The Kingmaker
A Multi-Universe Story By
D. Lynn
Bivens, Kimberly Murphy-Smith, And Gerald James Seward
[The Story So Far: F.B.I. Special Agent Dale Cooper wakes up
from a deep sleep to find himself far
away from his own Twin Peaks
in a mysterious room he does not
recognize, hearing a voice refer
to him as "Number 3". He looks down to find his normal black suit
has disappeared and has been replaced
with the same casual clothes
worn by Number Six in the 1960's TV
series The Prisoner. Cooper
realizes the absurdity of his
predicament but nevertheless presses
forward with an investigation of his
circumstances, only to find he
is not the only outsider here. Joining him in a courtyard that
they all seemed to be led to are Voyage
To The Bottom Of The Sea's
Admiral Harriman Nelson, private
detective Veronica Gaines (from
the POWER STAR stories "Twisted Web"
and "Twisted Web 2:
Resurrection"), Star Wars' Luke
Skywalker, Deep Space Nine's Major
Kira Nerys and Constable Odo,
Space: 1999's Maya, Manimal's Dr.
Jonathan Chase, Captain Scarlet,
Highlander Duncan MacLeod,
Superman, Greatest American Hero Ralph
Hinkley, Star Trek's
Montgomery Scott, and Angus
MacGyver. Mutual mistrust fills the
air of their first meeting--with Kira
and Odo openly questioning
whether all of them are after the same
goal and whether Cooper,
with his odd clothing, is really one of "them"
or not--but all
eventually come to the realization that
they are prisoners of a
power stronger than any of their
individual powers and talents can
handle and that they are going to have
to work together if they
want to get out. Deciding to return to their bungalows and
gather
clues and anything else that might be
helpful, the fourteen
outsiders vow to reconvene on the beach
after sunset and put escape
plans into action. But they may be fighting more than just
their
captors: Also finding themselves in a strange place are Star Wars'
Darth Vader, Dr. Doom, V's Diana,
Terminator 2's T-1000, Lost In
Space's Robot, Buck Rogers' Twiki, and
the Star Trek mirror
universe's Commander William Riker. "There is a game to be
played," Vader tells his
companions. "We have all been
brought
together to challenge the strongest
forces of good in each of our
universes. And when we win, we shall return to our worlds--and
rule them triumphantly!" As the heroes discover that their captors
have left nothing to chance--even
populating the waters off the
beach with Rovers, as in The
Prisoner--all twenty-one outsiders
converge on the beach only to be
informed by Number Two that they
have been led to this point. "You were all wrong--this is not a
game," Number Two tells them. "It is instead a quest--a quest that
will send you to the farthest corners of
the earth. You are
seeking the greatest treasure anyone
could ever find, an ancient
artifact from a dead planet called Sagar
tens of thousands of
light-years from here. A brilliant blazing sword that has been
called many names over the years--the
kingmaker, the sword of life,
Excalibur. Its real name in almost any language imaginable,
however, is the Power Star." As Number Two declares they will be
sent on teams to find the Power
Star--with the one who finding it
gaining "Absolute Power over the
entire universe and its many
alternates...for all time"--the
heroes and villains start vanishing
in groups until only Scarlet and Duncan
are left on the
beach...with a mysterious man wearing a
badge with the number "6"
on it looking on from one of the caves
before he decides to head
back to The Village and get to the
bottom of this mystery.
