Chapter Two

That weekend, all three traveled back out to the desert. It was sunny, but cooler than earlier in the week, plus there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

The suit sat folded in its box in the back of Bill's car. Bill stood, leaned against the car, arms folded, nodding approvingly.

"It's great, kid! You still got all the moves." Bill grinned. He'd finally talked Ralph into re-testing the suit powers to see if indeed all of them were transferred to him.

"This still feels weird." Ralph's voice came out of nowhere.

Pam shook her head. "I still can't help but wonder how much of this had to do with the suit itself."

Ralph blinked visible. He now wore a sling on his injured arm... and had already received much grief from Bill, Pam, and the doctor about taking longer than he should've to go see the doctor. And besides that, Bill and Pam still didn't know what story Ralph came up with for the doctor.

"Maybe the whole thing, who knows. Unfortunately, it might've been in the instruction book," Ralph said. Bill snorted, and he gave him a glare. "Perhaps I could attempt pyrokinesis next."

"I'd be careful with the car, Ralph, as it's our only form of transportation at the moment for all three of us, plus the suit is in there," Bill said.

"Hmm..." Ralph glanced around. He stopped and focused on a smaller plant. He concentrated on it... and it began to smoke. A few seconds later, the plant burst into flames. Ralph tossed a grin over his shoulder. "And you were afraid for the car, Bill." He turned back to the plant, took in a deep breath, then blew the fire out. Looking around again, he subconsciously rubbed at his injured shoulder.

"There's always flying," Bill said, knowing what the younger man was thinking about.

"Oh no, I don't think that's such a good idea," Pam said.

Ralph seemed to debate it. "The only thing keeping me from trying is that when I crash, I might land on my shoulder. It's actually feeling better today and I really don't want to tempt fate."

"Then maybe we could find out if you have any new powers," Bill suggested.

"Like what?" Ralph asked.

"Anything you can think of," Bill challenged, grinning.

"Alright..." Ralph thought for a moment, then matched Bill's grin. He turned back to the already-charred plant and focused on it again. He blinked a few times before keeping wide and unblinking eyes on it. For a split second, Ralph could've sworn a hair-thin red light came from his eyes... and made a small explosion on the plant.

Bill's eyes and grin couldn't have gotten any wider. "Laser vision!"

Ralph scratched his head. "I-- wow."

"Oh dear," Pam said, chewing her lower lip.

"That was amazing!" Ralph said, now excited.

"Just think of all the wonderful Russian electronics you could blow up with those eyes," Bill said.

Ralph rolled his eyes, but he was still grinning. "Russian electronics? Bill, where do you come up with this stuff?" He chuckled.

Bill pushed off from his leaning spot and walked over to Ralph. "Kid, I'm serious. After seeing this display, I feel better about telling you what I'm about to tell you. It's top secret gub'mint knowledge, very hush-hush, wrapped up, locked in a safe, in the deepest basement."

"Gee," Ralph grinned in Pam's direction, "it must be important, then, huh?"

Bill made an annoyed sound. "Kid, I still think you have some type of head injury going on, too. Now can we all settle down and let me finish?"

"Okay, Bill, go right ahead," Ralph said, still grinning.

"Anyway, there's atleast one gub'mint idea that's been stolen by the Russians: virtual reality."

Ralph sobered. "Virtual reality? You mean like a realistic video game sort of thing?"

"The US Army was going to instate virtual reality as a way of getting troops in some ground work without actually going to war. It's a great idea, I saw some of the plans. No one gets hurt, but it's real enough to feel like the real thing. Thing is, the Russians found out and apparently created their own version," Bill explained.

"I don't know, Bill..."

"Ralph, all you gotta do is vibe in on it, fly over there, zap it with those wonderful eyes of yours, and come right back. Simple," Bill said, his "I know you'll help out" smirk appearing full force.

Ralph opened his mouth to respond, but Pam stopped him. "Bill, is that safe?"

"The kid's practically indestructible, Counselor. Besides, if someone causes him trouble, then... he zaps them!" Bill said, as if it was the most obvious thing on earth.

"I can't do that, Bill, you know that!" Ralph argued. "I'll zap anything mechanical, but not another human being."

Bill sighed. "You're gonna make my eyes water."

"Bill, I'm just worried that maybe this will wear off. Then what? I won't have the suit, I'll just be plain ol' Ralph in the middle of who knows how many Russians with many deadly weapons."

"Then take the suit with you. Do I have to tell you everything?" Bill said. "Ralph, with the suit on, even if you don't need it, you'll be fine. They won't be able to hurt you and zapping that machine couldn't take very long. Come on, Ralph, do it for me. Do it for the gub'mint. Do it for your country." He gave him a smile that reminded Ralph of a politician blowing smoke.

But he conceded, anyway. "Alright, Bill. I'll fly over there and take it out," Ralph said.

"Great! That's wonderful, kid!" Bill clapped his unharmed shoulder.

"Maybe there is something to what you said about me possibly having a head injury, too..." Ralph sighed.

"This is crazy, Ralph, really crazy," Pam said, worriedly. She was leaning against the door frame of their bedroom

Ralph fastened the cape around his neck, grabbed the small bag from the bed and went over to her. "Hun, I have the suit and I know exactly where the machine is. I'll just go in, take it out, and then get myself out."

Pam gazed into his still-purple eyes. She could tell from the look in his eyes that he really did not like this scenario, but was indeed doing this, not just for them, but for the country. If he didn't get that technology out of foreign hands...

