Title: ALIEN BODY HUNTER
author: agpama
e-mail: proxphiler@yahoo.com
rating: R
MSR

disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended with the creation of
this story. I don't own the X-Files and its character, a genius named
Chris Carter and 1013 Productions does, so please don't sue me. 

summary: Scully is victimized as the FBI and law enforcement close in on a
suspect they believe is responsible for the brutal deaths of women in the
New England area. Mulder and the feeling he harbors becomes vulnerable to
a shaken Scully in this morbid tale of a most bizarre alien invasion.

Alien Body Hunter

Part 1 of 3 

A hand, weathered by signs of aging and suffering held tightly onto
Scully's hand. She pressed it against her face as tears streamed down her
cheeks. Her daughter had been through so much in her life only to see the
outcomes worsen as she continued this pursuit for justice, only to have
the greatest of injustices done to her. Margaret couldn't understand why
she allowed her only daughter, her most beloved of her children, her baby,
to put this front of strength and independence, to mask her true self. A
fragile human being, now broken into a million pieces. A man who may be
the only one able to pick up each piece and put them back together,
stepped into the room. Mulder tapped Mrs. Scully on the shoulder, and she
turned to show him eyes full of pain and plea.

They stepped out of the room. Mrs. Scully sighs, "She's been drifting in
and out of sleep from the medication they've given her to ease the pain."
She kept her eyes away from Mulder until she asked a question that ripped
his heart apart. "Why?" she said with her voice trembling with rising
anger, "Why? Where were you? Why couldn't you protect her?"

Mulder's heart fell to the floor, his breathing raspy as tears streamed
down his face. "I'm sorry...I'm...sorry" was all he could say in between
sobs. Mrs. Scully took Mulder into her arms knowing that he was in much
pain as if this crime had also been done to him. "I promise you Mrs.
Scully, I'll find whoever did this to her. I promise." 


J EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING

THREE DAYS EARLIER

Mulder walked into a room that brought back vivid memories of his early
years in the FBI. He saw many new faces, along with those he recognized
who pretended not to notice him. He didn't come here to walk down memory
lane, especially when the memories of this place were not fond ones. He
entered the place where he was first assigned to investigate the most
violent crimes committed in our nation, only because he was asked to look
into a case so heinous that it required the attention of the top agents of
the Bureau. He walked in a room where these elite of the elite were meeting
to be briefed on the situation. All eyes were on Mulder, with voices
murmuring about him. Many thought him as a joke, others feared his rogue
behavior, some admired him, but everyone in that room showed some
expression of the knowledge that he clearly was a force to be reckoned
with.

"These are pictures taken of the twenty-four women that have been
violently murdered. All women died from internal bleeding due to blows to
the abdomen, to the skull, to the chest. The pathologists have confirmed
that there was forcible penetration-some women hemorrhaging from the
uterus. These women were raped in their homes, found dead in an alley, in
an abandoned car. We have no clear MO on this killer, except that a few of
the injuries sustained showed hand marks. He is a very angry person
considering the nature of the crime. The local police are at a lost in
finding this elusive killer, but they are anxious in finding him because
he is sweeping the town of innocent women in an unbelievable rate. That
is, every other two days, a woman dies."

Mulder listened carefully to the details of what the police and FBI have
gathered so far. Families, friends and witnesses give baffling accounts. A
waiter found a woman, who was only gone for a couple minutes, violently
assaulted in the restroom. The last woman who saw her said she swore no
one left or entered the restroom as she waited in line behind her. Two
days later another body was found on a park bench, badly beaten. Two days
after that, a child found her mother dead, lying naked in a pool of blood,
on their laundry room floor. The list went on and on. A few females,
including male agents stepped out of the room as the detailed descriptions
became too overwhelming for them to hear. Police could not find any
connection, or association among these women. The only pieces of hard
evidence that were gathered were sole-prints of standard issue military
boots left by the attacker, skin under the fingernails of several victims,
and hair samples. What baffled forensics was that there were no traces 

of seminal fluid in any of the victims, nor chemicals that would indicate
use of a prophylactic. The skin tissue and hair samples could not give any
conclusive information on the identity of the assailant since DNA test
results were barely understandable. As if the test were tampered with, or
that the assailant was afflicted with numerous genetic abnormalities not
yet known to science. Mulder received a copy of the case before he left
the briefing.

On the way out, a man stopped him, "Agent Mulder, my superior is
requesting that you meet with him to give some comments on the case.

Mulder recognized the man immediately, "Agent Tucker, it's been a while.
What can I do for you?"

"I need your help on this. I need you to establish a profile on this man
so that we can put an end to this atrocity."

"I don't think you'll be willing to accept the profile I have on this guy,
assuming its a man," Mulder explained. 

Agent Tucker and his subordinate are bewildered by his comment. "Surely
you aren't thinking this is the work of a female?"

"Look, I'm looking at this case from the standpoint of the unit I'm
assigned to..." Mulder started to say.

"You mean you're treating this case as an X-File?" Agent Tucker asked.

"I was instructed to look into this matter in my present field of
expertise as an avenue in getting the case solved. We've got full
resources from the FBI's top investigators and they have come up almost
empty-handed," Mulder continued to explain.

"Agent Mulder you were asked on this case because I requested for you,"
Agent Tucker admitted.

"To solve the case or give the BSU the credit it deserves?" Mulder
rhetorically asked, before walking away from him.

Scully returned Mulder's phone call, "What's up?"

"Scully!" I need your help on this case...

"Mulder, it's like a mad house here at the Building. Everyone is pretty
shaken up about this serial rapist/killer stalking the New England area,"
Scully reported.

"You need to get away from there and meet me somewhere. I have information
on that particular case that might give us new leads." They hung up and
within half an hour, met at Scully's apartment.

"What do you have Mulder?" Scully asked.

