Bo sat at the kitchen table, listening to the sound of the driving rain against the roof. Lighting flashed outside the window. He was rocking back in his chair, lost in thought. He hadn't noticed how late it'd gotten until he heard one of the floorboards squeak. He quickly caught himself against the table before he could lean back in his chair too far and looked up to see Luke standing at the end of the table.

"Hey," Bo said, looking somewhat surprised.

"Hey," Luke replied skeptically.

"Where's Clayton?"

"Takin' an old man nap."

Bo nodded understandably.

"What're you doin'?"

"Thinkin'," Bo replied, setting his chair back down onto all four legs.

Luke glanced at the clock. "Kinda late to be doin' that, don't you think?" He moved to sit down across from him.

Bo shrugged, resting his face in his hand.

"You wanna talk about somethin'?"

Bo looked away from him. "No, not really."

Luke grew quiet, hunching over in his chair to look his cousin in the eye. "It's about Allen, ain't it?"

Bo nodded with a gaze of grief. "I feel like my fate's sealed. My days are numbered."

Luke nodded as well. They hadn't talked much about it since that night at the hospital. Again, Luke felt that twinge of failure. Deep down he knew that when it came down to it, there was nothing he could do to protect Bo from Allen and he knew Bo knew it too. Luke also knew there were probably a few things Bo needed to get off his chest.

Unsure of what to say, he replied, "Look, I…" He sighed. "I know you're scared-"

"You're damn right I'm scared." Bo's voice shook as he said this and he leaned back in his chair. Luke could almost feel the walls coming down. "I'm downright terrified. After seein' what he did to you. What he did to Clayton! I ain't got a chance! I'm as good as dead already."

Luke opened his mouth to talk again but was immediately cut off.

"Just don't… don't apologize or feel guilty. I know you tried."

Bo got up to leave, turning his back to Luke. Luke stayed quiet. There was nothing he could say. So, he watched him go.

There was a single "Goodnight" shared between the two of them and there was silence. Luke sat at the kitchen table for a long while, listening to the silence and the howling wind outside. To him, it didn't matter much what Bo said. He'd always feel guilty, and he was dreading the day that Allen finally reappeared. He couldn't help but feel that he should've done more. In reality, he knew what he needed. He needed an unfair advantage.

Meanwhile, Bo lay awake, fighting back tears. Not a day went by that he didn't think about the fact that this man, who he'd never even seen, wanted to kill him. The fact that he was out there and at any moment it could be over. It had dawned on him that this was what people meant by "living in fear." Not only that but he was alone in the matter. There was nothing anyone could do to help him. Not Clayton, not even Luke.

The news of Clayton having gone toe-to-toe with Allen and having lost shocked him. Both he and Luke had seen firsthand just what the man could do, yet even he was no match for the villain that haunted Bo's dreams. He didn't know the how or the why, only that it was reality. And no one could change that.

Here he came to the same conclusion and a few tears fell, which he was quick to wipe away. Regardless, he was alone, and that could only mean one thing. He needed to take matters into his own hands.

A sudden crash of thunder made him jump and he turned to see the light from the kitchen go out. When the light didn't come back on, a resounding groan echoed through the house.

The sun rose with the next morning and the Duke farm rose with it. Darkness faded and the Defects roused, General letting out a yawn. He stopped yawning with a start, however, as it gave him an odd sensation. There was pressure. Somewhere. Inside of him.

It was all so odd. He could feel things that he had never felt before. He could feel the straw on the dirt floor under him. It was itchy and rough. There were smells too. Not just engine smells either. He could smell farm animals and dirt. Earthy smells. He groaned, trying to push himself up on his suspension, but found that he had no suspension, but could simply push himself up.

Then came the real scare. He could turn to look at things. He could look down. That's when he saw them. Hands.

Cars didn't have hands. He felt a pounding sensation in his body. He brought one hand up to the flat part of his front. His chest? A heartbeat.

Shakily, he pulled himself up off the ground, standing on his new feet.

"This ain't right. What the hell is goin' on?" he asked himself, quickly covering his new mouth with his new hands.

His voice. He'd spoken. They weren't just noises and gestures. He had a voice.

He noticed something furry touching the hands covering his mouth. He touched it back. It was hair. He had a mustache! He clapped his hands onto his new head. He had hair! It was short, albeit, but he had hair!