"Be careful." Pam kissed his cheek and offered a small smile.

Ralph nodded. "I will. I'll keep in contact with Bill best I can. I'm just not sure how well the communicators will work over such a long distance." He paused, then grinned. "Maybe we should introduce two cans tied with a string. That might work better than the communicator."

Pam gave a small chuckle. "It might."

"I've got to get going. I'll be back as quickly as possible," Ralph said.

The couple walked together into the living room and through to the kitchen. Ralph stopped, hand on the knob of the kitchen door.

"I'll be waiting," Pam said.

"I won't be long." Ralph left the door way, leaving the door open purposely. He took three steps and shot up into the air, his flight path much straighter after much practice, though he still wobbled here and there.

Pam watched until she could no longer see him, but still remained in the doorway.

The front door opened and Bill came in. He went into the kitchen and stopped beside Pam. "Lookit him go."

All Pam could say was, "Hm."

Ralph flew non-stop until he reached the military base that held the Russians' version of the virtual reality machine. Unfortunately, he crash landed in the greenery just outside the base. He lifted his head up from the ground and shook it, clearing the cobwebs. He moved to push up, but his injured arm gave out and he fell back down.

"Great, just great..." Ralph muttered, then pushed himself up again, this time with his good arm. Standing, he brushed himself off, then snuck his way into the wide-open base. He couldn't help but be amazed at how stereotypical the base was.

There were two watch towers, one at each end of the base. All of the "houses" looked like overgrown tents with their cloth roofs and wooden sides. Ralph sighed, then bowed his head. A second later, he blinked invisible and continued on his way. He wasn't sure which of the "buildings" held the technology, but he was sure to check each one until he found it.

Before going into the first one, he stopped at one of the walls and placed both palms flat on the wood and concentrated, trying to determine if he could vibe in on whatever was inside. For several of these "buildings," he received the same vibe of only humans and various inanimate objects inside.

The next "building," however, gave Ralph some incredible vibes. He could feel them without placing his palms on the wall. Instead, he opted to go right inside. There was one armed guard, a man with a rifle. But Ralph was amazed at the machine that held the virtual reality technology. It was basically a huge computer, kind of like an overgrown arcade game. He walked up to it and placed one hand on it. He got a vibe from it. It was an image of himself flying. He made a face, not understanding why he saw that. Curious, Ralph placed his other hand on the machine and received a jolt.

The jolt knocked Ralph down, completely visible. Unharmed, he pushed himself up with his good arm and glanced around. Something felt weird about his surroundings. He bowed his head and blinked invisible again, then left the building, intending to come back. The base outside still looked the same... until he saw a grenade go flying into one of the buildings, causing an explosion. Then another, and another...

Ralph watched a jeep come barreling through the base, a young man driving and another slightly older man throwing the grenades. It was the second man that caught Ralph's attention. His eyes widened as the jeep came closer and he noticed the other man's curly hair. Despite the fact that the man looked as if he'd been through mud half dozen times, his curly hair matted to his head, and wild look on his face... Ralph knew that face. It was his face.

The jeep came to a stop right in front of where Ralph stood, still invisible. His double jumped out of the jeep and heaved a grenade into the building where Ralph had been moments prior. He watched as men armed to the teeth came running out, shooting for all their worth at the two men with the jeep. But the two men held their ground, cutting through the rifle-armed men.

Ralph rubbed at his eyes, disbelievingly. The only explanation he could come up with was that he was visiting a virtual reality. His reverie was broken upon hearing a yell. The younger man in the jeep had been shot and Ralph's double returned to check on him. Ralph's eyes widened, noticing a sniper appear in one of the towers, despite it being on fire. The sniper took aim and fired...

Ralph's fists clenched at his sides, once again standing in front of the virtual reality machine. His eyes began to glow and the same red beam shot out, hitting the machine. It exploded and knocked the guard to the ground, unconscious. Ralph remained still, fists still clenched, an angry look on his face. After a few seconds, he began to shake and the anger faded. He realized he was back in reality and that he had indeed gotten rid of the stolen technology. He stared a moment at the charred metal, then gave a slight smile.

"...And that's what happened." Ralph paused, glancing at the looks on Pam's and Bill's faces. Both were wide-eyed and slack jawed. All three were gathered in the Hinkleys' living room.

Bill shook his head. "What you just described sounds like it came straight outta Korea!"

Ralph thought for a brief moment. "Actually, it felt more like Vietnam--"

"That was really scary, Ralph. I mean, he looked just like you?" Pam said.

Ralph nodded. "He could've been my identical twin, except he looked a few years older." He shrugged. "I just attributed it to the virtual realty."

Bill cleared his throat. "But their version is gone now, that's what matters." He paused. "Good job, kid."

"Well, thank you, Uncle Bill," Ralph said, smiling.

"So, I guess your powers didn't give out on you, then," Pam said.

"Nope., and my eyes are still purple. You know, now that I think about it, it isn't that bad. I don't know, I guess I was just unhappy with the sudden change. I will be using the contacts, though. There are still some places that I don't want to go with purple eyes. School is one of them."

"We deal with it, then. Catalogue it and put it in the archives," Bill stating, reaching for the box of Milkbones.

"I'll say one thing: this is going to be a very interesting quirk with the suit. Or, in this case, without the suit," Ralph commented.

The End...part one