"Whatever this is, isn't human. Take a look at these pictures and tell me
if you can viciously beat a woman up like this in a matter of seconds. She
was found in an elevator. The security camera shows her stepping in at
12:14:22 seconds. Then the elevator door opens for the tenth floor at
12:14:32 seconds. She was raped, her neck was snapped back, and her
shoulder dislocated."

"Oh my God, Mulder," Scully sighed as she looked at a few of the pictures
before placing the file on the coffee table. She rubbed her neck after
taking gulps of building saliva from her mouth. Then she wiped her
reddening eyes as the urge to throw up became more apparent. "Are you
okay, Scully?" Mulder asked as he placed a tight grip with his hand on her
shoulder, massaging it. "I'll get you some water, just rest your head back,
okay? I'll be back," Mulder said tenderly. As soon as she regained her
composure, her and Mulder, studied the endless pile of the victims' case
files. 

"These women were all in their mid 20's to 30's. Women with careers, some
with children, some married, some single. Nothing to connect these women
in any way, except one overwhelming fact-that is, all his victims are
women." Although she admitted that it didn't rest easy in her stomach.
"Mulder, what did you mean when you said he wasn't human?"

"I told Agent Tucker from the Behavioural Science Unit that there are
invisible entities known to sexually assault women. Spirits that engage in
unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman, to the point where there are
contusions, indicating contact between the metaphysical and physical
world. However, I haven't come across a case where the result is death."

"What did he say?" Scully asked.

"He wished me luck, all the luck in the world."

"Mulder that doesn't make sense. Why would a woman put up a fight if she
couldn't see her attacker? Your explanation would also contradict the
evidence of skin tissue found on the victims nails," she surmised.

"Scully you need to be there for the autopsy on the latest victim's body. 

The night passed and Mulder stayed on the computer surfing through the
Internet to find information on supernatural encounters, while Scully
slept on the couch. He could've driven home and continued his search with
his computer, but after seeing those pictures he couldn't reassure himself
that the odds of Scully becoming a victim were slim. He lifted her from his
sleeping spot, and placed her on her bed. 

When morning came, Mulder dropped Scully off at the morgue where the
autopsy was to be conducted. Many of the FBI's Forensic team had gathered
to view the autopsy. They found that the victim died as a result of
internal hemorrhaging in the brain. It took four hours before Scully had a
chance to study the body herself. The Forensics team had been notified that
other bodies were arriving for a secondary autopsy. 

She examined the vaginal cavity where she discovered numerous cuts from
forced penetration. The skin of the victim had blackened showing where
pressure was most and less. There were finger marks, but the attacker most
likely used gloves since there were no identifiable fingerprints. She
looked at the swollen head then glanced at the x-ray on the wall. Her head
was bashed by some blunt object, her forehead showing the indentations of
knuckles. Then suddenly, a streak of black oil oozed out of the body's
ear, and spilled on Scully's protective garment. She jumped back and let
out a gasp in surprise, which caught the attention of the Forensic team
studying the bodies that had arrived. They ran to Scully who was fumbling
out of the lab garments.

"What is it Agent Scully?"

"Some kind of black substance excreted from the body's ear and spilled on
my clothing....

She was explaining what had occurred when one of the scientists picked up
the discarded garment and examined it.

"There is no stain on this blouse."

"I saw it. It spilled on my blouse. You can check her ear. There should be
traces of that black substance."

They checked for one hour, and when the lab results came back, they were
discouraged to tell Scully that they had found nothing supporting her
findings.

When Mulder picked her up, he immediately asked if there was anything new.
She said that they didn't find anything significant at all.

Mulder insisted that they read up on the files he pulled out on paranormal
sexual encounters, but Scully wanted to study the toxicology reports done
on each of the twenty-four women. "According to these reports these women
have high amounts of the hcg hormone found in pregnant women, or in women
taking birth control pills," Scully discovered.

"And they didn't include that in the preliminary report?" Mulder asked 

"The preliminary summary does indicate that all these women were on birth
control, but that they didn't find anything conclusive on that. None of
the women purchased their prescription in the same pharmacies or drug
stores." Scully dropped the report, and started looking into the files
that Mulder brought from the Bureau. She was looking for reports on the
medical history of those supernaturally, assaulted victims hoping to draw
a connection. "A single mother in Cedar Rapids, Iowa experienced
paranormal sexual intercourse seven times in the course of two months. She
was taken off birth control medication after doctors suspected that it
produced an adverse chemical reaction that may have caused the hysteria,"
Scully read aloud.

"Scully, the killer may have a sixth sense in detecting these high hormone
levels in women, and it may have some kind of adverse chemical reaction on
his. It may be a testosterone irritant. Rapists have been found to have
unusually high levels of testosterone."

"Mulder the DNA tests did not find that to be true," she pointed out.

"Scully?"

"What?" she uttered tired with patience and exhaustion. 

"Could the injuries have been self-inflicted? I mean could these horomones
produced by the birth control pills cause them to react violently to find
sexual gratification, if not from another, from themselves, and the
intensity somehow reached a point beyond their control?" He looked at
Scully and started to laugh.

"I'm just rambling Scully. Even that theory is too far fetched for me." 

"Mulder, I'm exhausted. You better head on home and get some rest
yourself.....

"No I'm fine. I'll just read up on these case files and the autopsy
reports. Go on ahead, I'll see myself out," he said as Scully stood up to
head for the room.

She came back in her pink silk pajamas to dump a pillow and a blanket, on
the couch, knowing Mulder was going to stay the night, without any
argument. She knew the real reason why he stayed. Mulder hardly slept and
being there afforded him a better opportunity to do so keeping watch over
the partner he valued more than life itself. 

Scully rose early and found Mulder still asleep on her couch. She was
already dressed as she sneaked her way around her own apartment to get to
the door. For the first time in two days she was able to get away from
Mulder's sight. She headed once again for the morgue to continue her study
on the bodies. There was no trace of the black substance on the same
victim's ear. She checked on the others, and found no sign of it on them,
until she was drawn to a body, in the morgue, that was being prepared for
an autopsy. It wasn't the body of any of the victim's, but she had a
feeling that the black substance must've entered it to escape detection,
shortly confirming her suspicion, it oozed out of the corpse's nostrils
before Scully's eyes. 