He looked around the barn, missing Thunder's dark frame. That's when it occurred to him that the pick-up was nowhere to be found. General tried to take a step forward, nearly losing his balance in the process but succeeded in taking his very first human steps. He couldn't help but laugh a little. Again, he looked around.

"Thunder?" he called, looking out into the dimly-lit barn. "You there?"

There was a rustle of hay and debris and General saw a figure slowly emerge from the pile in the opposite stall. It was a man, tall and muscled with dark hair that went past his ears. The man's eyes were as dark as the night, and a single shock of white ran through his hair. He had no mustache, like General, but sported a minor stubble on his face.

"Thunder?" General ventured.

"General?" the man replied, staring at him.

Thunder stepped out of the stall he'd gone to sleep in as a truck. "What's goin' on?" he asked.

General shrugged with an animated slump of his shoulders. He liked his new body. "I dunno, I just woke up like this."

"Where're our… other bodies?" Thunder asked, looking himself up and down.

"I don't know."

"D'you know anythin'?"

"No."

Thunder sighed, looking around. A slot of sunlight hit him, illuminating his skin. He was pale and scarred, but most of all, he was beautiful. General couldn't help but stare. He noticed Thunder was staring at him too. Then, the other man pointed.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing to General's shoulder.

General turned, pulling at his own arm and craning his neck to see what it was. He ran his hand over his skin, trying to rub it off.

"Is that a tattoo?" Thunder asked.

General tried rubbing at it more vigorously, finding that it didn't come off. "Looks like it."

On his shoulder was a black and white inked 01. He turned to the other side. There was one there too. He quickly turned around, looking over his shoulder at Thunder.

"Do I have…"

Thunder shook his head. "No, no flag."

General sighed and turned back around to face Thunder. He was about to say something else when he heard the door only to remember that the boys had yet to do their morning chores.

Thunder and General panicked as the door opened, each diving back to their respective stalls. General heard Thunder disappear back into his pile of rubble and General ducked down behind one of the plywood walls. The barn doors opened and sunlight came piling in. He heard the Duke boys rustling around and yawning, talking to delay the start of their chores.

Then it got quiet and General could've kicked himself for not realizing that they'd notice that he and Thunder would be gone. He jumped at the sound of his name.

"General? Thunder? Y'all in here?" Bo called.

General winced, the pounding in his chest going faster. Slowly, he pushed himself up to peer over the wall of his stall. He came face-to-face with Bo.

Both screamed.

General fell backward, still unsteady on his feet. As he disappeared, Bo looked over the wall cautiously, their eyes meeting for just a moment before the Duke boy disappeared again.

"The hell was that?" Luke asked.

General took a breath and crawled out tentatively, looking over at Thunder who was doing the same. Slowly, they came to stand in front of the boys, who were relatively speechless.

The four of them stood there in uncomfortable silence for a moment before Luke finally said something.

"There's… naked people. In our barn," he said.

"What'd you do with our cars?" Bo asked the Defects.

General gestured to himself and Thunder. "Bo, we are the cars!"

Bo looked over at Luke. "This's weird, right?"

Luke shrugged.

General shook his head and took a step forward. "Please tell me there's a way to fix this."

The Duke boys were at a loss for words once again.

"Please, I'm beggin' you, I just found out what a headache feels like," Thunder added, putting a hand to his forehead.

There was a moment of contemplation before the Duke boys hurried out of the barn.

"We'll be back!" they called.

The Defects watched them run back to the house, Daisy startling when they burst through the door.

"What's goin' on?" she exclaimed, watching them barrel through the kitchen to run to their room.

"No time to explain!" Bo called back.

"Just wait a minute!" Luke added.

The boys ran to their bedroom, immediately rummaging through their shared closet. They each grabbed a pair of jeans. Luke grabbed an old, unused leather jacket for Thunder. Bo grabbed his racing jacket for General. They grabbed everything they thought the Defects would need and rushed back out to the barn, passing Daisy once again who simply threw her hands up in defeat.

Once out in the barn, they met with the Defects again, handing them each their respective outfits. The two of them dressed slowly, wary of the clothes. General held up Bo's jacket and turned to him.

"You're sure I can have this?" he asked.

Bo nodded. "Of course, why couldn't you?"

General shrugged and threw it on over the shirt Bo had given him.

