Chapter 2

1983

Ralph work up face down once more but this time on the ground. He eyes had to adjust to the bright light. He pushed himself up. He found he was still in his clothes from before. He looked over and there beside him on the ground, face down was his daughter. He scrambled to her side. "Billie." he rolled her over.

Billie regained consciousness. "Damn! Those fuckers like to screw with you." she moaned. She too was in the same clothes as the night before.

Ralph helped her sit up.

"We're back in the desert, Dad." she noticed.

He looked around. "This is our camp site. But nothing is here but us."

"They said they were sending us back to 198e to prevent a nuclear war." Billie recalled. "They infused us with nanites."

"Not too sure what those are." Ralph confessed as he helped her stand.

She explained. "Nanites are tiny robots, Dad. The size of a cell." she found she still had her cell phone. She looked upon the device. "They gave me an app." she grinned. "My phone is the controller."

Ralph dug out his flip phone. He wondered, "Did they make my phone into a controller?"

Billie brought up the app on her phone. "It says any radio can be used as a controller. The nanites respond to radio signals until we can control them mentally."

Ralph puckered in thought. "How does my work then?" He pressed zero on the phone. Text scrolled across the tiny screen. He slowly read it. "Welcome Ralph to your new suit." he winced. "You can used the key pad for your commands." He glanced over at Billie who was scrolling through the instruction with ease.

"These nanites are so cool." she grinned. "They can change how you look, how you speak, everything. Oh, we can materialize things out of thin air, Dad. This is like magic. It's so cool." She glanced at her father.

He was squinting at the flip phone. "Press one for options." he read off.

She laughed, "Going old school, huh."

He rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's get to the road and see if we can hitch a ride."

She started scrolling. "I'm sure there has to be a way of teleporting us."

"Let's just get back to civilization first." Ralph insisted. He began to walk. "Come on, Billie."

She began to walk behind him with her face buried in her cell phone.

Meanwhile

The black trans am roamed the highway. In the cockpit of the car sat a man with curly dark hair, blue eyes and sporting jeans with a black leather jacket.

KITT had been processing the recent news stories. "Michael."

"Yeah KITT?" he asked.

"I have compiling the recent news reports of the UFO sightings. I have found some interesting numbers." he reported.

"What's the numbers?" he wondered.

"In the last two years the UFO sightings have increased by one thousand percent compared to the total of sightings reported in the last twenty years."

Michael cocked an eyebrow. "That's a huge increase."

"We have not seen this level of sightings reported since the 1950's, Michael." he reported.

"That is interesting." Michael agreed unsure what to make of the trend.

He squinted at the two figures that were up ahead. He slowed down and pulled the car over upon seeing the male held his thumb out for a ride. KITT opened the passenger's side door.

Ralph jogged up to the car with his daughter in tow.

Billie stated, "I can't believe that actually worked, Dad."

He peered inside the car. "Hi!"

Michael asked, "You two need a lift?"

"To L.A." he stated. He then realized he was looking at a car that he had not seen since his days as a super hero. He then figured who was driving. It was Michael Knight and KITT.

"Get in." Michael stated.

Billie climbed into the back seat and then Ralph slid down in the front passengers seat. He wondered if Michael would recognize him. He became grateful, "Thanks for this, Michael." He then winced wondering if he should have said the man's name.

"How did you know my name?" he asked. He cocked his head and squinted. "You look kind of familiar."

He came up with an excuse. "You know my son. Ralph Hinkley Junior. He's a teacher at the high school."

"You are Ralph's father!" he gasped. "You know he's in the news lately. That super hero stuff he's doing."

"I know." he sighed.

Billie stated, "They still remember, Dad."

"I know." he nodded.

Michael turned and looked at his passenger. "You are?"

"Billie Hinkley." she introduced herself. "He's my dad."

"You must be Ralph's little sister." he assumed.

She looked to her father.

"She is." he went with the cover feeling a bit like a heel. He helped Michael and KITT with a few cases. They were friends before the aliens wiped out the memories. Then one day, Michael didn't know who Ralph was. He didn't remember him at all.

Michael started down the road. "So…how did Ralph get that super suit?"

Billie spoke up. "Aliens."

"Aliens." he smirked. He assumed it was some kind of experimental suit the government made.

She nodded and miffed, "Fuckers."

Michael looked at Ralph who slowly nodded in agreement with a scowling face.

Ralph's memory started to recall those he knew back in the day who had long forgotten about him. "How is String and Dom?"

"You know about Airwolf?" he asked surprised.

Ralph nodded. "I know about the chopper."

Billie asked, "What's Airwolf, Dad?"

He explained, "Airwolf was a top secret attack helicopter that me and Bill assisted a few times." He then realized he must have sounded rather odd to Michael and KITT. "I mean…um…your…brother assisted."

Michael stated. "KITT, take over." he let go of the yolk.

The care began to drive itself.

"No way!" Billie gasped. "They had self driving cars in the 80's!"

Ralph stated, "KITT is an A.I., Billie."

"No way." she shook her head. "We didn't have A.I. back then?"

"We did." he informed.

Michael stated, "You are Ralph Hinkley. Aren't you? You are older but you are Ralph. You are not his father. He told me both his parents were deceased."

"That's right. I did mention that." he grimaced.

"What's going on?" Michael asked.

Ralph paused for a moment thinking of how to explain. "It's the aliens. They came back for me. And this time, they got my daughter too. They will take the suit away and then wipe out everyone's memory of me and the suit. They said it was so I could live a normal life, that I got too famous. After they took the suit away, no one remembered me. Not you, not String, not Mac, not anyone. Everyone forgot who I was and what I did. They only left my memory, Pam's memory and Bill's memory intact. So, we could talk about it between ourselves but no one else remembered. Pam and I got married, had Billie and life went on. Bill eventually died of old age. I lost Pam to cancer three years ago. Billie is really into technology and UFO's and likes to go watch lights at night in the dessert. Last night, Billie and I were driving up to the overlook to set up cameras to capture the lights when the same aliens that gave me that suit stopped our jeep and this time took myself and Billie into the ship. When we woke up they told us Armageddon just happened and they would give us a choice. Either we could go back to their planet and live as one of them or they could send us back to try to prevent it. We chose to try to prevent it. When we woke back up, we were in our camping spot. It was empty and we are now in 1983. Last night it was 2020, Michael."

Michael sat speechless for a moment. "They gave you the suit back and told you to go stop Armageddon?"

"Not the suit." he shook his head. "Some kind of tiny robots called nanites. Billie gets it better than me."

KITT spoke up. "Michael, I am detecting an unusual energy source with both Ralph Hinckley and his daughter."

"Nanites, KITT?" Michael asked.

"We would have to study the source further." KITT concluded.

Ralph asked, "Can you help us, Michael? I don't think our alien friends would have just left me and Billie in the desert to be picked up by anyone."

"Of course." he assured. "You helped me and KITT out a few time. You know I am here for you, Ralph."

Billie watched the car drive itself. "This car is so sick, man."

KITT stated. "I am not ill."

Ralph informed. "The cool slang of the day is 'awesome' and 'rad.'"

"This car is…awesome." she grinned. "Can I drive it?"

Michael turned and looked back at her. "No!"

"But this car beats the pants off Tesla." she countered.

He asked, "What does Tesla have to do with KITT?"

Ralph informed. "It's a car company, Michael. They sell electric cars."

KITT suggested. "Michael. I suggest we go back to Knight Industries and have a briefing with Devon. The information that Ralph Hinckley from the future has provided to us in invaluable."

"Let's go see Devon." he agreed.