She turned away to look for a slide to contain the ooze, rummaging through
the lab cabinets. A tall man stood, in the corner of the poorly lit morgue
and started towards her. The heavy feet stepping quickly to her stopped as
she looked at the man who appeared, in an instant, directly in front of
her. She tried to run to the door, but he managed to hold her down. He
squeezed her neck and immediately released it to throw her on the floor.
The pressure he placed on her neck disabled her to vocalize her screams
for help. Within seconds her clothes were stripped, her body burning in
pain. She took a look at the man, possibly her first and last glance at
the very attacker, whom eluded the FBI and police, soon to make one of
their very own one of his random victims. Then suddenly, she felt
paralyzed all over as she recognized the face of her attacker, who had
forced his way into her. Her heart beat fiercely against her chest as she
lay there immobile and defenseless. She was being assaulted, and there was
nothing more that she could do now that the damage had been done-to her.
Seconds felt like an eternity, and her life passed her by, her detached
innocence slipping further away as he pounded on her with so much force.
Even with Scully digging into his skin, trying with all her might to kick
him to break free from this most outrageous intrusion, nothing could stop
him from re-entering with such infiltrating strength. Then something
unusual happened. He retreated quickly as if he was stung by something.
Scully in tears, couldn't see clearly what was happening, and tried
desperately to get herself up to escape from him, but she just couldn't
after realizing that her chest was in excruciating pain. The man slowly
stood over her, backing away, allowing her one good look at him. Her eyes
were playing tricks on her for she was mistaken with the identity of the
man she, now, saw was not the same one.

Mulder calls Scully's phone while driving in his car. There has been
another murder, this time close to the morgue. He got no answer, and so
headed to the crime scene. He tried to call her again, and still got no
answer from her. As he replaced the phone in his pocket it began to ring. 

"Mulder" he dryly answered as he walked into the taped area of the crime
scene. "What?!" He screamed in disbelief and anxiously listens to the
other line, trying to block out the sound of a siren in the distance. He
turns his attention towards an ambulance making its way on the road passed
the crime scene, realizing that Scully, he was just informed, was the
patient in that vehicle. He ran towards the road to catch up to it, but
the ambulance kept its steady pace to the hospital. Mulder immediately
jumped into his car to follow, instead.

The FBI were already there, checking up on whether Scully was indeed
another victim of their most wanted suspect. Agent Tucker was there to
advise Mulder that he follow him to the morgue. 

"I need to be here for her. Did you see what he did to her?" he says
almost shouting at Agent Tucker. "Why did this happen to her? I don't
understand.... 

Agent Tucker took him aside and consoled him. "That's what we all want to
know. We want to understand what went on in that morgue. Why the victim's
bodies were tampered with when Agent Scully was found lying on the floor,
beaten like the rest, but alive...barely alive. Why her life was spared
while a woman's two blocks away wasn't. Mulder, we need you to come with
us to figure out what it was your partner was looking for. What she may
have found to have this happen to her." 

Mulder didn't have a clue, since Scully didn't tell him much last night
except for the fact that these women were on birth control. He did tell
them what his conclusion was, but they weren't eager to take homicidal
hormones as a part of his profile on the killer. What he did learn at the
morgue was about the black stain incident that Scully didn't care to
mention to him. He wondered why as he looked at the bodies ripped apart,
if that had also been Scully's doing.

He pleaded with Agent Tucker that Scully's case be kept tightly
controlled. That her assailant may not be the one they are looking for.
His mind was elsewhere, he couldn't concentrate on the investigation
wanting badly to be by her side. 

Skinner met him at the crime scene. "Mulder, I was just briefed on the
unfortunate circumstance. I'm sorry about Agent Scully. I hope that she
can pull out of this physically as much as it may take emotionally."

"Sir, I may have a lead on this case. I think what we're dealing with is
an alien being." Mulder explained.

"What proof do you have to make that claim?" Skinner asked.

"The pathologists reported that Scully claimed to have seen black oil
oozing out of a victim's ear. They found no substance anywhere on any of
the victim's." Skinner looks at Mulder confused as he continued to
explain, "Scully came here early this morning to check on the rest of the
bodies. We've seen this black oil before. It has the ability to body jump
and that is what that alien is searching for. It was here, and that's why
these bodies were torn apart."

"How did these women come in contact with this black oil?" Skinner asked.

"My guess is that since the report indicated that these women were all on
birth control pills, it must have come from the manufacturer," Mulder
figured.

"Scully is not on birth control..." Skinner started to say.

"But she was in this room, with all these women. That might have warped
this alien's sensing ability."

"I'm just glad she survived...." Skinner said.

Mulder hadn't allowed anyone to come in and question Scully. He stood out
by the door explaining to other agents that Skinner had instructed him to
be the sole interrogator and that he will inform the Bureau on any new
information. She had come to and Mrs. Scully was at her side, offering
comfort that Scully was ashamed to receive. She kept her head turned
towards the other direction, to avoid eye contact with her mother . She
still was not able to speak and nodded in response to the doctors
questions. Mulder didn't want to be insensitive to his best friend's needs
but as an investigator in this rapidly growing case, he had to act on the
crucial situation, grasping on the only hope of catching an extremely
dangerous killer still at large, who had fortunately spared the life of
one of his victims, now the only key witness in bringing this nightmare to
an end. He hoped that through her inner turmoil that she could see that
side of him, as well as the side asking for forgiveness.

He began to ask her a question, and she responded cooperatively, then
painstakingly wrote on a pad a simple description of her assailant.

She wrote, "Alien bounty hunter"

Mulder held her hand tightly as tears streamed down her face. She hadn't
made eye contact with anyone who walked into the room, including him,
which hurt him to see her pulling away again. After all these years of
slowly opening up to him, the door to her heart had now been sealed shut. 