Thunder had sat down on a bale of straw and was busy lacing up the boots given to him by Luke. When he was done, he moved to stand next to General, he too feeling quite awkward.

Both Duke boys stood back to admire their work.

Bo grinned. "It'll do, c'mon y'all."

General and Thunder exchanged glances, however, before they could protest, were quickly herded along out of the barn.

The sun hurt their eyes at first, but once their new eyes adjusted, they continued their trek to the house. The Duke boys opened the porch door for them, waiting for them to go in. However, both Defects stood idly a few feet away from the house, as if they were demons stopped by hollow ground.

"C'mon, it's okay," Luke said, ushering them inside.

General was the first to move, Thunder behind him like a shadow. The boys led them inside to the kitchen, Bo opening the door for them once again. The Defects lingered there, not yet willing to break the threshold.

At that moment, Daisy turned to see them standing there. Immediately, she let out a loud gasp and dropped the plate she was holding, breaking it on the floor. The Duke boys walked in sheepishly, one keeping an eye on Daisy, the other keeping an eye on the Defects.

Bo shrugged again. "Surprise!"

Daisy blinked a few times, watching as they waved the Defects inside.

The two of them moved in an uncoordinated fashion, stepping very carefully through the threshold as if a single step might shatter the foundation. All the while, Daisy stared, wide-eyed.

General stepped to the side, Thunder moving to stand next to him. Bo filled a glass with water from the kitchen sink and handed it to Thunder.

"Here, drink this. It'll help with your headache," he explained as the Defect took it.

Thunder's hand shook as he held the glass and for a moment he just stared at it instead of drinking it.

"Go ahead and drink it, Thunder," Luke said.

Thunder swallowed dryly. "It… it's water."

Luke gave him a quizzical look. "Yeah… that's the point. You're supposed to drink it."

"It won't hurt?"

"It shouldn't."

Cautiously, Thunder took a sip. General looked at him expectantly. When nothing happened, Thunder just shrugged.

Luke shook his finger at Bo. "Y'know what I just realized?"

"Hm?" Bo replied.

"There's a whole world of things they ain't tried 'cause they were cars."

All three Duke cousins shared a quick glance before sprinting into action, grabbing cookies, sugar, milk, bread, eggs, anything they could get their hands on.

"What're y'all doin'?" General asked.

Daisy set a carton of eggs down on the kitchen counter. "Makin' y'all some breakfast. Y'all are hungry, ain't ya?"

General shrugged. "I… don't know what that feels like." Just then, his stomach rumbled. "Hey, I can still make noises."

Daisy grinned. "That's your stomach, sugar, sit down and we'll fix ya somethin' to eat."

General glanced uneasily at the kitchen table before pulling out a chair and sitting down, Thunder not far behind, taking the seat next to him. The moment Thunder sat down, Bo put a spoonful of sugar in his face.

"Eat this," he said.

Thunder put his hands up and shook his head quickly. "No. No, no, no! That stuff's poison!"

"It would be if you were a truck, but you're a human now. Haven't you ever wondered what it tastes like?"

Thunder glanced at Bo, then at the spoon. Slowly, he took the spoon from him and stuck it in his mouth. He moved his mouth around for a moment, making faces. He coughed a few times, making a sort of disgusted expression.

"Maybe you shouldn'ta gave him a whole spoonful," Luke said.

"We gotta try different flavors. Make him eat a lemon next," Bo replied.

Daisy set an omelet down in front of General and some toast in front of Thunder. "Here, try these."

Each Defect took a bite of his dish and chewed. After a moment's contemplation, they swapped plates and ate the rest of each other's food.

"Alright, so General likes carbs, and Thunder likes proteins," Luke observed.

He walked to the fridge and grabbed out the pitcher of milk and a carton of orange juice. He poured a glass of each and set them down on the table in front of the Defects. Then, just like before, they took a sip of each one and decided who liked what. General took the milk, and Thunder kept the juice.

"So he didn't like the sugar but likes orange juice," Bo said.

"It's probably the citrus," Luke explained, scratching the back of his head and looking around. "Let's see, salty or sweet, you guys?"

He grabbed the jar of cookies and rooted through the cupboards for a bag of chips. Just like the other experiments, he set them down on the table in front of the Defects and let them take their pick. General took the cookies, Thunder took the chips.

"Weird," Luke mumbled as he watched this.

