The scientist began to caress Leela's fingers with his other hand. "I loved you from the moment I first saw you," he confided. "You have an inner strength that's missing in other women. It radiates from you."
Leela withdrew her hand as politely as she could. "I don't have time for this," she told Foss.
"Please, Leela," said the professor, sinking to his knees in the grass. "You and me. Consider it."
"Perhaps the next time we meet," said the cyclops. "Right now, I need to focus on rescuing Zapp and getting the hell out of here."
Rising again, Foss brushed the dirt and grass from his smock. "I'm willing to help you with that," he said, "but I want something in return."
"What?" said Leela.
Foss took a deep breath. "Make love to me," he pleaded. "Right here, in the matrix. There'll be no repercussions in the real world."
Leela's jaw dropped. She started to back away.
"Not only will I help you rescue Captain Brannigan," said Foss earnestly, "I'll also come with you and turn myself in to the Earth authorities. I'll pay the price for my crimes. You won't have to visit me in prison if you don't want to."
It's a generous offer, thought Leela. And, to tell the truth, I can't see any way to save Zapp without his help. But can I trust him to keep up his end of the bargain?
"Think about it," said Foss. "But don't take too long. An attack force from Earth is on its way."
Leela stopped and bowed her head. He claims to love me, yet he's blocking his thoughts from me. If I refuse, he's sure to turn me over to Balalaika. If I accept, and he gets what he wants, he may turn me over anyway. It's a no-win scenario. At least if I refuse, I'll die with my dignity intact.
Seconds dragged on like hours as she pondered the matter. Foss stood patiently, motionlessly. A gentle breeze stirred the poppies.
Finally she faced him. "All right, Foss," she agreed. "I'll make love to you, here in the matrix. But first, I'd like to slip into someone more comfortable."
She closed her eyes tightly. As Foss watched expectantly, both Leela and the grassy prairie began to change. Plaster walls formed around him, flanked by well-stocked bookshelves. The sun gave way to a faintly buzzing electric light. He recognized the place; it was his old office at Mars University.
And where Leela had once stood, he saw Darla Thurmond, clad in a form-fitting sweater and a short, frilly skirt.
"Er…ah…" Foss stammered.
"Hi, Professor," said Darla in the sweet, childlike voice he remembered well. "I'm having difficulty with one of the homework problems, and I thought you might be able to help me."
Foss balked, recalling how his tryst with Darla had nearly cost him his job. Yet he knew it was hopeless—he couldn't resist the girl's innocent, freckled face and charming smile, any more than he could have ten years earlier.
"Why, certainly, Darla," he said, slightly flustered. "Why don't you have a seat?"
"Yes, I think I will have a seat," said Darla as she quietly closed the office door. "Know what I mean, baby?"
Foss knew what she meant. Three seconds later he was flat on his back across the desk, and Darla's arms were upon him, yanking off his tie and unbuttoning his shirt…
Bender gazed across the empty warehouse floor. Behind him, outside of the spacious old building, a pair of muscular men unloaded palette after palette of electronic components from a cargo truck. To his left stood Fry, and to his right, Monica Tao and her five-month-old baby girl. The morning sun shot friendly rays through the aging, cracked windows.
"Bender is great!" bellowed the enthusiastic robot. The words echoed from one wall to the other, and from the floor to the ceiling.
"If you can turn this dump into a working munitions factory," said Fry, "I'll be the one shouting 'Bender is Great'."
"My plan's unsinkable," said Bender. "I've got all the parts I need, and a horde of desperate manual laborers to put them together. All I need now is somebody who knows how to build a quantum torpedo."
He looked back and forth at Fry and Monica, who had nothing but confusion on their faces. "Awww, mannn…" he groaned.
"Sorry, Bender," said Monica as she wiped drool from her daughter's lips with a cloth. "I know a lot about birthing babies, but I don't know nothin' 'bout buildin' no quantum torpedo."
"We could get the professor to help us," Fry suggested.
"He's just a head in a jar," said Bender. "He can't carry nothin'."
"No," said Fry. "I mean we can use his knowledge. I'll be right back."
The redhead hurried out of the warehouse, and Bender turned to Monica with a sigh. "If this factory produces even one quantum torpedo that works," he said glumly, "I'll be very happy."
It wasn't long before other mutants arrived, starting with Alberto Veracruz. After saluting with his mouth hand, he stuck it forward and said, "Reporting for duty, Herr Direktor."
"Great," said Bender. "All the stuff isn't here yet. Would you mind picking up some donuts and beer?"
"And a pickle turnover for me," Monica added.
Foss lay sprawled on the ground, breathing rapidly, his expression one of idyllic joy. Above the smock-clad scientist stood Leela, a smile of delight on her lips. Minutes passed as she waited for him to regain his composure. The prairie sun warmed the skin of her neck.
Eventually Foss rolled over onto his knees and grasped Leela by the ankles. "I love you," he moaned ecstatically. "Oh, God, how I love you…"
"I'm rather fond of you as well," Leela admitted.
Foss clasped his hands together and groveled before the cyclops. "I'm not worthy of you," he said miserably. "I wanted to use you…to manipulate you."
"I figured as much," said Leela, tenderly rubbing the professor's short hair.
Foss dared not raise his head to look at the girl. "I-I haven't had a single girlfriend since I joined the pirates," he related. "No woman was strong or brave enough to stand up to them, until you came along. I knew I had to make you mine, so I planned to bring you into the matrix and influence your feelings so you'd fall in love with me."
"Just like Balalaika influenced your feelings," Leela noted. "Just like I influenced them by turning into Darla."
Foss continued to apologize as she lifted him up by his wrists. "I see now that what I did was wrong, terribly wrong. Oh, Leela, can you ever forgive me? I'll do anything to make it right."
"Anything?" said Leela, intrigued. "Hmm…"
to be continued