Mulder was reluctant to go and leave Scully but his heart was torn. He had
to present this information to the Bureau immediately. He slowly lunged
forward to place a kiss on Scully's forehead, but Scully jumped to feel
Mulder closing in on her. She shut her eyes tight and started to whimper.
Mulder was taken aback. The horror was still very real to her, with
visions of what had happened, remaining in her eyes. The large
overpowering figure remained a shadow constantly hovering above her, and
Mulder had unintentionally unleashed it to charge back into the devastated
battlefield of her body, where the smoke and ashes overtook this desolate
flesh, only to be infiltrated again by him. 

"I'm sorry, Dana," he whispered as he slowly backed away. The thought of
her in so much turmoil and mistrust of anyone and especially herself,
saddened Mulder. He knew that it would take time for her to come to terms
with this, if she would ever, to say the least. And even with his constant
support and presence, he wasn't sure whether it was enough for Scully,
wanting to give her more, to do anything for her to stop the pain, and to
see her trust in him again.

It wasn't even an hour, before Mulder made his report to the FBI, when the
Cigarette-Smoking Man had heard about the startling information and took
action of his own. He opened the door of a room that held a man, tagged as
the "alien bounty hunter". He lit a match and the alien watched as puffs of
smoke purged into the stuffy air of the cell.

"Why haven't you found him?" he asked pinching his cigarette as he held it
beside his face. The alien stared at him then turned away.

"He has killed twenty-five women within the span of a month without
leaving a trace. Can you tell me how he always manages to elude you?" The
CSM asked.

The alien had sat on his bed and leaned forward with his arms on his lap,
his eyes staring at the floor. "You are talking about a different breed of
alien species, that does not change form, but acts as a parasite using
these women as hosts, until another comes along. This is a failed
experiment gone completely out of control because of your kind's
stupidity. " The CSM was patient enough to hear him out. "It has an
instinctual need to reproduce-he is what is called a drone. The rest,
well, you know your kind." The alien uttered, revealing his lack of
fondness for the human race.

"How do you stop it?" the CSM asked.

"You can't," he bluntly said.

The CSM threw his cigarette to the floor and stepped towards him to say a
few words, but the alien struck a bargain with him, allowing him to keep
his mysterious silence.

"I've come so close the last few times," the alien reminded him.

"What does it want?" the CSM asked. 

 "An inoculated host" he dryly said. 

"The only survivor?" the CSM asked.

"She is the one," the alien confirmed.

Alien Body Hunter

Part 2 of 3

THE BRICK

Three weeks later, Scully returned to her mother's home after being
released from the hospital. Mulder visited her everyday during her stay
there, bringing a bouquet of flowers each time he came. They couldn't talk
much, since Scully still had slight difficulty. Three of her ribs were
fractured during the attack, and was healing fine now, but the pain hadn't
subsided yet. Breathing was also difficult, and so was getting around. It
had been difficult for Mulder, who had started to see a counselor at work,
as he continued to work on the case to find the killer. The case remained
open and on-going, even though the murders had seized after the last body,
succeeding Scully's, was discovered, and which made it frustrating for him
to put all his efforts elsewhere when he really wanted it to go to Scully,
to make sure she would heal quickly and completely. On the exterior he
wanted to be strong for her, but he was drowning along with her in the
pain he could clearly see, looking into those eyes that couldn't look back
at him. 

"I'm on another case." 

He tried to stir up conversation. 

 He always tried, as Scully sat silent on the couch. 

"It seems Skinner is trying to keep me busy.... which is good....I'm not
complaining, it's been hectic, but I'm managing." 

He looked at Scully who turned away from him, and stared out the window.
He yearned to know what was going through her mind. Did he say something
that might have hurt her? He tried to continue with his conversation but
it took an unexpected turn as he was not able to control the weight he had
been carrying this past month. "Scully?" he whispered. She kept her face
turned away from him, with her head looking down now. 

 "I'm here to help you," he attempted to assure her with his voice
cracking.

 "I want to help you, so much..." His voice barely audible as he broke
down in sobs, bringing his hands to his crouched head. 

"I don't know how to...but..I...want to help you."

 Scully moved over to him carefully, with her chest still feeling the pain
from the attack, and from the weakness that had taken over them. Where
would they find strength now that they couldn't draw it from each other?
She rested her palm on his back, making for the first time human contact,
since her stay at the hospital. Her head rested on his trembling arm and
she began to feel his sorrow. She thought, 'He must be blaming himself for
letting this happen to me, but it wasn't his fault. It was mine. All mine,
by taking for granted the reality of my vulnerability, that he has known
all along." She let him take her into an embrace they both had needed. 

Within a month, she went into work again, against the advice of the
doctors and everyone, but Mulder knew it was her way of coping, of
regaining her strength to continue the original quest that had defined
their lives, and, now, a purpose for living. From afar, she looked like a
strong brick taking her life in strides, but every time he tried to get
close to her, he would see a wall, instead. Their assignments continued to
bring them together with their usual discordant judgments, but it wasn't
quite the same. Scully always wanted to get the case over with, giving in
to Mulder's explanations. When they were apart, Scully would spend her
time in clinics. She thought the worst was over when her cancer finally
went into remission, but not for long did she stay away from a place, she
declined as a career path, being administered instead of administering the
medical treatment. Her physical health was recovering steadily, making less
visits to the hospital, but her emotional state still had yet to recover. 

They recommended she see a psychiatrist, at least once a week or whenever
it was necessary. However, Scully didn't seem to agree on the necessity,
making her doctor contact Mulder for an explanation on why she hadn't
shown up for two weeks.

"Scully, how was your appointment with Dr. Statham yesterday? Are you
okay? I started to worry about you when you didn't return after lunch. You
haven't returned any of my calls..." he inquired.

"The session took longer than necessary.." 

She turned her back away from him again-a position she frequently took
whenever she'd start talking to him about personal things. 