"I think General just likes junk food," Bo said, taking a chip from the bag Thunder had. He made a face as he ate it. "Man, these are stale."

Just then, Daisy turned with a bowl of oatmeal in her hands, pulling out a chair from the table and standing on it.

"Breakfast!" she called upward.

Bo and Luke looked up to find that Clayton had been on the ceiling the whole time, however, unlike yesterday was sitting quite calmly and stably.

Clayton grinned drowsily and reached for the bowl. "Merci, cherie," he said.

The Defects followed their gazes, also seeing Clayton on the ceiling.

"That's new," Thunder said.

"Can we do that?" General asked.

"No, nobody normal can do that," Luke said.

"We're not normal."

"You'd be surprised."

Just then, there was the sound of a horn outside. The Duke boys exchanged a glance and rushed to the window.

Pulling into the yard was Cooter's tow-truck, however, it wasn't towing cars. There were three people in the cab, four in the back, and one sitting on the towing arm. Within a moment, everyone was rushing outside to meet the truck, where out climbed a flabbergasted Cooter.

As Cooter saw General and Thunder standing behind the Dukes, he groaned. "Oh, these ones too?"

"Cooter, what's goin' on?" Bo asked.

Cooter sighed and stepped aside as his passengers were climbing down from the truck. The first to hit the ground was a man the same height as General. He too had short hair, however, his was more of a buzz-cut and was darker. He had a mustache too. He wore a light-blue denim jacket with a white tank-top underneath and jeans with Adidas sneakers. Though the man had similar characteristics to General, there were certain distinctions between the two. General's eyes were blue whereas this man's eyes were brown. General's nose curved upward and the man's curved downward.

"Grant?" Luke ventured.

The man grinned, putting his hands on his hip in a heroic pose. "The one and only!"

"Huh, they're… fraternal," Bo said.

General and Grant exchanged glances. "Well, yeah," Grant said. "We coulda told ya that," General added.

Luke pointed at Grant. "Alright, so if that's Grant then that must be Tank." He pointed to the large man climbing out of the truck cab. He was tall and sported a very athletic build. His hair was long and blonde, hanging past his ears and parting right down the middle. His eyes were a bright blue. His face was ornery and his voice was deep but he spoke kindly.

"Looks like it happened to everyone," Tank said, scratching the back of his head.

Then, the man of Herculean countenance was pushed aside by thin Grant. "Yeah, isn't it great? Check it out!"

The five in the back of the truck stepped down, Enos walking up with a red-haired, mustachioed man of similar height and build to himself. Rosco had a hand on the arm of a woman dressed in quiet black with a pompous air about her. Finally, the last man who had been sitting on the top of the truck came forward excitedly.

He quickly ran up to Thunder, inspecting him.

"Damn, chingon! My boy Tormentoso's a cholo!" the little man exclaimed.

"Diablo?" Thunder asked, turning.

"Who else would it be, pendejo?"

After that, the Defects weren't hard to identify at all.

Caleb still stood beside Enos, wearing a deputy's uniform, same as him. Caleb had long, ginger hair, cut into a mullet, with a mustache. His big, green eyes were the epitome of innocence.

The woman beside Rosco had her arms crossed, a pair of spectacles perched on the bridge of her nose. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun. This was undoubtedly the Black Maiden.

There was the absence of one other, however.

"Where's Rig?" Luke asked.

"Haven't seen him," Cooter replied.

"He was runnin' an errand out in Atlanta last I checked," Thunder explained.

"So he's either stranded or completely fine."

Just then, Daisy spoke up. "How did this even happen in the first place? Is it just in Hazzard or is it other counties too?"

"As far as I know it's just Hazzard. We had to take a trip to Capital City this mornin' cause Rhuebottom's didn't have anythin' in Tank's size," Cooter explained. "There were a couple Defects on the way. Still cars."

"There was a power outage across the entire county last night. Maybe that did it," Rosco said with a shrug.

Luke folded his arms. "There was a power outage last month and nothin' like this happened."

"Right, but Thunder did lose his powers, though," General added.

It was then that the Black Maiden spoke. "Who cares how it happened? How do we change it back?"

"I hate to say it, but she's got a point. We're useless stuck like this," Tank said.

"Alright, alright, we'll figure somethin' out," Luke said, trying to get the Defects to calm down before they had an all new problem on their hands. "Look, none of us are experts, especially not for Defects."

