Professor Hassons sounded agitated in his seat. Shuffling and typing away furiously at his strange foldable phone — not to mention flustered over the calling voices that Kitt had been hearing for the past miles.

Kitt hadn't even shared the discovery when Hassons inquired about the vicinity of said "voices". How had he known? The man curiously asked for exact or estimated coordinates and Kitt promptly printed a hard copy of the data upon request.

There were two of them Kitt had concluded — calling out over the vast empty landscape with his name. He didn't know them nor recognize them but he was startled by how he was inclined to reply and chatter through this abnormal link. It was as if he had known them his entire life —?

"Professor Hasson?" Kitt squeaked up at the man; he looked disturbed and inattentive to the road. "Is something wrong?" Kitt asked, feeling quite muddled as the voices called and called — echoing over the cannon walls…They were asking, begging for him to return — He wanted to return…but to where? He didn't understand why an impetuous nature was grabbing a hold of him this way and he couldn't comprehend why the man who'd been very endearing with him before was being so so cold now.

Professor Hasson didn't answer the inquiry but rather twitched nervously as he continued to furiously smash character after character to form lengthy and detailed sentences.

Kitt continued to drive.

He felt a bit silly and maybe a bit sheepish over the fact that he was overwhelming the man, there was probably something important he needed to attend to, but he also had questions of his own he figured needed attention right away just as much.

Kitt's motor shuddered as his system sensed once more the conspicuous presence of a vehicle that had been tailgating him unnecessarily the entire evening. It was Hasson's limo. It was closely following behind them with a gentleman by the name of Micheal who seemed very receptive over the supercar. Kitt figured it was a natural response to meeting a talking car for the first time and thought no more of it but…there was something more. He just didn't know what…

For one the man seemed strangely familiar — his presence alone making Kitt feel warm and safe…few things could make him feel that way, he could only presume — his drives didn't have much recorded on them and therefore it was rather strange that he felt anything at all toward someone he frankly didn't know.

Mr. Hasson, he knew well. The man had repaired him when — well…he didn't remember for what. Whatever it was it'd been a traumatic event — one he might not mind having forgotten.

"Mr. Hasson." He remarked once more, perplexed over his prolonged silence and his secrecy. Kitt looked over his chronometer watching the unstable digital tetter of his clock. He didn't know what day it was, the time nor when he'd arrived at Mr. Michael's residence. It was all so strange. When had he driven down here? He could not remember — but Hasson was here so it shouldn't be of concern he deduced. Mr. Hasson could fix it; could make things better. He always did.

He continued to drive, listening intently for when Mr. Hasson would next look up from his phone and motion for his next turn or merge into an intersection. As well as having his internal clock completely incapacitated his GPS wasn't too sharp either. It was all so disorienting — on top of that the voices kept calling to him every so often. The signals bouncing around the canon's walls echoed static he sometimes could somewhat understand and other times completely not. They finally subsided and settled down. Little time passed before Kitt oddly enough began to miss them.

He thought over the mysterious voices thinking of what they'd said. It wasn't much, just them calling for him to return; to be alright. But why? Who were they and well — he had to admit they were so endearing. Could it be possible that he should respond? Or shouldn't he? Like Hasson had instructed?

'Don't trust him. The phoenix lives.'

The entire chassis shuddered as the tires locked up beneath. A screen of smoke unfolding like wings from the Trans-Am over the streaks of rubber. His mind spiraled around in confusion. All sensors fired at once in screaming agony.

'The phoenix lives!' Something within him fought to the surface, shouting full force for him to listen! But just as suddenly as it had surfaced it dove beneath profoundly getting caught under the static; it was stuck.

Kitt weaved to the left lane. Trying to rid himself of the shouting voice. Fortunately, the lane was empty and devoid of traffic but Hasson who'd been less than talkative broke into a wailing protest.

Kitt sunk into the loose grade of sand, helplessly snagging into place to the side unsure of what had become of him. He could feel his processor and graphic cards shifting into high gear as their energy consumption skyrocketed. What had happened?

Professor Hasson had the same concerning question. He stepped out of the vehicle nearly coughing up dust as he struggled to get his footing. He gave Kitt an anxious gaze before diving under the dashboard and fingering through a dense and organized heap of cables.

It was here that Kitt felt very frightened!

"Professor Hasson, is something wrong?" Kitt asked very loudly, hoping it would deter him from pulling anything vital. He hoped it wasn't necessary to incapacitate him! Perhaps — Was there something wrong with him? Was he injured in some way? "Please, Professor Hasson!?"

The professor said nothing as he dug more extensively under the dash.

"Professor? Professor Hasson!" Kitt shouted again feeling his CPU freeze in place as the man began to finger the passcode for his compartment housing. "Not another move!" Kitt finally screamed out of dread finally gathering the little courage he had.

Professor Hasson only shook his head in consternation, not even giving a cue if he'd heard what Kitt had said.

