In the Know

This is in response to a request to know about the ten-year span of Martins and Diana's lives wherein Mr. MacTavish was firing off lead balls and eating bread with a distinct maggoty crunch to it.

Herein lies the passing of those years, from plots to bubbling jealousy, from fidgeting to the beginning of a series of rendezvous, and finally to revelation, release, a semi normal love life to marriage and children.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these, just writing about them. Back to the Future owns the Flux Capacitor, Amblin and Columbia Pictures own Men In Black, and Marathon owns Martin Mystery, not me… bit if I DID, I'd have little tinges of attraction between Martin and Diana, more tension between the two; and Marvin, oh, don't get me STARTED on Marvin!

Anyway I'll get on with the story now.

MIB Headquarters, Summer 2001

Agent J hurried up the steps to Zeds office, worried about what this summons was about. "Agent J, please sit down, make yourself comfortable" said the portly senior agent.

"Look, Zed, if this is about Agent H, I can explain. He couldn't follow orders, he…" J was frantic. L hadn't worked out in the least and he was fast gaining a reputation for being even more neuralyzer-happy than his famous former partner.

"I know J, and you did the right thing neuralizing him, but that's not why you're here." J relaxed slightly as he finally sat down. "The reason I called you here is because of a very importantand very unusual mission… a reconciliation almost." Agent Zed slid a pitch black manila Envelope with a white 'M' emblazoned on the front across the desk to J, who opened and began to read the contents.

"The Centre?" asked J with a fair amount of confusion.

"Yes, a 'Paranormal Research and Defence' instillation. It was set up when one of our agents, M, went government back in the late 70's. She said she 'wasn't satisfied with the lack of attention the organization gave non-extraterrestrial based strange events down on earth'." Zed stood up. "She's contacted me for the first time in over twenty years. She wants to rejoin the team, but said that she wanted one of our top agents to negotiate the conditions of the merger. And J, some of their technology may seem… well, strange, even for a Man in Black."

Zed looked at his watch. "Speaking of which, the door should be arriving in … 5… 4…"

"The door?" Jay's eyes widened at the prospect of a door arriving ANYWHERE.

"2… 1… now." Zed looked up at the space directly behind J's chair, as did J himself. A gate in the fabric of space opened up, revealing a murky room with a large Baroque desk on the other side. It was then that Zed spoke one last time. "And just one last thing, J: They haven't got all their dimensions... worked out yet. Watch yourself."

Zed motioned for J to go through, and always with a hint of caution, J got up and walked over. He touched the surface of the aperture and reacted as it rippled like the surface of water. Then he stepped through into a murky room, the door closing behind him, leaving him stranded in a strange locale with no sidearm or neuralyzer and totally at the mercy of this 'Agent M'. He REALLY needed to see something vaguely familiar.

This seemed to be his lucky day.

"Hello there."

J spun around… and found himself eye to nose with a little alien with a big head floating in some kind of hover chair and carrying some kind of fancy coffee. "Uh… hi. Who are you?" This little guy seemed friendly enough, but trusting any kind of floating chair after that incident with Jara was difficult.

"Billy. Billy the Martian to be exact: it helps distinguish me from Billy the Fae and Billy in Janitorial." Said the alien, introducint himself.

J reflected on this for a moment "Mars doesn't have any native life bigger than an amoeba, and aside from a difference in colour, you look pretty much like a Rethian to me."

"Well… we were sort of a colony." Said billy, fidgeting.

"An unregistered colony apparently." Jay was beginning to piece it togeher.

"Yeah, but we were also the largest… and we declared independence in the 12th century B.C. The Home world doesn't really like to talk about it. My grandfather fought on our side. He could tell you about it if you want."

Just as J was about to respond, a commanding female voice took that moment to interrupt. "Billy, the agent and I have to discuss terms. You may go." J, obviously hearing this, looked toward the desk and saw the sitting woman who had until this point hidden herself in shadow.

"But M.O.M.!" Protested Billy, though without much enthusiasm.

"You may leave the coffee but then you may go!" The woman prompted strongly.

"Okay, Okay." The Martian put the coffee on the table, opened another portal and winked out, muttering something about moodiness.