Meanwhile, the others begin reappearing
in their destinations where
they are supposed to start seeking the
Power Star. Nelson and Kira
reappear on the deck of the seaQuest,
where Darwin the talking
dolphin tellst them that everyone on the
sub suddenly disappeared
and trouble is heading their
way--trouble in the form of a small
attack craft piloted by the mirror Will
Riker. Chase, Odo, and
Maya find themselves in the lobby of an
elegant Manhattan office
building completely alone--until the
T-1000 literally comes of the
woodwork and the two robots join him in
attacking the trio of
metamorphs. Scotty and MacGyver find themselves in a deserted
village in Northern Ireland, where
violence is a part of everyday
life--but not the violence of Dr. Doom
and a laser blaster, who
takes potshots at them and forces the two
creative engineers to
scrounge for parts to make a
weapon. Luke and Cooper find
themselves in a South American jungle,
sensing Vader's presence
nearby but unable to see him, and Luke
must now trust the strength
of the Force he felt in Cooper and help him
use that strength to
defeat Vader one last time. Veronica Gaines ends up alone on the
streets of L.A.--alone, that is, until
the Visitor queen Diana
steps out of the shadows and challenges
the tough detective to a
shootout. Superman and Ralph find themselves on the streets of
Metropolis, alone, with Ralph surmising
that they've been sent
there to keep the others from having an
unfair advantage by using
one of them with their super powers to
find the Power Star, and to
pass the time, Superman offers to teach
Ralph to fly. That leaves
only Scarlet and Duncan standing on the beach, and as Duncan points
his katana at the other man's throat,
Scarlet asks why they haven't
disappeared. Duncan's eyes gleam as he answers, "All the others
are gone. It is only you and I, Scarlet.
You and I are the last
two Immortals standing. You and I are all that is left in this
world.
This is The Gathering."]
Overlooking the entirety of The Village was an ornate building
wherein the enigmatic and mysterious Number Two
resided, forever
carrying out the insane works of some mysterious
higher power.
Number Six had never been able to decide if there
really was a
Number One or if some other conspiracy existed. But as he entered
the halls of Number Two's palace, watching The Great
Eyes bobbing
and swaying on a gigantic rotating seesaw as they kept
an
ever-vigil watch over The Village, he could sense
something even
more amiss than usual. The wall of video screens was tuned to a
selection of chaotic battles between heroes and
villains--the 21
people he'd seen on the beach, Number Six
decided. These were not
scenes of The Village, not unless there was a jungle
in the
interior that he'd never encountered, and he found
himself at a
loss for what was going on.
"Look
at them, Number Six."
Number Six
looked behind him to find a young--teenaged?--woman
entering the room, reddish-blond hair swept back in a
power
hairstyle that seemed to add to her intimidating
demeanor. Her
number badge read "2". Whoever's in charge can't seem to keep
anyone in steady employment, Number Six found himself
mentally
commenting in spite of himself.
"Look
at them," Number Two indicated again, gesturing grandly
toward the screens.
"Grand heroes, ruthless villains, all willing
to sacrifice themselves in an attempt to gain the
mystical Power
Star. How
truly heroic."
Number Six
felt his heart sink. He himself had
been here so
many years he'd lost track, and these were the first
newcomers he'd
seen since he-couldn't-remember-when. And they were now merely
pawns in whatever game Number Two was playing. None of them were
in control of anything--the heroes were being heroic
for something
meaningless; the villains' evil was being wasted on
the whims of an
insane despot or whatever the feminine equivalent of
that word was.
He watched
the two military commanders, Major Kira and Admiral
Nelson, piloting the seaQuest like he'd never seen a
submarine move
before, trying to outmaneuver the swifter attack craft
helmed by
the one they called Will Riker. It was a struggle worthy of the
finest war movie, the finest epic adventure story, and
he could not
shake the feeling it was all for naught.
His eyes
riveted onto the images of the three shapeshifters
manipulating their molecules for all they were worth,
with the
gelatinous one they called Odo tangled up with an
equally-malleable
metallic being as their bodies occasionally tangled
into a mess,
then uncoiled, then attacked again. He watched a man changing from
animal to man to animal again in less time than it
took to take
several deep breaths as a small robot threw obstacles
into his path
and attempted to knock him back. And he saw a woman change into a
creature he'd never seen before, something with huge
arms and
spines and much power to take on the much larger robot
attacking
her. And it
was all meaningless, all a waste.
He saw the
two engineers--Mr. Scott and Mr. MacGyver, he
thought he remembered--turning discarded pieces of
metal and glass
and an odd-shaped pin into an explosvive projectile
launcher,
managing to hold the armored Dr. Doom at bay, and
realized their
efforts were futile because in the end Number Two
would win anyway.