Kitt winced in terror. " — Or I will —" He wasn't the best at making threats and he never thought he'd have to use one against a friend like Hasson but… "I'll forward my location to the strange voices that have been attempting to contact me all this evening!"

Professor Hasson froze. Kitt felt some pride as he gathered the man's attention at last.

"Kitt, that's illogic —"

"Ben!" Called Michael from behind completely unsettled with how the car had all at once lost control. His silhouette was dark against the limo's shining bright lights reflecting off Kitt's pristine sheen parked only a few feet away as he approached. "What happened? Are you okay?" The man called in anguished concern offering the man a warm and friendly hand.

Hasson grimaced biting down on his tongue and gave Kitt a faint scowl.

"Yes, I'm fine — Kitt swerved to avoid hitting an animal."

"That's a lie!" Kitt exclaimed infuriated, catching Hasson off guard. The man finally dove under the dash once more, unplugging the cables handling Kitt's voice signals and the alpha circuitry from his processor. The change was immediate, no matter how much Kitt flashed his modulator in repulsive rebuke nothing could be heard of his voice. No matter how much the car tried to move it simply could not. Kitt was in utter shock! There hadn't ever been a time where the man had shut him up so coldly or despised him like this! Didn't his friendship mean anything to him?

"Hasson, what's the matter?" Michael questioned in utter worry, watching the other man interact with the car quite bruskly. Giving another glare to the dash before turning to Michael with a stoic expression. This was a side of Ben he too had never known. "You can't just do that!"

A shudder ran down Kitt's motherboard — Hasson had abruptly changed!

Michael turned to the gloomily lit dash of the open cabin, he felt pity for the poor creature. He reflected on how terrified it must be to suddenly be locked out of one's own voice, Kitt hadn't done anything wrong and yet ever since Hasson had arrived at his home the car had behaved — well he hardly knew the car nor could he have believed that a self-driving car that could speak was possible until Kitt had driven literally onto his property just an hour ago, he had very little information on the subject to form a logical inference — Yet, he understood that this conduct was not usual for the car. Not with how he'd seen it interact when the two had been alone. Anyhow how could one just simply deny someone to speak or to express themselves like that? It was barbaric!

"This is why I couldn't have you meet this car! It's an absolute mess! A programing disaster!" Hasson announced apprehensively ushering Michael toward the limo but the younger man sidestepped aside.

"That's not what you said earlier," The man raised his brows, his silhouette shining at the edges under the blur of the limo's highlights.

Taking a breath of the cool nocturnal air he remembered how the car had first interacted when Hasson had shown up and how after a while of intense conversing the car had "strangely" warmed up to the man. Michael was no fool — Hasson had manipulated the car just like he had now even though frankly Michael had hoped that wasn't the case but something had and was wrong — Just that…How could Hasson ever —?

"Hasson what's going on, first you said — ouch!"

Michael bent over collapsing to his knees as he seized his arm and pressed tightly over something hard and cold stinging beneath his skin like a hot flame. Something loud exploded under the Trans-Am's inert form at the same time, glittering bits of hot metal colliding with the dark pavement bounced along the ground like hot embers — a startled shudder traveling along its drive train in utter desperation but Kitt could not move. Michael gasped gaping and letting his jaw hang down while his eyes traced Kitt's struggling form, was he trying to protect him? Course the car was because — He closed his eyes seeing for the first time what he'd been wanting to pull out from his mind for what had seemed like another lifetime.

"Michael...Mmmmm...CoMiNg..." Kitt weakly called comfortingly to Michael only half of his scanner illuminating and flashing brightly calling the man to him protectively. Bits of the chassis dragging limply and uselessly over the corroded ground. He staggered helplessly, bits of the drive train hanging unbound and chirping, bent in their holds. Kitt continued to come his way no matter how painful it probably was for him. Michael felt relieved as his partner crept closer and closer but — he never reached him, not on time that was. The damaged Trans Am was abruptly yanked away as Michael turned his head in horror catching strange people in dark suits corraling the defenseless car. He called Kitt once more, but he could no longer reach him. He begged him to fight, he begged him to come but it wasn't enough — It wasn't fair! Kitt was far too injured to even protect himself and the hot ashes of the surrounding building continued to downpour like dark ice around them blanketing the escape of the dark-masked delinquents. Michael felt his head beat hot like fire as he pushed and shoved but to no avail — Kitt was dragged past his vision away to the thick smoke coming down in columns mixing with the cold breeze, only a pained yelp from the computer left to remind him that perhaps he'd not see him again…The man tried to push out from the debris and pry his legs free from under the junk but he could not —

"Help!" He shouted but there was no response there was just —

He felt his blood freeze —

A dark silhouette that had come back —

"I'm sorry Michael." A man sadly called. The man drew closer and closer, offering Michael a warm hand.

