From: Sean Smith X-From: rkwong@engin.umich.edu (Roberta Chi-Woon Kwong) Newsgroups: alt.tv.quantum-leap.creative,alt.ql.creative Subject: "Quanta" part 16/17 Date: 7 May 1995 22:26:17 GMT Message-Id: <3ojhe9$s93@srvr1.engin.umich.edu> This is being posted for Sean Smith , who is having some difficulty posting from his account. Please direct all comments to him. The following re-formatting has been done in this section: Replacement of smartquotes Adjustment of line length The actual text remains untouched. The extra spaces appearing within lines are part of the original file. -------------------------------------------------- The rain was coming down hard enough to soak Sam to the bone. His small flashlight was sufficient to illuminate the car's engine despite the rain, but he still couldn't figure out why the car had stalled suddenly. >From the way the radio and lights had flashed on and off suddenly before the engine quit, he guessed there was a short somewhere. He'd managed to push the car into the center divide area, but he could he little else. When a glowing door appeared, and Al stepped through into the rain, Sam was overjoyed. "Al, thank goodness. What's wrong?" "Everything. Dana's almost caught up to you, and some inter-" Al's hologram faded out briefly, and lightning strobed the dark countryside. "-wer to try and compensate, Sam. We may black out Boulder, but you'll get some help." Sam realized again just how eerie it was to see Al standing in the middle of a down pour, smoking and completely dry. "Al, can Ziggy tell what's wrong with the car?" Sam wrapped his arms about himself to try and stay warm. Al read his handlink. "According to her, there's nothing-" In a flash of static, Al's hologram disappeared. "Al? _AL_?" Sam spun about. He stopped, and looked up at the bright light hanging above his head. A brilliant white light flashed out at him, engulfing his head and shoulders. He felt lightheaded briefly before he fell to the ground. * * * "What's going on Ziggy? You said we had the power to cut through!" Al was furious, and desperately worried as he approached the Control Panel. "The interference increased beyond our ability to cut through. Unless I blackout the West Coast." Her voice changed pitch in surprise. "Uh oh!" Fox slapped the table. "What?" "Our lock on Doctor Beckett's brainwaves in fading, and will be lost in fifty four seconds." "And Dana?" Fox's eyes burned upwards from a pained face. "Her chance of survival is dropping toward zero, in sixty seconds. * * * When Dana's car lost all power, her power brakes failed, along with her lights. At a little over seventy, she was barreling down a wet road, out of control and blind as a bat. Then she realized that the steering was nearly gone as well, and a cold feel ing washed over her, tightning her chest. Her heart skipped, and she could barely breath as she fumbled with the parking brake. Lightning flashed about her, and the thunder rolled in almost simultaeously. Eyes wide wide with fright, Scully peered into the storm as her car began slowing. * * * Al typed furiously into his handlink, sweat beading on his brow. "Dammit, isn't there some way to reestablish contact with Sam?" Ziggy pouted. "He seemes to be unconscious presently, Admiral. "Ziggy," Fox leaned in toward the console. "You've read my files. You know what's going on." "Your theories do not have enough evidence to-" Fox waved hand. "Forget the evidence. Explain any of this to me, in any other way. And can you come up with a way to save them?" "No?" She dropped all livliness from her voice "I do." He pushed himself upright, with difficulty. "Mulder, how?" Intensely, Al interrupted. "Leap me into Sam." * * * Dana saw the brilliant white light in the sky, and went cold. Throughout her body, every drop of blood froze, and every shred or pretense of strenght dropped away. All she could remember was seeing that light before. And the pain. As her car rolled through thirty, Dana saw Fox's car on the side of the road. She briefly saw a crumpled form lying in front of his car, inert. Without thinking, she snapped her seatbelt loose, and tossed herself out of her car as it passed Mulder. Battered and dizzy, Dana fetched up against Sam's unconscious body. Her hat landed twenty feet away, and her hair stuck itself to her face as she rolled back to face the light. She rose halfway to her feet, and held out her hands as if to ward off a bl ow. "No, dammit. NO!" For a second time, the light flashed out, now engulfing the other agent. And Scully slumped to the ground, lying beside Sam as