He saw the
warrior they called Skywalker and the one they
called Cooper locked in a battle of titanic
proportions with the
dark-clad Darth Vader--flashing swords of light,
projectiles
seemingly moving of their own accord, incredibly agile
gymnastic-like movements--and felt a sense of sadness
that such
goodness was wasted fighting such evil when the real
evil was in
this room with him.
He watched
as the beautiful black detective Veronica Gaines
stood gun-to-gun with the alien queen Diana on a
deserted Los
Angeles street, each waiting for the other to twitch,
wondering how
much carnage this Number Two would permit before
finally getting
her fill of sadism.
He saw the
two superbeings, the one called Superman and the
one called Ralph, on a deserted city street--he could
swear it
looked like a real-life version of Metropolis from the
Superman
comics--flying around, Ralph occasionally crashing to
the ground or
into walls, and knew that they were just caged animals
put there to
entertain Number Two.
And then
there were the two men he'd seen left on the beach,
the one they called Captain Scarlet and the man who
he'd heard
called "immortal", Duncan MacLeod, facing
each other with Duncan's
sword at Scarlet's throat. Were these two heroes to destroy
themselves just to satisfy Number Two's bloodlust?
He turned
to the woman behind him.
"Why?" he asked, unable to
find any better words.
She
shrugged. "Why not?" she
replied.
He looked
incensed. "That is not an
answer."
"No,
it's a question. And it's your job to
find the answer."
Number Six
sighed. There were certain things that
never
changed.
Number Two was still an enigma.
And he was still asking
unanswerable questions.
But this
time, he would find the answers.
"Duncan...think about it."
Duncan
MacLeod's katana had not moved from Scarlet's neck
since the others had disappeared. This was The Gathering, it had
to be. Nothing
else could explain being left alone with another
Immortal. So why
was Scarlet not preparing to engage him in
battle?
Scarlet,
on the other hand, had no desire to lose his
head--figuratively or literally. That meant he had to get through
somehow to Duncan.
"Why would this be The Gathering?" he asked,
trying to keep his voice calm. "Do you truly believe you and I are
the last two Immortals left?"
"It's
possible," Duncan responded.
"Even
if one of us isn't really an Immortal?"
Duncan
frowned. "What do you mean?"
"You're an Immortal. Were
you born that way?"
"Of
course."
"I
was not."
Now Duncan
looked curious. "You were
not?"
"No." Scarlet gestured
over himself. "This is a copy of
my
original body.
The last thing I remember before waking up like
this was my car spinning out of control. That was...well, that was
my first death."
"Yes,
you said that earlier. And
the...Mysterons? Is that
what you called them?...made this version of
you?"
"Yes. I don't understand
how--the only explanation the
boffins in Spectrum have for it all is that I must not
have been
completely dead when they duplicated me, but the
Mysterons have the
ability to duplicate any object or person as long as
the object is
inanimate. So,
they had to kill me, and then they made this copy.
When my friend killed me a second time to stop me from
capturing
the World President, that was when I came to my
senses."
"You
still remember your first deaths?"
Duncan now seemed
amused.
"Well, I don't exactly remember them; I've been told what
happened. But
yes, I remember most of the circumstances--except
for the six hours I was under Mysteron control."
"Youngster." Duncan
put away his katana and seemed to smile
for the first time.
Scarlet
breathed a sigh of relief. Then he
looked insulted.
"I am not a youngster. I'm 32 years old."
"Child." Duncan
laughed slightly. "You still
measure time in
hours, days, years.
Wait until you've been around 4 centuries and
your perspective will change dramatically."
Scarlet
looked astonished. "Four
centuries?"
"More
or less. After a while the years all
blend together.
Time has precious little meaning when death is not
your enemy."
Scarlet
looked somber. "That is what it's
like to be
immortal."
It was a statement, not a question.
Duncan
nodded. "That is what it's
like. If you think about
it for too long it will drive you insane."
"But
if all Immortals are destined to kill each other..."
"...then you have to choose your friends carefully. That
usually means befriending mortals. And that means watching them
grow old and die while you live on. Even the ones you love."