"I went home afterwards to rest."

Scully couldn't even tell Mulder the truth about where she had actually
gone, and he wasn't about to stand around and be lied to. He didn't want
to hurt her with angry statements of the fact that she didn't want to get
better, feeling that he deserved more from her after all that he has done
and for what he was beginning to feel. 

He followed close behind her car to see where it was she would go to. He
was relieved to see that she finally came to her senses to see the
psychiatrist as he drove past a building where she parked her car and
where the office was located. Mulder came home after eating dinner out and
found that he had a message from Scully's doctor saying that she had not
shown up again. He went out to drive back to the building where he had
last seen Scully, and was surprised to see her car still parked there. It
had been three hours since, and he wondered where else could she be in
this building as he stepped into the lobby. A piano was playing not too
far from where he stood. He heard its lazy tune and looked around the
almost empty lobby bar. The classy dive with a burgundy-colored interior,
camouflaged the auburn hair of his partner who he spotted sitting alone in
a table behind a tall plant. He was contemplating on confronting her, but
she already stood up and started to leave before he could make a decision. 

He hid from her sight, still able to watch her leave the building. After
following her home he made his way to his, and sulked in his own pain.
Admitting that through all this he had fallen in love with her because he
thought that maybe that's what she needed, when in fact it was him who
needed it. He made himself believe that he could be the one to take the
pain away if he could make her trust and love again-to trust the love in
him. But he needed her more than she knew, and this tragedy that had
befallen them took everything they had built in a matter of seconds,
leaving him with nothing to hold on to. The work had piled up, and his
interest had lessened. If he didn't do anything about it now, their
relationship might as easily fall into the dark abyss expanding within
their isolated hearts.

He drove back to her apartment to make a stand for the both of them. The
empty apartment's silence was broken by the knocks that became urgent as
no one answered. He decided to pick on the door with his credit card, and
when he did get in, he cautiously entered the silent, dimly lit apartment,
fragranced with the sour smell of liquor. He spotted an empty wine glass on
the coffee table. Her wastebasket by the computer desk, had an empty liquor
bottle protruding from a heap of trash. There was still no response from
her so Mulder knocked on her bedroom door and warned her that he was going
to enter. When he opened the door, he found several discarded clothing on
the floor, and an empty, unmade bed. He walked to the kitchen and opened
the fridge that contained two bottles of liquor. He wondered when did
Scully start this drinking binge, realizing that it was definitely time to
start fighting for this love that hadn't begun to live but was already
dying with Scully's reluctance to face her situation. 

With the help of the FBI, Mulder asked one of the technicians if it was
possible to track down Scully's cell-phone location through the voice
mail. He just rambled about anything until the technician came back on the
line with a successful trace to a place that Mulder bolted to before the
technician was even finished.

It was a dance club where many of the Georgetown students hung out. The
crowd was thick inside and out, making it virtually impossible to find
Scully, but he eventually did, noticing her drunken beauty falling over a
young man's frame on the dance floor. Mulder honed in on her feigned
laughter blended with the loud booming. The art of cutting in was unknown
to him as he walked right up to them and grabbed Scully by the arm and
started to drag her off the floor. He struggled to get the both of them
out of there with little help from Scully who was resisting his hold. He
stopped and pulled her to him, "Dana! Please let's get out of here. You
don't belong here!" he shouted into her ear. 

The crowd bumped and grinded into them making Scully wrap her arms around
his neck as they were forced to sway, initially, to avoid the rough
contact. Then eventually, they got into the swing of things letting the
beat of the music lead the way.

Mulder was spellbound to be so close to her, holding her again, willfully
on her part. The smile he longed to see had at last found its way back
into her delicate countenance, brightening the darkness around them. 

"I'm glad you're here Mulder, to take care of me. I don't know what I'd do
without you," she slurred out, through her intoxicated smile, and heavy
blinking eyelids.' 

"Dana- He started to say but Scully shushed him with her finger.

"Tonight, I want lose myself on this floor, Mulder...Will you let
me....get lost....?"

"Scully.." he pleaded, but she pulled away from him and started to do as
she had said. She tilted her neck to the left then to the right, her
shoulders slowly swaying in a seductive motion. She held out her arms,
snapping her fingers to the beat of the sultry music beside Mulder's neck.
He hadn't seen this much hip action since he watched his last triple-x
adult video tape. Mulder felt a bit awkward to have eyes on him and Scully
"freaking" on the dance floor, but his eyes couldn't help, either, capture
the erotic exhibition performed just for him. 

He took her back into his arms, where she felt so safe and content.
Forgetting her fears, with the loud music and the wine's effect on her
head, she let these words slip from her tongue, "Take me home, Mulder."

"Okay" he whispered back into her ear, mistakenly thinking innocently of
her request. She had to make sure he understood exactly what she wanted.

"...and make love to me," she asked of him.

"Dana, let's go home to get some rest, he said prying her arms off his
shoulders.

She held her position firmly and demanded to know why he was rejecting
her. "You don't want me?"

"Dana, let's go before we make a scene...."

"-No! I'm not going home alone Mulder," she said turning around to walk
away from him.

He grabbed her arm, firmly but gently, "Dana, you're coming home with me."

She started to resist the grip on her arm, jerking away from him, "You
don't want this used body, beaten and ravaged and left like garbage on the
floor. No, Mulder you're too good for me....You don't want to have anything
to do with me," she accused him and started to pound her fist on his chest.

"Scully!" he tried to get through to her. She was now making a big scene,
disrupting the dance floor as she threw punches at Mulder. The bouncers
started to make their way through the crowd in the middle of Scully's fit.
She saw them come from behind Mulder, like two alien bounty hunters after
her again. In her moment of panic, she quickly reached in her purse and
pulled out a gun, pointing it at the two men who were attempting to grab
Mulder's arms. "No!" Mulder yelled out while the crowd simultaneously
cringed seeing Scully aiming at the bouncers. She held the gun with her
body fiercely trembling, and before Mulder could utter another word, the
gun went off.