the rain came down relentlessly. * * * Fox was doing his best to run for the Imaging Chamber doors, but this time Al caught him. "No, kid. there's nothing you can do. You're sick enough, the Leap might kill you." "They don't _want_ me, they've never wanted me. Please. Let me go." Fox popped the buttons on his shirt off as he struggled out of it. Fox and Al matched intense gazes for a long moment. Al tried to get the measure of this man before him. "Admiral," Ziggy sounded rushed. "Twenty seconds. Let him go." "No." He pulled Fox's arm about his shoulder's and nearly dragged Mulder up the ramp. "I'll help you kid." * * * The brilliant light in the sky dropped down to the ground, a few yards away from where the two Agents lay stunned. The sky continued to fall in, soaking Dana's hair, and plastering it to her face. As the Cadillac rolled to a stop well down the asphalt, some movement could be seen near the light. * * * Inside the Accelrator Chamber , Fox listened to the countdown, and knew that her would vanish when Ziggy struck one. Closing his eyes, he stood up straight, and raised his arms in defiance. Outside, Al and Donna stood side by side at the Control Panel. Al's had held down the controls to activate the accelerator and a beam of encoded laser light flickered between the table and Ziggy. "Five." Gooshie counted down seperately, "Nine seconds left." "Four" "Eight" "Three" "Seven" "Two" "Six" "One" "Five" "Fire." "Four" Donna repeated after the computer as she placed her palm on the console. "Firing." Her tears hit the panel as her hand did. A brilliant red light lanced upward from the Control Panel, and Fox Mulder ceased to exist. * * * A shadow passed in front of the light, seeming almost hesitant. But Sam's body began glowing a brilliant blue. In moments, it was bright enough to blot out the craft nearby. And when the blue glow faded, Fox Mulder blinked, and opened his eyes in the pouring rain. He had no idea how he had gotten here, but he realized that Dana's unconscious body lay bleeding upon his lap. He looked up at the bright light shining upon them, and the figure moveing slowly toward them. Instinct came to the forefront, riding a red t ide of absolute rage. In a single fluid motion, Fox drew and pointed his weapon. Almost as if by thought alone, the safty came off, and he began snapping round after round off at the light. The slide locked back when he'd emptied his clip, and he let the spent magazine drop to the ground as he popped in a second clip. The light rose steadily into the air, a humming noise gathering in the predawn air. Screaming now, Fox kept a bead on that light, and poured another twelve rounds into the craft. And again he reloaded his gun, now burning hot in his hand. The light seemed to disappear, so quickly did it fly away. Fox pointed his gun at the distant speck of light, and emptied the last of his clips. When the slide locked back, Mulder dropped the gun, and it landed in a puddle, smoking. Tears mixing with the rain on his cheeks, Mulder gathered Scully in his arm, and wiped her hair away from her face gently. He rocked back and forth with her in his arms, and tried to remember what happened. "Scully? C'mon Scully speak to me. I scared them off this time. Nothing's going to happen to you. I scared 'em off." he pressed his head to her chest and wept. "Mulder." Dana's voice was surprisingly flat. "Dana!" He nearly kissed her, hugged her so tightly. "I thought..." "Me too, Fox. Me too." For a moment, she remained in his lap, as the held tightly to one another's hands. Then she pushed herself into a sitting position, only to draw in a sharp breath. "Your ribs, let me see." Mulder came to his knees, steadying her. "Is that what you say to all the girls, Mulder. Kind of direct. Oh, and before I forget," She swatted him on the shoulder playfully. "_That_ is for leaving me behind." Another flash of lightning, although the thunder came too late. "What are you talking about? And how the hell did we get out here?" Taking a deep breath, Mulder stood up, and helped Dana up. At that moment, the Honda's little engine fired up behind Fox, scaring him to death. The headlights pinned the two Agents ominously, and the pressed themselves against the guard rail reflexively. Down the highway, a tremendous twelve cylinder roared t o life, and the Cadillac lept from the road, grinding into a nearby maple. Mulder and Scully looked at each other, shivering in the rain. Mulder shrugged still totally confused. From down the road, a thin wail issued as, heralding the approaching police car.