Scarlet
thought of his beloved Rhapsody Angel, once again
despairing of their ever being able to have a lasting
relationship.
"Is it worth it?"
"It
depends. My heart has been broken a
number of times. But
that doesn't mean I stop losing it."
Scarlet
nodded. "It's hard to avoid
it."
Duncan
actually found himself feeling sorry for the younger
man. But the circumstances
of their meeting came back to him as he
looked around the beach. "So...if this is not The Gathering, what
are we doing here?"
Duncan's
words brought Scarlet back to the present.
"Number
Two would have you believe that we are here to find
the Power
Star."
"I
take it you don't believe him."
"I
don't trust Number Two any farther than I can throw him.
There's something more here."
"Then
why were we left here?"
"Perhaps Number Two was hoping you would reach the conclusion
you did--that this was The Gathering--and that we
would fight to
the death and take each other out of the way."
"Ingenious. It almost
worked. Now what?"
"I
think we need to have a conversation with Number Two and
give him our opinions of his tactics."
"I
like the way you think. Where should we
start?"
Scarlet
looked around. "It's unlikely
Number Two is actually
anywhere in The Village...more than likely he's in
something just
on the edge, a fortress..." He began looking around.
Duncan pointed off in the distance. "There--a light, on that
elevation."
Scarlet
followed Duncan's gaze. "A likely
candidate. We'll
split up once we reach it and attempt to find a way
in."
"You
realize, of course, this is most likely a suicide
mission."
Now
Scarlet smiled. "Then who better
to tackle it than an
Indestructible Man and an Immortal?"
"You're mad."
Number Two
lolled in the odd oval chair that seemed to
completely engulf her and cast an amused gaze at Number
Six, who
was still pacing about the room attempting to reason
with her. No
wonder the previous Number Twos had taken such great
pleasure in
tormenting Number Six--he was a worthy if amusing
opponent.
"You
realize, of course," Number Six continued, "that you are
as much a pawn as they are." He gestured at the wall of screens.
"To have these brave men and women battling
whatever Evil you've
contacted or concocted seems purely self-serving to
whatever secret
organization controls your actions."
"Do
stand still, Number Six," she sighed wearily. "I am
trying to enjoy the show."
Number Six
stopped his pacing, then grabbed an unoccupied
chair and hurled it at the images.
Instead of
an explosion of phosphorus and glass, the chair
bounced harmlessly off the TVs, as if they were made
of some
unbreakable alloy.
For a
moment, Number Six was dumbfounded.
Then he recovered
his composure and turned a stone-hard glare at the
arrogant young
woman.
Number Two
barely seemed fazed. "Feel
better?"
"This
cannot go on," Number Six stated angrily.
"Whoever or
whatever these people are, they've no connection to
secret
government organizations or conspiracies--and do not
deserve to
suffer as part of whatever sick plan you and your controllers
have
cooked up."
She
gestured toward the screens. "Do
they look like they are
suffering?"
Number Two
looked back at the screens.
Kira and
Admiral Nelson now seemed to be holding their own
against Riker, expertly avoiding the smaller sub's
strikes.
Odo, Maya,
and Chase were more than a match for T-1000 and the
two robots.
Scott and
MacGyver had actually managed to fashion a crude
laser and other weapons to take on Dr. Doom and were
winning the
battle.
Cooper and
Skywalker were an effective team, acting in concert
as if they were of one mind, overwhelming even the
powerful Darth
Vader.
Veronica
Gaines seemed to be a much more accurate shot than
Diana, and the gunfight on the streets of L.A. now appeared much
more even than it had at first.
Superman
and Ralph Hinkley seemed to be hitting it off
well--and Ralph was even starting to fly straighter.
And Duncan
and Scarlet..."Where are they?" Number Six asked
aloud.
Number Two
looked at the screen that had been chronicling
their adventures.
"Impressive. I knew they
would figure it out."
"Figure what out?"
"That
they'd been had--that this was all a game.
I'm quite
certain now they're heading this way to try and stop
us."