"So let's get ahold of one," Cooter said.

"Right, uh…" General's voice trailed off as he patted his jacket, remembering once more that he was no longer a car. "I don't have a CB on me."

Cooter pointed a thumb towards his tow truck, pinching the bridge of his nose.

General slouched and slid away sheepishly toward the truck. The rest of the Defects waited awkwardly as General made a call on Cooter's CB.

When General finally walked back, he was grinning with satisfaction. "The doctor's on his way."

A few exchanged glances.

"Doc Appleby?" Bo asked.

"No, Doctor Bazz," Thunder explained.

"Never heard of him," Luke said.

"He's a doctor for cars," Grant said.

"There's a Defect doctor?" Daisy asked.

"Yeah," said Tank, "he lives over in Chickasaw, should be here in a couple minutes."

And so he was. There in a couple minutes that is. If you're wonderin' about me, just be patient, I'll be along soon enough. When good ol' Doctor Bazz got there, he wasn't at all what they were expecting. I suppose he didn't expect to be waitin' on people today either.

When the Hudson Commodore rolled in, the Dukes, Cooter, and the policemen were taken aback. They hadn't expected the doctor to be an actual car. Dr. Bazz, however, seemed just as confused as they were.

Rosco made a noise as the Defect rolled to a stop in front of them. "Y-you're a car!"

Bazz revved his engine in a huff. "I'm a Hudson." He looked around. "What seems to be the problem here? I service cars, not people, you know."

Just then, General and his Defects rushed forward.

Dr. Bazz shifted on his suspension, looking between each of them. He backed up a little, overwhelmed.

"H-hold on, hold on, one at a time!" he exclaimed, taking a moment to study them. "Grant? Tank?" He studied the rest of them. "Great balls of fire, what in hell happened to y'all?"

"We were kinda hopin' you'd help us figure that out," Caleb said.

Bazz shook himself. "I ain't never seen nothin' like this before, you better call an expert."

"Man, why do you think we called you?" Diablo exclaimed.

"Who else do we call?" Maiden asked.

Bazz shifted on his suspension again. "A human doctor? I hear the Halton Research Organization's always lookin' for Defects."

It was then that the Maiden spat. "Yeah, if you had a death wish."

"Halton," General said, "I've heard that name before."

"I ain't about to get into the politics of the HRO but if you want my advice, I'd get ahold of a real doctor," Bazz said.

"But ain't you a real doctor?" Thunder asked.

Bazz shook himself. "They don't give medical licenses to cars, Thunder, you know this."

"You want us to call a human doctor?" Grant asked.

Bazz nodded. "You're human now, there's nothin' I can do for you."

And so, the Defects called Doc Appleby. And Doc Appleby arrived in a couple minutes. However, when he arrived, he was about as dumbstruck as Bazz was.

"Y'all used to be cars," Doc Appleby said.

Tank nodded.

"But now you're not cars."

"We're humans now, like you," Caleb said.

Doc Appleby hummed and stroked his chin. "Debatable."

He reached into his big black medical bag and produced a large needle. A fair number of the Defects spooked at the sight of it.

"Alright, I need a brave volunteer," Doc Appleby announced.

Hesitantly, Diablo stepped forward. Doc Appleby sat him down on the bench of the picnic table by the house. He motioned for Diablo to remove the green puffer jacket that he wore. The Defect obeyed, sitting still as Doc Appleby took him by the arm with a gentle touch.

One hand tightened around his upper arm and the other dabbed the crook of his elbow with a moist towelette. Doc Appleby aptly took his needle up again and stuck it into his skin. Diablo winced at the pain and the rest of the Defects cringed.

Doc Appleby pulled up the plunger of the syringe, drawing up the Defect's blood. It came thick and black and there was a collective gasp as everyone saw. Removing the needle and holding a gauze pad to Diablo's arm, Doc Appleby stared at the dark liquid in the syringe quizzically.

"What?" Diablo asked, holding the gauze pad to his arm.

"Defects have black blood?" Enos asked astonishedly.

Doc Appleby shook his head, dribbling a few drops from the syringe onto his finger, rubbing his fingers together. "No, not blood. Oil."

"Oil?" Bo exclaimed incredulously.

"How's that possible?" Luke asked.