Michael took it but — he yanked it back gazing down at his numbed hand, a tinted spot flamed in red glistening back at him.

"What did —?"

"It's for your own good." The man replied. "Just a little something to help you find a new life."

" — Who are you?" Michael gasped, noting how dry his mouth had all at once gone. Did the man just say a "new life"?

"That doesn't matter, it won't matter who you were either in just a moment." The strange man ran a hand over some hard metallic pipes rolled over Michael's waist. "Rest up, Michael."

His head leaned against some wooden planks, his eyes going heavy —

"Why?" he whispered feeling his mind slowly — slow — slow — slow.

"You have no choice, I have no choice — we're all out of options."

He closed his eyes and sleep briskly swept him to gloom.

Michael faced Hasson's sunken eyes staring dead ahead into the night holding his breath; the blinding light coating his face in a pale perplexion washing away that fond smile — that companionable face he thought he had known for years.

"I'm sorry Michael," Michael heard the echo in his mind — This was the dark silhouette that had come back…that had taken his precious life from him. That had taken Kitt and everyone else he assumed he'd loved away.

Hasson sighed in exhaustion.

"Michael I didn't mean to do this but I can't have you and the car close. It's dangerous — So I've been asked to take drastic measures; seize the car and —-" the man's lips trembled. "Destroy it. It's only for your own good. You on the other hand, I'll help you find a better life someplace else. Begin all over again! I think I've been too harsh in reestablishing you into this life for that I'm sorry — A second life might be what you need, I will do better —" The man saying the last part more to himself than to Michael.

Michael's face contorted.

"So you shot me!?" He confronted. "If you were sorry at all the night of the accident then you'd have let me and Kitt go! You'd have turned in whoever came up with that nightmarish plan to the authorities!"

"I couldn't do that and of course, I'd never shoot you. You've just been injected with a special and harmless substance that's all." Hasson kneeled to the man apologetically, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. Michael sneered, unable to shake the hand loose. "I saved your life, believe it or not, I took you in as my own. I could have left you there and let Brown deal with it but I didn't. I couldn't afford to let you remember, however, so I took the appropriate measure for you and Kitt — I meant to unite Kitt with FLAG sooner than I planned to reunite you but it got out of control and everything was delayed. I can't let the agency know now, I can't let anyone know you've been alive all this time and I can't let anyone know that we stole Kitt! I'm sorry Michael it's the only way."

Michael tried to focus on Hasson's face once more, hating the man for what he figured was the first time. How could he make such a rash decision just because he wanted to save his own skin? There was more to it then — Hasson had been lying and he'd been fatally mistaken when he'd forced the Trans-Am to stay a while longer until Hasson had arrived. He'd been fooled, played — Had Hasson ever really been his friend at all then? No, it had been a sham. He tried to make sense of what more he was saying but the world was spinning — swirling round and round and round. Until it, all vanished from view.

Hasson gently rested the man gingerly over the ground.

"Leo, ensure Michael makes it to my residence safely and prepare his flight, as for Kitt —" The man spoke softly to his driver approaching and crouching over Michael's sleeping form urgently, readying himself to carry the man away. "I will take care of Kitt myself." Hasson finally uttered.

It was cruel. To waste an innocent being but he — His lips trembled; grew cold — he had his priorities. He had his orders. Failure just wasn't an option — He wasn't the enemy, he wasn't a crook — but he needed to take a risk if he at all planned to seal regrets and fears in obscurity.

He turned away from Michael's reposed semblance.

Choosing to gaze into the sky — grinding his teeth.

Who was he to take Kitt and Michael away forever from those they loved? Could he pull through? Hadn't he ended Oriel's existence? But he'd made Kipp from her so then — He was a man who could mend the old and form new — He was a man that could make second chances from nothing. He was going to give Michael a third chance even! So no he couldn't be a crook — Someday Michael would understand…Kitt would too.

The man walked around Kitt's prow and set a soft hand over Kitt's osculating scanner. He knew the computer was listening and was probably even remembering. Just as his driver Kitt was clever — course the computer had figured out some bits of the story but not all — because Hasson was a step ahead. He had sealed that fact from the first day the plan had been put into action by Brown…he didn't want anyone to be hurt he just wanted to advance the technology. He had always been keen on getting a piece of the pie! No one had given it to him up until then and then Brown had shown up even what he now knew as NAG had come along. He'd been offered something special! But at a cost — of course, he hadn't fully pulled through. He'd saved two lives so wasn't that justified for forgiveness? Brown was cruel he was not. — No, he wouldn't destroy Kitt but he'd make sure Kitt would simply disappear this time for good.

"Please forgive me." Hasson sorrowfully smiled faintly, tapping his finger in a light and playful pattern over a singular bulb as he always did when he'd played this game in the labs with the recovering computer so long ago but Kitt didn't return the gesture — rather, it all went dark; blank.

Hasson closed his eyes drawing his hand back.

It was too late to regret anything now.