"Us? But I've nothing to do
with this!"
"Oh,
really? Then why are you here?"
Number Six
stopped. Why am I here? I came up to stop Number
Two, to try and save the newcomers...but they seem to
be doing that
on their own. This
is part of the plan--if the others find me here
they'll assume I was in on all of it. He started to leave.
The sounds
of combat outside the compound stopped him.
He
turned to Number Two.
"I
knew they were the right ones to leave here," she said. "A
pair of ruthless, efficient killers who have no real
fear of
death...yes, they were the right ones."
Number Two
again turned to leave...only to be stopped by a
katana pointing right at the center of his chest.
"Don't move!" Duncan ordered.
The room's
guards turned to fire on Duncan--only to be dropped
by a machine gun burst from behind.
Scarlet
appeared from a side entrance, brandishing the
automatic weapon he'd taken from another of Number
Two's guards
earlier. Both
he and Duncan were covered in sweat and blood, their
clothes tattered in battle.
"Nice
of you to finally join me," Duncan remarked
sarcastically.
"Who
knew there'd be more guards in the catacombs than in the
main halls?" Scarlet retorted.
Number Six
looked nervous. Duncan still had not
moved his
katana.
"Listen to me," he said.
"I am not a part..."
"Quiet!" Duncan demanded.
"I'm in no mood for any more of
your trickery, Number Two."
"I am
not Number Two!"
"He's
right," Scarlet interrupted.
"It's the wrong voice."
He looked down at the man Duncan was addressing. "Where is Number
Two?"
"Right here," Number Two replied, standing up out of her
chair.
Scarlet
whirled to face her. "A
woman?"
"Yes. Do you have a problem
with that?"
Scarlet
recovered his composure. "No, I
don't." He readied
the weapon and aimed it right at her. "And we've had quite enough
of your trickery, whoever you are. This game is at an end."
"I
couldn't agree more."
As she
finished speaking, a blinding flash filled the room.
When it cleared, Scarlet and Duncan found themselves
unarmed...and
the other twelve heroes and heroines were standing
with Duncan,
Scarlet, and Number Six.
Everyone
looked completely confused. "What
the devil...,"
Scotty began.
"Allow me to introduce myself," Number Two interrupted. "My
name is Amanda Rogers. I am a part of a superior race called the
Q Continuum.
I'd been observing each of you in your own realities
for a very long time, and trying to convince another Q
that there
were more superior creatures in other realities than
the ones he
found so intriguing.
He didn't believe me, so I devised this
little exercise to test your heroic tendencies."
"'Test'?" Odo was
furious. "That's all this was--a
test by
a Q?"
"I
knew you wouldn't understand. It's very
difficult to
explain what motivates a Q."
Cooper
turned to Odo. "I take it you've
encountered these Qs
before?" the Special Agent asked.
"That's
what I meant when I said we were in big trouble," Kira
replied.
"Qs have no morality. They
don't care who or what they
hurt, as long as it keeps them from being bored. The last Q that
came through Deep Space Nine just stood by and watched
his friend
nearly destroy our station." She turned to Amanda. "But you're
not the one who was with him--Vosh, I think her name
was. You're
different.
I've never met a female Q before."
"Q
don't really have genders," Amanda explained. "They can be
anyone or anything they want to be." She gestured over herself.
"This is a kind of tribute to who I was. I'm part human and part
Q. It's a long
story, best told at another time..."
"Where are the others?" Superman demanded. "Where are the
villains we were fighting? Were they part of your test?"
"Well, they were added by my friend. He said heroism is more
difficult to demonstrate when you're fighting for
survival. I told
him he was wrong.
And he was, as it turned out, as demonstrated by
Mr. MacLeod
and Captain Scarlet seeing through the whole thing and
fighting their way up here. No doubt they've all been sent back to
their respective realms, completely unaware that
anything ever
happened...except for Darth Vader, of course."
"He's
still around?" Superman asked.
"No,
he's gone," Luke said confidently.
"But they couldn't
influence his mind so that he would forget what
happened because of
the strength of The Dark Side within him."