"So, you must be the agent that Zed said he'd send over. He must have pickeda n expert because he clearly wouldn't send a novice into such a potentially dangerous situation." She reached downward to a drawer, opened it, and retrieved a strange disc mounted on a wristband. She pressed a button and a synthesized feminine voice stated "U-Watch Activated."

"Do you know what this is, Agent… what did you say your letter was?" Asked M.

"I didn't, but it's J, and no, I do not know what that device is." He didn't really know whatwas going on, but the word 'covert' began featuring prominently in his imagination.

The former Agent M pressed another facet on the discs surface. 'Slime-scan selected' Said the synthesized voice of the device and suddenly projected what could only be called a sphere of energy, out of which condensed a device looking like a PDA with a test-tube attached to the side. "This little device is just a scanner, but do you what it is now?"

Agent J took the device, turned it around in his hand, and realized he was handling a piece of what K had always termed 'technological contraband'. "A matter digitizer." Jay said, somewhat in awe.

"Impressive, isn't it? It's quite useful for storing equipment on missions while keeping weight down." said M, quite proud of herself.

"It's also quite illegal. It was outlawed more than 20 years ago so as not to present any one side from having a tactical advantage and to keep assassins and spies from using it to conceal stuff. Didn't you hear about the Six Galaxies Agreement?" Oh yes, covert really fit the mood.

"What a coincidence: that was about the same time we got a surplus of these handy devices. We can cut you in on every bit of technology you see here, and also offer you information on paranormal phenomena, and in return, you shall assist us on more perilous assignments. There is also one matter of which I shall speak: It will, of course, make or break this deal." For the second time today J gotsomething slid across to him (of course, this time he was standing). He took the folder, opened it… and was rewarded with the personnel files of one Diana Lombard and one Martin Mystery.

"What do you want us to do, get them together or something?" Jay asked, half jokingly.

M was very stoic and succinct in her answer "Actually, I do. I will not tell you why, aside than that I fell for them, but I will tell you that Lombard's mother (widow) married Mysteries father (details un), meaning that they are technically stepsiblings." She pressed a button on her desk and spoke into a speaker grille. "Billy?"

The Martian appeared through another portal. "Give Agent J the grand tour." As the Martian and agent left, M turned back towards the shadows. "Are you sure this is a good idea? What you proposed IS illegal, though i don't know why,so that information better be accurate."

A figure stepped out of the shadows, cloaked from shoulder to foot with nothing showing on his face except his eyes… his green eyes.

"There is no reason to worry. Everything is happening as it did. I got told the story as a teen." The figure reached beneath his cloak, pressed a few buttons on some strange harness and disappeared in an intense flash of light that momentarily lit the offices eternal shadows.

Turning back, M.O.M. slumped and rested her head in one hand and sighed.

"I really hate time travellers."

Later

Back at M.I.B. Headquarters, the technology, intelligence and demands ofThe Centre were being looked over by Zed. Suffice it to say, he wasn't happy. "Match making? I always took M for a bit of a romantic, but doesn't she know that we have more important things to do than play a bunch of Bene Gesserit dog-breeders to a couple of kids?"

Agent J, who had read the reports and had twinges of sympathy towards these kids, cut in. "Come on Zed, it isn't very high priority. We don't have to use any of their tech, we'd be officially separate... and just between us, if this information they gave us is right, those reports of Kreeshan magma smugglers in the pacific basin are just the tip of the paranormal iceberg. Maybe we can...one day make their parents marriage... nonexistant?"

Zed frowned. "Meddle with the memories of an entire town... we've done it before, but never for something so seemingly trivial." He pondered. "We'll wait on it, see how the situation develops. Maybe we can change a few things if they actually like eachother... but we can't change someone's entire personality... never worked anyway." He stood up. "Put this on ice for now, Cold project status."They were nowwalking the gantry. "And J?"

"Yeah?" Asked the Agent that followed him.

Zed turned to face him. "Officially, this is just your private project. I'll grant you cleanup and alteration rights if need be, but don't expect any heavy equipment. You're on your own, slick." Right about then he got a blip on his communicater, answering it.

It was the duty-free shop with complaints about the worms.

Hoped you liked it, and if your wondering who the bloke was… guess. Let me just say that the 'breed the perfect agent' conspiracy theory is complete bunk.