Doc Appleby shrugged. "Don't know, I ain't an expert." He screwed off the needle of the syringe holding Diablo's 'blood' and tucked it away safely in his medical bag. "But I am gonna have this tested."

"Do I get a sticker?" Diablo asked.

The doctor turned around. "Excuse me?"

"I want a sticker. Like in the commercials."

"I don't-"

"Give me a sticker, cabron!"

Doc Appleby sighed and rummaged through his bag, procuring a small smiley-face sticker from the bottom, wrinkled and a bit faded. He handed it to Diablo spitefully. "Here."

Diablo grinned wickedly and stuck it to the middle of his chest, running over to Thunder and holding up his arm.

"Thunder! Come here and kiss it better!" he exclaimed.

Thunder jogged away and Diablo chased him, which soon turned into a game as Diablo tried to put his 'wounded' elbow to Thunder's mouth.

It was then that a car horn sounded, everyone looked to Bazz, however, the Hudson shook himself, indicating that it hadn't been him. A cloud of dust came barreling down the drive, two white, sinister headlights shining through it. The occupants of the yard coughed and waved away the dust as the car stopped, allowing the dust to settle.

Within a moment, out stepped two figures, one tall, one average height, both with long dark hair. Through the dust, Autumn Burningwood and her companion emerged. Autumn's gaze passed over each of them, and her jaw slacked and her expression grew greatly worried.

Her hands pressed against her cheeks and her face grew a little red. "Oh, no! No, no! I'm too late!"

"Autumn? What's goin' on?" Daisy asked.

"It's happened already," Autumn said, looking at the Defects.

The others followed her gaze.

"Wait, you knew about this?" Cooter asked.

Autumn sighed and sat down on the hood of the car she'd arrived in. "I suppose y'all want an explanation for what's goin' on."

Rosco made a noise. "It'd be appreciated."

"Alright," Autumn explained, "I'll put it simple. Every Defect in Hazzard County was converted from their physical car form to what they'd look like if they'd been born human."

"We got that, but why?" Bo asked.

Autumn massaged her temples. "How much time y'all got?"

"All day," Luke said with a shrug as he folded his arms.

"The power outage last night wasn't just a power outage, it was a thing called the Surge. What happens is when the Surge happens, any and all Defects within a certain area are turned human. So far it's only happened in Dallas, Hazzard, and Washington D.C."

"Dallas and Washington, those are important places. Why Hazzard?" Daisy asked.

"Because of them." Autumn nodded to the Defects. "This was done to disadvantage them."

"So someone did this to them?" Cooter asked.

Autumn nodded again. "It's a lot to explain but I'll dumb it down as much as I can. I've talked before about the Defects havin' troubles with politics. Well, there's two rival parties, each with their own president. Lately, there've been rumors about the Loyalist president wanting to recruit you."

"Us?" General said incredulously. "Why? We're no different than any other band of Defects out there."

"You're wrong about that. Y'all have a reputation. The president believes that your Army is the key to winnin' this fight."

"So what now?" Grant asked.

Autumn shrugged. "Simple, y'all come with me back to Dallas and help sort this thing out."

Tank scoffed. "Dallas? We can't go to Dallas! We ain't got no business meddlin' in these affairs we don't know nothin' about."

"Right, not to mention that the people of Hazzard need us," Caleb added.

Just then, Diablo and Thunder reappeared, both winded. "What good to them are we now that we ain't cars, pendejo?" Diablo hissed. "But I still say we shouldn't go, or at least I shouldn't go for ah… reasons."

Thunder, who had been shaking the grass out of his hair, finally looked up to acknowledge the two new arrivals, stopping dead in his tracks.

He stared at Autumn's companion.

In the midst of conversation between the group, Thunder's voice was heard louder than the others and it suddenly became silent, all eyes turning to him.

"Marie?" the Defect gasped.

Just like that, all eyes were on him, including those of Autumn's companion.

Bo, Luke, and Daisy recognized her right away from the Boar's Nest.

It was her.

The woman's dark eyes turned to look at Thunder and she spoke in that deep voice of hers. "Thunder. Been lookin' for you."

Just then, the car that they'd arrived in revved its engine.

"Damn, y'all changed since I last saw ya!" it exclaimed.

General gasped. "Trigger?"

The Trans Am revved its engine again. "Told y'all I'd be back."

"I didn't think you would, to be honest."