"Exactly," Amanda replied.
"I tried to warn my friend, but of
course he wouldn't listen. He's like that. And I
won't be able to
make you forget either, Mr. Skywalker, because of the strength of
The Force within you.
The Jedi mind is among the strongest I have
ever encountered."
A newfound
respect for Luke spread among the others.
Luke
blushed slightly.
"What about Cooper?" he asked.
"Ah,
yes, Mr. Cooper, the powerful
clarvoyant. Many an enemy
have tried to break through the fortress walls of his
mind. I'm
impressed that you were able to get through, Mr. Skywalker." She
turned to Cooper.
"You'll find yourself a lot stronger for this
experience, Mr.
Cooper. I can't possibly remove
every element of
experience from your mind. But I can certainly give it a good
shot. You'll
find yourself with snatches of memories you can't
quite place, as if you'd had one of your clarvoyant
dreams. And
you can thank Mr.
Skywalker for unlocking the reservoir of
strength within you."
Cooper
looked at Amanda intensely. "You
seem confident in
your powers.
Are all Q like you?"
"Some
are more arrogant than others."
"Like
the one who spoke to us when we were brought here.
Where is he?"
"It
could have been her," Chase pointed out.
"She did say a
Q could be anyone or anything..."
"We can," Amanda replied,
"but Mr. Cooper's right. It was
not I who spoke to you earlier. That was my opponent in this
little contest.
Q?"
In a
flash, another man stood beside her.
Arrogance exuded
from every pore of his being and etched itself into
his expression.
"Q," Odo growled.
"I
knew you were behind all this," Kira hissed.
"Moi?" Q looked
offended. "Major Kira, you wound
me. This
wasn't my idea."
"That's right," Amanda replied. "It was mine. All of
it."
"Most
of it," Q corrected.
"For
pity's sake," Scotty interrupted, "why? What were
y'trying t'prove?"
"Nothing," Amanda answered.
"At least, nothing that would
make any sense to you. But Q and his ilk have to be reminded every
now and again that they will never completely
understand humanity.
I was trying to explain the concept of heroism and how
important it
is to human and humanoid history. Indeed, heroism is a part of the
humanoid condition on other worlds and in galaxies
far, far away.
It is exhibited by man and woman alike, mortal and
immortal...even
indestructible men."
Scarlet
and Duncan acknowledged the references with knowing
glances.
"The
Q have trouble that such abstract concepts can be present
in flawed beings," Amanda continued.
"Not
I," Q interrupted. "I have
seen enough humans to know
that heroism, however primitive its form, is indeed
exhibited by
them. And I am
impressed at their feeble attempts to progress
despite their flaws."
"Too
bad you've never seen fit to show your appreciation," Odo
harrumphed.
"Harsh words from a changling from the race of the so-called
'Founders'," Q chastised.
If Odo
could have blushed, he would have.
Instead, he fixed
hard, angry eyes on Q, the same kind of angry glare he
usually
reserved for lawbreakers aboard Deep Space Nine.
"Let
me guess," Duncan said, trying to get the discussion back
on track.
"If this was just a way to demonstrate heroism to the
other Q, then the mythical Power Star..."
"...never really existed," Q admitted.
An angry
murmur arose among the others.
"But
your quest was a genuine one," Amanda quickly pointed
out. "A
quest against evil."
"We
risked our lives for that sword," Nelson said with barely
controlled anger, "and now you tell us it never
existed?"
"You're immoral!" Maya burst.
"They're amoral," Ralph corrected. "Immoral implies they
actually have a moral code. I've seen nothing to suggest that they
do."
Q looked bored. "All right, all right, if it'll make you
happy..."
He snapped his fingers.
Before
them appeared a huge glistening, gleaming sword. Its
hilt gleamed with precious gems and fine metals; its
blade was
sharpened to a razor's edge and polished to the point
of almost
glowing. It
certainly seemed that whoever took physical possession
of it could somehow exert their will over the world
for Good or
Evil.
"The
Power Star," Q said, mocking the grand tones of an
announcer.
