice," said Bill, "but, let me go first. And, let the old man decide for himself."
Sardonyx nodded. "A reasonable final request. All right, go ahead." Bill took a look at the drug and glanced at Ralph one final time, just in case this didn't work. He picked up the paper containing the drug, then dropped it on the floor and turned invisible.
"What the hell?" shouted Sardonyx and Andrew. Ralph, in the confusion, ran and hid behind a couch. "Get them," shouted Sardonyx.
Behind the couch, Ralph searched through Bill's jacket and found a revolver. "Haven't had much use for this, but since I'm not wearing the suit, anything's better than nothing," he mused. He pulled back the hammer and aimed a shot toward the Sardonyx and his men. As the gunshot rang out, they dove for cover as well and started shooting.
"Bill, come on, will you pop back in," shouted Ralph from behind the couch. He prayed that Bill just touching the paper that the drug was on didn't kill him.
No sooner did Ralph think that when his true self popped back in right behind Sardonyx and his henchman. They turned around, only to receive a punch to the jaw each. They fell to the ground, out cold. "Ralph" then proceeded to riffle through Sardonyx's pockets and procured the vial of antidote. The real Ralph in turn handcuffed the others and was calling the police to have them pick up Sardonyx and his men.
"The police are on their way. Did you get it Bill," asked Ralph as he finished tying up Sardonyx and his henchman.
"Yeah, kid, this is it, but just to make sure, I'll have Mr. Onyxsard tell us when he comes to."
"Sardonyx, Bill. You have his name reversed," said Ralph.
"Quit being an egghead and get a move on. We need to get this to the Counselor." Just then, Sardonyx woke up. Bill decided to have a little bit more fun at Sardonyx's expense while he got the other to confirm the antidote. "Well, welcome back Sardonyx. Now, I want you to confirm for me a little fact. Is this really the antidote?"
Sardonyx just laughed. "Now, I might have been telling the truth, I might not have," he said. "And, as long as I know and you don't, your friend will only get worse and die."
Bill turned to Ralph and winked. Ralph nodded in response with a slight twinkle in his eye. The blonde-haired man turned and faced Sardonyx again. He was going to like this. "All right, how about we go flying?"
"What, not only do you think I'll tell you the truth, you think you can fly? Come on I. …" his taunting came to a halt and turned to shouts of terror as the man in the funny longjohns picked him up into a fireman's carry and flew him to the top of the mansion. As Bill landed on the second floor, he dangled Sardonyx over the railing. "What did you say?" Bill retorted.
"Nothing, nothing," said the other man in fear. "I'll confess, that's the right antidote. Now, will you get me down from here before I pass out?"
"Sure, thanks for your help," Bill said with a smile, almost like his own. He flew the other man back down to the ground and when he landed, realized that Sardonyx had indeed passed out again. Bill lowered Sardonyx to the floor and looked at Ralph, who in turn gave him a curious look. "No, I didn't lay a hand on him," said Bill. "I think he just fainted from fright."
Ralph just smiled. "Didn't think so, but maybe your comment about these guys being chicken inside might be true. Come on, let's go before the police arrive. We don't have much time as is."
As they hurried out to the car, Bill started feeling uneasy, almost as though there was a storm coming. But there were no clouds in the sky, unlike the last time. "You know, Ralph, there have been times I wished I had the jammies instead of you, but after today, I think I'd much rather have you wear them."
"Yeah, and I've learned not to ever quarrel with you to the point of throwing punches. I didn't know how strong you were until I had to pick myself up to get us both out of the rain," said Ralph.
As they were talking, the suit began to glow an eerie glow, almost the same grayish purple colors as before. Ralph turned to look at his true self, and Bill looked at the other in return. "What's going on," said Ralph as he reached to touch the suit.
"Don't know kid, but you'd better not touch it, you know what. …" His words were cut off when both their hands touched.
They felt another, though not quite as powerful shock as before. Both men stumbled backwards and Bill fell to his knees, dazed head bowed. He looked up to see a man with curly blonde hair stare back down at him. "Kid, you OK," said Bill.
"Yeah, think so. Don't know how we did it partner, I think we're back to normal, but there was no lightning this time," Ralph said. "Anyway, we don't have time to figure out how we got back to our normal selves, we need to get this antidote to Pam. There isn't much time left."