He lunged towards her and managed to lift the gun into the air, making it
hit one of the strobe lights by the ceiling. As Mulder grabbed the gun
away from Scully, the bouncers started towards her and apprehended her.

"Keep your hands off her!" Mulder shouted as he grabbed Scully away from
them. He flashed his badge and handed a card to them, "You can reach me
here about the damage, but we've got to get her out of here right now!"

The bouncers escorted them to the back exit where Mulder's car was parked,
away from the excited crowd that had been evacuated from the club. 

There was a light appearing at the end of the tunnel she had been walking
in. If she could just get to the end, she knew she'd be al right. Her
strides were long yet the distance to the light remained the same. She
started to pick up the pace, hearing her heart beat increase, the sound
becoming louder, her breathing becoming audible. Suddenly the light
flashed into her eyes and she found herself in another place she could not
recall stepping into, but was quite familiar with. A thumping sound could
still be heard in her head, coming from the taut nerves of her temples. 

"Since when did you take to drinking, Scully?" She squinted at Mulder who
sat in the corner chair of her room, then ignored his question by throwing
her head back onto the pillow. "Was it when you missed your appointment
with Dr. Statham two weeks ago? Or was it before that?" he asked recalling
the number of empty bottles he found around her apartment. 

"Mulder just go, if you came to tell me about my personal activities, I'm
quite aware of them," she muttered. 

"Scully, at least I'm managing to keep my head with all that has been
going on around us," he explained.

She remained silent in front of Mulder, who wanted to hear what she had to
say, but she just couldn't begin to tell all that was bottled up inside her
without breaking down like a wounded animal. It was easier for her to keep
Mulder from the darkness she was sinking in, by chasing him away for his
own safety, not to be burdened with sympathy for a woman that might as
well be dead. Scully had gone over the deep end and wasn't about to let
Mulder follow along with her, but she did underestimate this man's
commitment to her, because the further she pulled away, the closer he got
to giving her the one chance that could positively change her life.

"I apologize for last night. I know Skinner will have a field day with
this one," she said in a hoarse voice.

The mood in the room was lifted, a little, as Mulder did see an attempt
from Scully, to change the subject into another one that would pose more
questions than she had realized.

"If he does, it'll be worth it," he said to a perplexed Scully who soon
recalled an episode of the evening, that made her blush. "At least I do
know, now, what it is you need."

"I was drunk out of my mind, Mulder. I needed a lot of things last night
that I clearly don't need now."

"Attention was certainly one of them," Mulder quirked. He leaned forward
from the chair he sat on and waited for Scully to look in his direction.
"You have it Scully, now use it, and let me in. Because what I want more
than anything is to see you happy again." 

The hot afternoon dragged insulating the heat in the small apartment.
Mulder made himself comfortable on the couch, surfing through the channels
of the TV, while Scully kept herself in her room. The day had gone by with
both of them not uttering a word to each other, until Scully decided to
step out of her room to get a bite in the kitchen. She passed by Mulder on
the couch who had fallen asleep with the remote control resting on his
belly.

She opened the fridge door and glanced at the full bottle of wine right in
the center of the fridge shelf. Her stomach was growling, and her mouth
watering for solid food instead, but as she moved the wine bottle to the
side, she felt its refreshing coolness as a source to relieve her body of
the afternoon heat. She looked at Mulder on the couch then back at the
inviting champagne bottle in the fridge. It wouldn't hurt to take a sip,
she convinced herself, opening it to take several gulps straight from the
bottle. She took another mouthful before setting it back into the fridge,
then wiped the little streaks of wine from her face before resuming to
look for food. Mulder walked up beside her, and noticed that the
previously full bottle was missing half of its contents.

"Did you drink that Scully?" he asked in disgust.

"What are you? The ref-f-f-ri-g-g-erator poli-c-c-e?" she slurred. She had
not realized how long she stood there with the fridge door opened looking
for a bite to eat. It didn't take much for the alcohol to set in that
petite body of hers. 

He took hold of both her hands with just one of his and slammed the fridge
door shut with the other. 

"Dammit Scully! Stop this! Just stop it!" he yelled at her.

She stiffened and Mulder could see in her glassy eyes that she was not
well. As soon as he released her hands she put it over her mouth and ran
to the sink, leaning over to spew out the alcohol from her system. He
massaged her back after each heaves, holding her hair up to keep it from
the rancid fluid gushing out of her mouth. 

"That's my girl. Let it out, Scully. You'll feel better," he would
repeatedly say.

This torture she put herself through was Mulder's biggest battle. He had
to make her see that it was doing her no good to keep it to herself, that
he would gladly carry the torture steak for her as long as it would take,
if it meant getting his old Dana back. 

Her knees buckled after not being able to withstand the straining muscles,
tensing up at the urge to throw up. Mulder helped her into the bathroom,
where she continued to throw up the contents from last night, and from the
afternoon, until there was nothing left, but the body's simple reflex to
get rid of its poison. Mulder curled his arms around her waist and pressed
into her belly to lessen the pain of heaving. She slid on to the floor,
exhausted, as Mulder wiped her face and soiled skin with a warm, wet
towel. He carried her back on the bed and returned to the bathroom to run
a warm bath for her.

 

Part 3 of 3

A Cleansing of the Soul 

Her skin was blemished with pink spots, and goose pimples. Mulder returned
to her side and looked at her sickly complexion. "Scully?" he called out to
her, holding her face gently with his hand. She nodded. "Let's get you
cleaned up, okay?" She nodded dizzily again.

He carefully undressed her as she fell in and out of sleep. Mulder would
inform Scully on his every move in preparing her for the bath.