"An ancient artifact from a dead planet called Sagar
tens of thousands of light-years from here. A brilliant blazing
sword that has been called many names over the
years--the
kingmaker, the sword of life, Excalibur..."
"Send
it back," MacGyver interrupted.
"Yeah,"
Veronica said, making a face. "Get
rid of it. I
don't want anything to do with it."
"Are
you sure?" Q offered. "It
really does have all the
powers promised--I put them there myself..."
"Get
that thing out of here," Cooper ordered firmly.
Q rolled
his eyes, then snapped his fingers again.
The Power
Star vanished.
"Told
you they wouldn't be tempted by it," Amanda taunted.
"Don't rub it in," Q snarled.
"Are
you two finished?" Cooper interrupted.
"I've
accomplished all I wanted to prove," Amanda answered.
"Good. Then send us
back. None of us belong here. And all
of us have someone or something to go home to."
Q sighed
exasperatedly. "And I had so
wanted to have some tea
brought in.
Oh, well."
In the snap of the fingers and the blink of
an eye, the
fourteen heroes and heroines vanished, leaving only
Number Six and
the two Qs in Number Two's grand room.
"You're a sore loser," Amanda remarked.
"And
you're a sore winner," Q retorted.
"What is the meaning of all this?"
Number Six demanded. "What
kind of trick have you and your sick counterparts
concocted this
time? How were
you able to do all this?"
"We
forgot about him," Amanda said, gesturing to Number Six.
"He's
certainly tightly wound," Q commented condescendingly.
"Well, he should be. Number
Six has been here so many years
I doubt he even remembers his real name. He's been the bane of
Number Twos ever since he was brought here after
resigning from
being a secret agent man. They've been trying a wide variety of
mind control to break him ever since. And every one of their
efforts have failed.
Now this, Q, is a true example of heroism at
work."
"If
he's so heroic, why can't he break free of his captors?"
"Because they never claim to have control over anything. That
makes them the most dangerous kind of unseen power
there is. The
Q Continuum would like them."
"I
have had enough of your coded dialogue and answerless
answers," Number Six snapped. "I want an answer, and I want it
now!"
"All
right, all right," Q sighed.
"No."
"'No'? What kind of answer
is that?"
"The
only one we can give." With that,
Q gestured
dramatically.
Suddenly,
Number Six was alone again. And he was
no longer in
Number Two's palace.
He was back in the same apartment he'd been
dumped into all those many years ago when he'd first
arrived.
"No!" he shouted, finally understanding Q's answer.
In the
distance, he thought he could hear a taunting female
voice saying told you he wouldn't take it well.
Cooper
awoke with a start, as if shaken out of a dream. He
sat up in bed and looked around frantically, his mind
filled with
images he could not understand and fragments of
dialogue that made
no sense. He
fought to clear his mind and get his bearings.
This was
his room. His bed. His house.
His clothes. It had
all been a dream.
Or had it?
What
happened? Cooper struggled to piece
together the odd
snatches of memory floating through his mind. It was certainly
among the more vivid dreams he'd ever had--why
couldn't he remember
more of it?
Cooper
reached over to his bedside table and picked up his
microcassette recorder, then pressed the "RECORD"
button. "Diane,"
he said into it, "Remind me to ask you to place
me under hypnotic
regression as soon as possible. I have just had the oddest dream
that I am certain is crucial to remember, and yet I
cannot recall
enough of it for any of it to make sense..."
Two
trenchcoated figures burst into his bedroom, guns drawn,
aimed straight at him. Both the tall brown-haired man and the
smaller red-haired woman in his doorway looked
astonished to see
him.
"I'll
tell you more about it later."
Cooper switched off his
recorder and raised his hands. "Don't shoot--I'm not armed."
The man
recovered his composure first.
"Special Agent Dale
Cooper?" he asked.
"Yes," Cooper answered.
The man
nodded to the woman, and they put their guns away and
reached for their badges. "I'm Special Agent Fox Mulder," the man
replied.
"This is Agent Dana Scully.
We'd like to ask you a few
questions about your recent disappearance..."
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