A/N: The Red Marker Bandit is back!! Not really much more to say.

Jack Hodgins padded through his house toward the living room. He was dressed in lounge pants with alien heads on them and a black T-shirt with white letters that read It IS as bad as you think, and they ARE out to get you. In his hands, he carried a plate with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a side of cheese puffs. Hodgins entered the large yet cozy room, plopped down on the couch and then hit play on the remote control to start Spaceballs back up. "What the hell am I looking at? When does this happen in the movie?" Dark Helmet was saying on screen. Jack grinned. This was always his favorite part of the film.

"Now, everything that's happening now is happening now."

"But what happened to then?"

"We passed it."

"When?"

"Just now."

"But when will then be now?"

"Soon." Jack couldn't hold back the laugher that escaped him, quickly putting a hand to his mouth to keep in his bite of sandwich. The hand moved from his mouth to wipe at his eyes and then he reached out for his beer. Watching a movie by himself wasn't his idea of complete fun, but since Angela had a girlfriend in town, at least Spaceballs made the best of it. Hodgins popped a cheese puff into his mouth then snapped his head around when the buzzer for the front gate sounded. He paused the film and got up to check the gate monitor. There was no one there. With a shrug, he moved back toward his couch when he heard it buzz again. Curious, he looked at the monitor again, and still there was no one there. The hairs on his neck began to stand on end. The only place that buzzer could be accessed from was the front gate, but clearly there was no one there. That was bad. Hodgins stared at the monitor--determined to catch whoever was playing with his buzzer. Just some teenager, he told himself, and then gave a satisfied nod. As he waited for the culprit, his eyes searching the gate and surrounding area, the buzzer sounded again, causing Hodgins to step back. "No freakin' way," he said aloud. Leaning closer to the screen, he jumped when the clear picture suddenly became static. Oh man, not good. This is not good. He moved from the monitor, backing away as quickly as he could. It was like his nightmares all over again. Someone was trying to abduct him...or maybe it was aliens, and that's why he was having equipment failures. Call him a conspiracy buff, ha! This would show them. But what if it wasn't aliens? His heart began to pound and he tried to shake off the uneasy feeling that had overcome him.

Easy, man, he told himself. Nobody can get inside this place. Even as the thoughts ran through his mind, he was looking around--searching. The lights flicked off and Hodgins had to bite his tongue to hold back his scream. With his arms held out before him, he slowly made his way to where he kept a flashlight, cursing when he hit his little toe against a table leg. His fingers were searching for the table when suddenly his room was filled with "You see these shackles, baby I'm your slave. I'll let you whip me if I misbehave." Hodgins groaned--he hated that song. Finally, he made his way to the cupboard that held the flashlight. He grasped around in the dark until his fingers closed around it. Gulping, he flicked it on and made his way to the radio, turning it off. The room was deathly still, and goose bumps erupted all over his arms. He tensed as he heard a loud squeak from a floorboard. Spinning, he shone the light in the direction of the sound, but there was nothing in the shaft of light. Heart pounding, he began the trek to his security room. "Just a power outing," he said to himself, ignoring the fact that his TV was on--Spaceballs playing in the background. He walked down the hall, making a left before the kitchen, and that's when he froze.

Just as his light fell across the far end of the new hallway, a shadow disappeared around the corner. "There's nobody there," he said aloud. "Nobody." Still, his feet refused to carry him any further. Again, a floorboard squeaked, and the scientist spun around, hoping to catch the intruder--although he was not sure what to do if he did. A noise in the distance made Hodgins tilt his head to hear. Is that..."Children laughing?" He heard the giggle again. What was it about the laughter of children that was so creepy? And why hadn't he listened to Booth and stayed with Angela? Why? Because this place was supposed to have better security than Fort Knox, that's why. With a gulp, he moved toward the sound of the squeaking floorboard once more. His heart pounded and he could hear the rush of blood in his ears. Something brushed against his foot and he let out a high-pitched scream. He quickly dropped the flashlight beam to the floor, but found nothing. He put his free hand to his heart, and let his eyes flutter shut briefly. Turning around, Hodgins started toward the security room again. He carefully made his way down the hall, putting his back flat against the wall once he made it to the corner. He took a deep breath, then slowly peeked around the edge. Nothing. With a sigh, he started down the new hallway. He jumped once as the whir of the air conditioner came on, and quickened his pace down the dark hallway.