"I have to unbutton your blouse, okay.....you'll have to turn so I can
unhook your bra....that's a girl....Are you cold?.....Okay, you think you
can stand?...Okay....Scully, I'm going to carry you to the tub, where
there's a warm bath waiting for you, okay?" She wrapped her arms around
Mulder's neck weakly bringing herself into his arms as he took her to the
bathroom. As he gently set her down, in second-nature, she slid her
panties down her leg and kicked it away from her, becoming completely
naked in front of Mulder's eyes, who saw more than he had expected to see
on such a small, but beautifully carved figure. She slid into the tub with
Mulder continuing to guide her, bracing her until she could sit upright.
Her head rested on the edge of the tub, Mulder carefully tying her hair to
keep the water from soaking it. He kept his eyes on her as he dipped the
wash cloth to absorb the water, then squeezed it and wiped her
outstretched neck. He slowly rubbed her strong shoulders, then followed
through the length of her arm, gliding over her toned biceps and forearms.
He wrapped her hand in the cloth and then lifted it close to him as he
meticulously wiped each finger. After he was done he kissed the back of
her hand, and did so with the other. 

Within minutes, Scully began to sober up from the steam, intoxicating her
in a different way. This cleansing process did more then rid her of
physical impurities, like the reeking alcohol coming out of her pores. A
man was indeed touching her skin, every inch of it, building up, not
invading, her wavering sanctity. Her fears were being washed away with
every stroke of Mulder's loving touch, felt more as he gently went over
her pale breasts, her submersed tummy, and thighs. She shifted her head to
the other side, crinkling her eyebrows to show her discomfort, not from his
touch but from her pounding head caused by the hang-over. She wished it to
go away so she can concentrate on the sensation Mulder's hands produced,
wanting it to replace brutal memories of the last time she was touched. 

The trust she had for Mulder had always been there, resurfacing as she saw
sincerity and ardor in those tender blue eyes. They expressed so many
things to her, she had seen them before and knew his thoughts, the same
way he can just look into hers and know, but that wasn't possible anymore,
with her turning them away from him. The scent of flowers lingered in the
bathroom, lifting her senses and her soul like a spiritual awakening from
Mulder's vigilance. He had rejuvenated them, to enable her to walk into
her room a different person, than when she left held by Mulder, like a
wilted flower. She sat on her bed, while Mulder rummaged through her
drawer to find her something to wear. He knelt before her and lifted the
garments on top of her, instructing her to lift her hands into the air so
he can slip it on. She lazily held up her hands as Mulder placed the silky
gown over her- breath-taken by the sensuality of the soft fabric he slid
over her smooth, soft skin, making Scully quiver to the feel of his cold
trembling hands. He kept on kneeling in front of her as she never looked
so beautiful before, glowing from the dim light of the lamp. Her head was
bent down, eyes closed as Mulder caressed her face, carefully unclipping
the velvety hair to see it cascade down her slender neck. His heart sank
to think how anyone could inflict harm on this precious object, his
precious seat of passion, but as he stayed kneeling before her, he
realized how hard it can be, for anyone, to keep their hands off her. 

He held the back of her neck gently to tell furtively, "You need to be
loved, Dana....You need to let me into your heart, so that love can grow
again.... in you."

She leaned her head forward to his shoulder falling into his warm embrace.
At the moment of Mulder's pledge of love, a little seed had been planted in
her heart, growing with the flooding of hope he bestowed as part of this
cleansing ceremony. 

The night had not slipped by, without another summoning from the strange
powers that be. He answered his cell-phone after falling asleep on the
couch again, Scully firmly tucked under the sheets in her room. After he
disposed of his phone he staggered into Scully's room, switching the
lamplight on before dropping his butt onto the bed. He gently shook her to
tell her that he had to leave. Scully was roused quickly to respond to his
declared departure.

"Why?" "What time is it?" she asked, not even sure what day it was.

"I've been called to look at something. Look, I'll be back...." He started
to say.

"I'll go with you," she decided.

"You need your rest..." she interrupted him again.

"I'm fine Mulder. I'm your partner. I should go with you," she settled. 

"Scully, as your partner, I don't think you should go on this one......"

"Why?" she cried. "You can't keep me from going....."

"Scully! He's at it again. They found another body," Mulder informed her
and saw fear flood into her eyes again. 

"Agent Mulder, I thought I ordered that this case be handled by you alone.
Agent Scully is in no condition to investigate into this matter considering
its personal impact on her. This could set her back emotionally, and I
understand she hasn't been herself these past few weeks, especially the
night before," Skinner reprimanded him.

"Sir, if I could just explain..." He wasn't given the chance as Skinner
continued to express his position against Scully being there, seeing her
already begin an investigation.

"I am looking out for the welfare of the people under me, but I can't do
that if you don't inform me about incidences that will eventually get back
to the Bureau, that I am not prepared to explain. Mulder, Scully is not
well. Now, I order you to evacuate her from the premises."

"Sir, I think you overestimate my partner's vulnerability. Scully may be
the only one who can put a face on this case to help us catch this guy.
And to give herself closure. She has a feeling about something, she's not
sure about what exactly, but she's determined to find out what it is." 

"Over here!" she shouts, looking for Mulder who runs over to her. Her
breathing is rapid as she touches the floor near the woman's body.

"He kneads into his victim as if to push something from within the skin
out," she says, running out of breath. "Oh God!" starting to cry. "Mulder,
it's still in her."

"What's in her?" Skinner asked.

"The alien," she sobbed.

"What?!" Skinner cried and looked at Mulder.

The body was placed in a sealed chamber to contain the alien-being once it
seeped out of the corpse. Tubes were attached to the victim's cavities
wherever the black ooze was expected to make an exit. Then the mystery of
its bodily intrusion can be explained, if its act is as cold-blooded as
its human trait, or if it is merely trying to find a means of survival, in
an environment it does not understand.

Meanwhile, Mulder takes a shaken Scully back home where he can freely hold
her, to pull her together again, to revive the progress she'd been making
these past few hours through his constant assistance. They had gone this
far, and he feared that he may have made a mistake by taking her there to
see the crime that was done to her replicated on a lifeless body strapped
with all sorts of tubes, to be discarded after what they needed was taken
from her. What he wanted to accomplish was to have Scully face her fear,
and to know that there was someone she could turn to, to give her no
reason to fear in anything.