Trigger scoffed and turned to look at the rest of the Army. "I see you grew, General! Hey, you never told me you had a brother!"

General and Grant exchanged a glance.

Trigger looked around, seemingly growing confused. "Where's Christine?"

They all grew silent. General caught a few subtle glances before they were quickly stolen away.

"She… she died," General explained.

Trigger was silent for a moment before he rumbled, "Oh, I… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay," General said quickly. "I'm okay."

"Hey Thunder, you gonna introduce us?" Diablo called out.

Thunder startled and turned around to look at him. He got a little red in the face and his eyes darted about. "Uhh, yeah, sure." He cleared his throat. "Guys, this's Marie, or y'all probably know her as the Dreamer. Marie, these are the Defects."

General was the first to step forward. He held out his hand. "We've heard a lot about you."

The Dreamer's stony face shifted and she smirked, shaking General's hand. "Good things I hope."

It was then that the Dukes emerged, interested in meeting the phantom woman.

"Hey, you were at the Boar's Nest last night. You disappeared. Why?" Luke asked.

Marie nodded to Autumn. "Got a ride."

"Did you really get struck by lightnin'?" Daisy asked.

"I did."

"You maybe wanna go out with me sometime?" Bo asked.

Luke elbowed him.

"No," Marie said.

Bo's face fell, it wasn't every day that he was turned down by a girl, especially so bluntly.

"So, Marie, was it? All this time you were just out lookin' for Thunder?" Luke asked the woman.

Marie shrugged. "I guess. He's all I have left, y'know?"

"It's been a long time," Thunder explained.

"We'll let y'all work it out," Luke said.

Just then, Autumn butted in. "Don't take too long, we're gonna need ya to come with us to Dallas, Thunder."

Thunder looked at her. "What? Why?"

"Your powers might come in handy."

Thunder flushed again, scratching the back of his head. "About that…. I mighta, ah… lost my powers."

"What?" Autumn exclaimed. "How?"

"I got struck by lightnin'... again."

"Haven't you tried to get 'em back?"

"Of course I have!"

It was then that Marie looked at Thunder. "You had… powers?"

Thunder sighed. "Yeah, I could make lightnin' come outta me and control storms."

Marie scoffed. "Looks like I named you good then, huh?"

Thunder flushed a deeper shade.

"Why do you need us to go to Dallas so bad anyway?" Grant asked.

"I don't, Gravedigger does. Look, there's been a lotta tension lately. He's scared and he needs your help," Autumn explained.

General hummed, thinking deeply. "Alright."

Autumn turned to him. "What?"

General turned to the Defects, raising his hand. "Y'all know the drill. Anyone in favor of goin' with me, say 'I'."

Grant raised a hand as well. "I!"

He was the only one that did. Grant delivered a swift elbow into Tank's ribs and muttered something to him. Tank grumbled and rolled his eyes, slowly raising his hand as well.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll go, but only 'cause Gravedigger needs us," he said.

Then, Caleb raised his hand as well. "Any friend of y'alls' is a friend of mine."

Thunder exchanged a glance with Marie before leaving her side to walk to General's. He laid a hand on his shoulder, General's head turning to look at him.

"You know I'm with you all the way, Gen," he said.

General grinned and turned back to the others. "Anyone else?"

Diablo and Maiden had stayed quiet.

For the first time, Diablo wasn't cocky or loud. He was quiet and seemed quite worried. His nose, which the others had found, was normally wrinkled from his facial expressions, was now smooth.

"I don't know," Diablo said quietly. "Normally, nothin' you said or no amount of money you could give me would make me go but… I guess I'll go if Thunder does."

"I'm coming too," said a voice.

They all turned to who'd said it only to find that it had been the Black Maiden, much to their surprise.

"Really?" Grant asked.

"Glad to have you aboard, Maiden," General said.

"Trust me, you'll need all the help you can get, especially since I seem to be the only one who knows what you're dealing with."

She received a few confused looks but the matter was dropped soon after.

General turned back to Autumn, who was beaming. "Looks like we're all on board."

Autumn was ecstatic. "Perfect! This's exactly what they're lookin' for!"

The Defects shared a few confused glances.

"When do we leave?" Thunder asked.

"Ah, soon. Today. Right away!" Autumn exclaimed.

"Hold on a minute, this's safe, right?" Luke asked.

"It should be. Nice of you to care by the way."