"Jack." The disembodied voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. The entomologist spun in a circle, his eyes wide with fear. As the beam of light from his flashlight circled wildly, nothing ever appeared. "Jack." The voice sounded again.

"Just my imagination," he answered to the voice.

"Jaaack." Hodgins clenched the flashlight until his knuckles turned white.

"There's nobody there," he said, backing down the hall. "Nobody." He let out a loud scream when his back collided with something, causing him to jump and spin around. He gave a nervous laugh when he realized it was the door he had been searching for. He quickly punched in the correct numbers on the keypad and pushed the door open. He closed it just as quickly behind him and locked it. The lock was automatic, so unless the power failed completely no one would be able to get in here. He breathed a sigh of relief before flicking off the flashlight and turning to the monitors. The room glowed blue from the light on the screens, a welcome relief to the earlier darkness. On the monitors were different areas of the house, and Hodgins felt safe after seeing that everything looked normal. That is until the screens began to flicker. "Damn it." Hodgins reached out and hit one of the monitors, hoping to get it to come on, but it only went out completely, along with every other screen. "Great." Suddenly, two monitors glowed back to life and Hodgins gasped. On one was Zack, the other Angela. Before his eyes, a red mark slowly appeared across their throats.

"Jaaack." He screamed, loud. He couldn't help the tears that burst forth from his eyes and he looked around helplessly as all power went out. This was it. He was dead. The earlier hits were obviously an attempt to scare him, warn him that he was dead. If you made threats against the lives of your friends and loved ones, it only meant that you were next. Hodgins heard the door to the security room open and close, but couldn't see a thing. Footsteps sounded deliberately on the floor, closing in on his location.

"Please, whatever it is you want, I'll give you, just don't kill me, please." Hodgins swung out in the darkness, hoping, praying that he would make contact. He had to fight, but as he blindly jabbed, he felt an arm come around his shoulders, and the quick slash across his neck. Hodgins let out another scream, his hands going to his throat and him to his knees. Tears freely rolled down his cheeks. He could feel something sticky and cold on his throat, but it wasn't flowing. He heard footsteps retreat and the door open and close. Just then, the lights came back on along with the monitors. Shakily, Hodgins moved over to a glass covered cabinet and looked at his reflection. A red line stretched across his throat from one ear to the other. There were also words written onto the glass...You've been struck by the red marker bandit.

XxXxX

Brennan pulled her car to a stop, silently cursing the person who had taken her spot. It would be the day she had an arm full of groceries that she would be forced to park at the far end of her parking lot. She shut off the engine, and then opened her door. She quickly gathered the bags from the back seat, closed the door, hit the button to lock the car and started toward the front door. Brennan had only taken a few steps when she stopped, suddenly aware of somebody following her. She gave a quick glance around, and upon seeing nothing, continued on her way. "You know, it really isn't safe for you to be alone in dark places so late at night." Brennan whirled to face the sound of the voice and found herself staring into the chocolate brown eyes of Seeley Booth. She frowned at the smirk that graced his lips. He'd been up to something.

"I don't think I need to worry." Booth's smirk turned into a full power smile.

"You mean, you aren't worried about the Red Market Bandit?" Brennan gave him a raised eyebrow in question.

"Should I?" Booth took a step toward her, and reached out and brushed his fingers along her cheekbone. Brennan gulped as he stepped closer to her. They were almost nose to nose.

"Hodgins didn't seem too worried before tonight." Booth winked before freeing her of the grocery bags.

"What did you do?"

"Wouldn't you like to know? Let's just say I fed into his fantasies a little bit." Brennan looked over at her partner, curious to ask more, but Booth only smirked and walked away. He looked back over his shoulder at her. "Aren't you coming, or are you standing around the parking lot all night?"

counts on fingers Let's see, 5 Squints...Three 'dead'...Two more to go. ::insert evil laugh::

UPDATE sometime after first posting: Aly the Spy pointed out that 'evil laugh' is getting old, and that after a vote from her friends, she is switching to 'maniacal laugh'. Which is good, but not really us. So, to spice things up again please take out the 'evil laugh' from above and ::insert Goldy's giggles and Wolfy's insane titters:: Mendenbar, you nailed it!!