This story takes place in an alternate Greatest American Hero universe where the public did not discover Ralph Hinkley as a superhero and asked to give the suit over to Holly Hathaway.

The Greatest American Hero: And the Foreign Entity

Chapter 1

It was summer vacation for Whitney High School. Vice principal and part-time superhero Ralph Hinkley were relaxing at home when his flip phone rang. He answered, not recognizing the phone number on the small screen.

"Hello, this is Ralph Hinkley."

"Mr. Hinkley, I know who you are and about the red suit. I know you fly and have other powers. If you don't want the world to know your secret, you will place 3 million dollars in a bag and leave it under the park bench at Washington Park next to the fountain at midnight tomorrow night."

"I don't know what you are talking about. What red suit? Who is this?" Ralph asked, trying to sound convincing.

"Oh, come on, Mr. Hinkley. I have video proof of you flying through the wall at the First Bank at 6th and Benson last week and throwing the bank robbers into the yard. Please don't play games with me. I can send this video and many more, as well as communications I recorded between you and Agent Bill Maxwell, out onto the internet and to every media agency in the world. The world will know who Ralph Hinkley really is. Don't try to stop me—the AI program is smart enough to hide and will continue with what it was programmed to do. You will be exposed."

"How do I know you can really do this? You might be lying to me," Ralph asked, attempting to sound unimpressed.

"Look at your TV. Yes, I know you have it on."

Ralph looked over at the TV. A video of him crashing through the bank wall and robbers flying out the hole was on the screen. Bill ran up and began handcuffing the crooks. The camera focused on Ralph's face in a close-up, then froze. Ralph's face was publicly displayed.

Watching the TV screen, Ralph's mouth dropped open in disbelief, terrified of what this might do to his life if the world knew his secret and what powers the suit had.

"See, I told you I had the video," the blackmailer said sarcastically.

"But—but now everyone has seen me. You said you wanted money, but why would I give you money if you have already put this out to the public?" Ralph exclaimed.

"No, I only put it on your TV; I can control all media functions. More instructions will be sent to your TV later. Get the money or else."

"I don't have that kind of money. Where am I supposed to get that kind of money?" with a bit of panic in his voice.

"You can get the money from anywhere you want. You can walk into any bank and take it. No one can stop you." The blackmailer hung up the phone.

Ralph's identity had always been an issue since the green guys-as Bill Maxwell called the aliens-gave him the suit. Some people they encountered had seen him in the red suit with the black cape and what he could do. In the early days, it had always been just the bad guys who saw him. Bill would tell them not to say a word about the red suit, or they would be put in the loony bin. Some talked and were placed in a mental institution, but most said nothing. Bill Maxwell had become quite creative at explaining how he apprehended the criminals, always leaving out Ralph's (usually significant) part in the take-down.

Over the last 12 years, more and more security cameras have been attached to buildings and traffic lights. Ralph tried to take them out in the areas he would be, when possible, but there often wasn't enough time in emergencies. Usually, he went by so fast that he appeared as a red and black streak on the recording. Cameras had advanced more through the years, and Ralph had to depend on invisibility more and more. But there were times when it just wouldn't work. The blackmailer had video copies of these instances.

Ralph called his partner Bill Maxwell and told him about the blackmailer's phone call. Bill hopped in his car and rushed over. Bill crashed through the door to the house without knocking. Ralph was pacing the floor, running his hands through his curly blond hair, obviously upset and on the verge of panic.

Bill said, "Okay, give it to me, kid. Tell me everything this sleazebag said." Ralph went through the entire conversation and told him about the video on his TV. Pam came home from work as he was filling Bill in and immediately saw how upset Ralph was.

She asked, concerned, "What is going on?"

Ralph told her, "Let me finish with Bill, and I'll tell you."

"Give me your phone," Bill said. "I'll call the agency and see if we can get a trace on the call to your phone. Have you made or gotten any other calls since then?"

Ralph said, "Only to you."

While Bill called the agency, Ralph told Pam what had happened. She said, "You mean this guy has been following you and videotaping everything you do?"

"It seems like it, or he is getting video from security cameras. He has at least one video that clearly shows me in the suit," he said, a worried look on his face.

"Do you think he might be watching us right now?" This thought scared her.

"I don't know … that is a good question," he said as he walked over to the window and peeked between the curtains.

They waited while Bill paced the floor, talking to the FBI phone tracers. "Damn! Okay, thanks," he exclaimed and hung up his phone. "They could only find the call you made to me. No other calls are logged to your phone. This creep must have hacked the phone system and removed the information about the call. He must be some computer egghead gecko type."

"That's geek type, not gecko. A gecko is a type of lizard," Ralph corrected Bill.

Ralph went into the bedroom. Bill called after him, "Ralph, kid, it's okay, we'll figure this out— you don't have to go and pout in your bedroom."

Ralph came out of the bedroom a little later dressed in the red super suit and black cape—or jammies, as Bill called them. He scowled at Bill and said, "I'm not pouting. I put on the suit to see if I can get a hologram off the phone."