"You forget that if anythin' happens to General, Bo's done for."

"Nobody's gettin' killed, Luke, you know Gravedigger. Look, all he's doin' is puttin' some pressure on some senators."

Luke sighed. "I don't like it but I ain't in a position to make decisions like this so I'll leave y'all to it."

"I'll get Rig to give us a lift out there," Thunder offered.

"I'll pack y'all some snacks so you ain't hungry on the way over there," Daisy said excitably.

Trigger revved his engine. "And I'll show y'all the way there."

Within moments, everyone was running in different directions, the doctors, who had awkwardly remained throughout the entire mantra, were now beginning to inch their ways out of there-not without a brief discussion about physiology, of course. During the chaos, Clayton had emerged from the house to see what was going on, a snide expression crossing his face as he watched Tank trip and fall.

It didn't take long for him to be finally noticed, however, not by who he was expecting.

Autumn was the first to spot him, stopping in her tracks. "Hey! I know you!" she yelled angrily. "You stole the keys to my old truck, I had to get a new car 'cause of you!"

Clayton grinned his devilish grin and stepped down from the Dukes' front step. "Which, might I say, worked out pretty well. Don't you think, my dear?"

It was then that Marie saw him as well. "Hey, I know him too! Ain't you got a truck stop to be lurkin' in?"

"Wait, y'all know him?" Bo butted in.

"Oh, Mr. Jennings, by the way, you're due to get your cast off soon," Doc Appleby said.

Autumn sighed. "Yeah, I know him well enough. He stole my keys a while back from a tavern in Alabama and took my truck for a joyride, totaled the whole thing. I had to get a new vehicle 'cause of him, which just so happened to be Gravedigger."

"He was harassin' a good feller at a truck stop so I intervened. Actually, that's how I met Psycho Billy," Marie explained.

What goes around, comes around, I guess. Wouldn't you have guessed it? That two-timin', cheap, lyin', no-good devil was at the center of everythin'.

Clayton was still grinning when the Dukes finally stepped up.

"It's okay," Luke said, standing between Autumn and Clayton. "He's on our side now… I think."

"Charmed, I'm sure," Clayton said with a little bow and flourish of the hand.

Autumn, however, still wasn't convinced. She scowled at the little man, moving to stand over him. "And besides, ain't this the son of a bitch who worked you two over?"

Luke pushed her back, trying to keep a fight from breaking out. "Look, it's complicated and odd, just drop it, alright?"

Autumn pushed away from him, still fuming. She pointed a finger at him. "If he tries anythin' so help me-"

Luke led her away. Clayton was still grinning as he pulled a cigar from the inside pocket of his jacket.

"Mais, I always appreciate a warm welcome," he said, lighting up.

He frowned as it was taken from him almost immediately, Doc Appleby grinding it out with his foot.

"Not while you're on those meds," he said, shaking a finger at him. "That includes booze too."

Clayton snarled at him, reaching inside his jacket again. "You-" He cut himself off as he realized that he had been stripped of his gun and holster. He sighed defeatedly. "Looks like you'll live to see another day, le docteur."

"I'll make the appointment to take your cast off Tuesday."

Clayton was quiet for a moment before offering that wicked sneer of his. "You live till Tuesday."

The doctor didn't care to acknowledge his remark as he made a note in his planner and left soon after.

A little far off, Thunder had stopped Marie, still anxious as ever.

"You sure you're okay with me leavin'? I mean, now? After… everythin'?" the Defect asked.

Marie shrugged. "I ain't your momma. You're grown ain't ya? Do what you want."

Thunder sighed. "You sure you're okay, though?"

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be? Besides, now that I found you, I can finally settle down, y'know, have real friends again."

Thunder smiled and dropped his gaze, fighting the lump in his throat. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Marie nodded and Thunder turned to leave, a wave of coldness washing over him.

"Hey."

He turned around, warmth returning to his skin.

Marie grinned. "Hell with it, forget what I said about me not bein' your momma. Kick some ass for me, will ya?"

Thunder smiled back at her before finally turning and walking away to meet with the rest of the Defects.

Within an hour, they were gone, Rig coming back from Atlanta to retrieve them. The only ones that remained were Bo, Luke, Daisy, Cooter, Rosco, Enos, Clayton, and Marie. However, only time would tell how well the county would fare without its Defects.