"Oh, great idea, kid. Here ya go," and tossed him the phone.

Ralph held the phone to his chest and concentrated. A hologram started to form on the wall-a hand punching buttons on the phone. "Wait a minute." He grabbed Bill's hand and looked at it. "Shoot! All I'm getting is you."

He opened the flip phone and held it to his head and concentrated on the conversation he had heard through the phone.

Bill asked, "Are you getting anything, kid? What do you see?"

Frustrated, Ralph said, "Will you be quiet? I'm trying to concentrate."

At last, he got the tingle of a hologram, which appeared on the wall before him. He saw a young dark-haired man sitting in front of a computer and typing frantically. He panned out and saw the building the blackmailer was in.

"The blackmailer seems to be a computer hacker. His room is filled with all kinds of computer equipment. The address is 555 Drake St. Garden Grove."

Bill quickly wrote the address in a small notebook he always kept in his jacket pocket.

"This computer geek, GEEK," he said, staring at Ralph, showing him he had heard the previous correction, "must not be as smart as he thinks he is. Either that or he doesn't know about the holograms."

Pam looked up the address and gave Bill the directions. Pam and Bill hurried out the door and into Bill's car. Ralph turned invisible in the house and followed them to the car, thinking if this crazy person watched them, he would believe Ralph was still inside. They drove to the building and parked a couple of blocks down the street. Pam stayed in the car after an argument over her staying or not. She lost this time and remained in the vehicle.

Ralph turned invisible and walked around the building, looking in the windows. He saw the young hacker typing at the computer and quickly moving from instrument to instrument, working on something. Ralph came back and told Bill where the hacker was in the building.

The two waited outside. They hesitated to crash into the building because the hacker had said, '…if they tried to stop it, the AI was smart enough to hide and would continue with what it was programmed to do.'

Bill asked Ralph, "Do you think you can get through the door fast enough to smash all the computers before that creep can do anything?"

"I don't think so, Bill. I'm going to pull the power for the building. Without power, the computers can't do anything."

"Good idea. Go for it, kid."

Ralph could see the power lines going to the building connected to the power pole outside. He climbed the pole like a squirrel and broke the line, sparks flying everywhere. He jumped straight down and crashed through the door, rolling on the floor. Battery-powered emergency lights flickered to life in the room. The computer hacker jumped out of his chair and turned to run across the room to another computer. The lights were still on for the computer he was headed for; apparently, it had a power backup connected to it. Ralph knocked the hacker down and grabbed the computer to pull it from the connection. As he held the computer, he felt an electrical shock and something else that stunned him and the suit. The power was disconnected, and Ralph stood dazed, still holding the computer.

Bill rushed in the door and jumped on the young man sprawled on the floor. He could see Ralph just standing there with a confused look on his face. As Bill handcuffed the hacker, he worriedly asked Ralph, "Kid, kid, are you okay? Ralph, talk to me."

Ralph could hear Bill, but it sounded as if he were underwater. Finally, it started to clear. "Yeah, I can hear you," he said slowly.

"Are you okay? You don't look good." Bill was concerned about Ralph just standing there staring, holding the computer.

"Something weird happened when I grabbed this computer," Ralph said slowly, as though he was searching for words.

Bill said, "Yeah, you got an electrical shock; I saw it. So, drop the computer already."

Ralph dropped the computer to the floor and stared down at it. "I guess that's what it was, but it felt different. Like something else happened."

"It was just a shock. Those will rattle the old noggin. You'll be okay," Bill said forcefully. "Now get out of here; I'm calling the cops. You and Pam take the car back to your place; I'll get a ride back from one of the boys in blue."

"Okay," Ralph said slowly and walked back to the car. As he approached the car, Pam saw that something was wrong with Ralph; he was staring at everything strangely and walking sluggishly.

"Ralph, honey, what's wrong? You don't look well," she said, concerned.

"I got an electrical shock from a computer. For some reason, I feel weird, and everything looks different. Bill said for us to drive home."

"You don't look like you're in shape to drive. I'll drive." She was apprehensive; something was wrong with Ralph.

Ralph knew something was wrong; even the suit didn't feel right. He couldn't put his finger on it. They drove home. As they drove home, he stared out the window. He felt like he was seeing things for the first time. Why did things look so unfamiliar?

Ralph was acting different, and he didn't say anything the whole way home. Usually, he would tell Pam what happened and how he captured the bad guys, always excited by the experience. Ralph's unusual reaction to the night's activities troubled Pam. When they got to the house, she told him to take the suit off and go to bed. He agreed, saying he felt tired. He took it off, folded it, placed it in the box it originally came in, and went to bed. He felt less confused now that the suit was off.

When Bill came by later to pick up his car, Pam told him what she had observed. "Bill, Ralph wasn't acting like himself the whole way home. He wasn't talking like he usually does."

Bill agreed. "I noticed it too. He was staring at everything." Then, trying to brush off the anxiety, he said, "Oh, you know Ralph, he'll snap out of it. Let him sleep it off."