He hadn't even taken off his coat yet when Scully took him by surprise,
enfolding herself against his frame and overcoat. His fingers felt the
steady stream of hot tears spilling from her face pressing against his
chest. She released all the tension squeezing the life out of her heart
and her legs, relying on Mulder to carry her weight, finally letting the
walls crumble down so that a new foundation can be built, where she can
walk stable, and steadfast into the arms of its constructor. The sounds of
Scully's crying vibrated in Mulder's body as she sunk her face deep into
his clothing. Both falling to the ground, she began her wailing, begging
for mercy on her soul, undeserving to have been the sole survivor, then
only to survive to exploit the deaths of the unfortunate ones-to give her
a chance to start anew again. 

He writhed inside to feel the sound that had penetrated into his heart.
Whatever he could do to alleviate their pain was completely in his power.
Those cries from his partner were wrenching further into his heart, the
kisses to her forehead were consoling and searching, trying to find some
peace, that was eventually uncovered. The search had ended with an answer
to the senses. An answer to Scully's fear.

He bared down his soul on Dana's lips. Time stood still, her crying had
seized and all was silent for their senses to be consumed by it. None of
their passions had been greater than at this moment, to fulfill each
other's most intense intimate needs. His kiss was soft like a cool white
cloud, yet, hot like a strong burning flame sending out embers to ignite
in her chest, her head and livid extremities. 

He retreated, leaving her breathless.

He was slowly loosening her from his hold, "I'm sorry Dana. I don't know
what came over me. I..."

But Scully tightened hers on him, "Don't be." 

"I have to go back," he said, unsure of what he had just done.

"Don't leave me," she pleaded, using the moonlight to find his lips. 

They engage once more in a long passionate kiss stirring up the heat
around and inside of them. Their mouths, wet, from tasting their savory
tongues. He kissed her arduously, making her mind grow numb of all her
troubles. Scully took hold of Mulder's coat and slid it off him, and they
went at each other like two lost souls who had finally found each other
after being torn apart for what seemed like an eternity. Their bodies
yearning for its ultimate recompense. Both breathing heavily after
releasing their lips only to cling onto flesh again. 

"If I don't stop now. I can't.... won't.. be.... able..to...stop," he
mustered incoherently as Dana unleashed her primal instincts on him, with
her hands digging into his pants, and her mouth gnawing on his ear.

"Make me forget, Fox," she moaned. 

All control of his bodily functions had abandoned him after he listened to
the rousing voice of this woman in dire need of indemnity. That, he was
sure was going to be granted to her, as the waves of passion came in a
deluge in him. 

He soon replaced each horrid memory, with sensations of pleasure and
desire into Dana. The body that has now taken over her has given her the
courage to feel again, to want to feel the joy of what it can be like to
have the stimulation of another body ignite hers. Her flesh had been
rediscovered and reclaimed by Mulder's probing fingers. He didn't spare an
inch of skin, only the harshness in treating it. She kept her eyes on
Mulder, not afraid to look into his anymore, recording the image of them
into her mind so that when she closes hers, she will now see, only him.
What she saw was the end of the tunnel she had been running in, with
Mulder at the end. She held him tight as they met, the light shining so
bright above them, with a flame burning so hot within them. Mulder sent
his vessel to detonate a ravaged war zone and successfully obliterated all
the remnants of the ghost ship. Once again she is overwhelmed with tears,
crying in Mulder's arms, from the victory imploding in her, surfacing like
waves in the majestic sea. She had survived, instinctively, in an
environment she thought she didn't understand, vowing to continue her new
resolve, before sleeping content in the darkness of the apartment,
underneath the sheets with her victor. 

Another instinctual act was being performed back at the lab room, where
the alien in its unearthly state emerges undetected by its observers.
Quickly, the observers are incapacitated by some lethal gas emitted from
the air vents. The original alien bounty hunter entered the room and took
the container carrying the entity responsible for the death of
twenty-seven women. 

Minutes later, Agent Mulder's phone rings. The FBI had informed him that
although the body of the victim remains, after a possible infiltration at
the lab, an important item was discovered missing. When the doctors and
scientists came to they discovered that a metal container connected to the
tubes had disappeared. 

The hospital was being policed by agents, local law enforcers and their
special tactical units for suspects. They later found the discarded
container at the basement stairwell. 

"He must be terminated immediately because I cannot keep him detained once
his urge to reproduce develops again," the alien bounty hunter warned.

The CSM spoke with his cigarette clipped between his lips, "That will be
taken care of shortly."

"These unnatural experiments your kind constantly work on will lead only
to the detriment of this earth. This is your environment, but mankind is
too inferior to fight these species. And our arrogance will only lead to
the extinction of our true species," the alien continued to explain. 

"There are people who share your pursuit, and that's why you're here with
me," the CSM said without another word to say.


"Where's Scully?" Skinner asked.

Mulder answered, "She's at home. I didn't have the heart to wake her." He
looked at the spotless laboratory and asked, "What happened here?"

"Appears to be nothing, except for the fact that this oil you claim is in
this victim's body, may not be here anymore. The tubes have been tampered
with."

The two join in on the search of a suspect possibly still in the hospital
premises. They find a sole print of the same boot found in a few of the
murder scenes. 

"This doesn't make sense," Mulder brainstormed. He was thinking that if in
fact this black ooze was an alien entity, then that would explain the
appearance of the alien bounty hunter. Not as the entity, but in pursuit
of it. He saved Scully's life by getting there just in time to stop the
alien from consuming her body. His thought is broken as the phone rings.
Scully was on the other end.

"Mulder?" she uttered with a troubling tone.

"What is it Dana?" He now called her.

"I'm feeling these weird sensations. I can't explain them, but I felt the
same way by the body," she explained to him.

"Dana, honey? I'm going to keep you on the phone until I get there Okay?"
He covered the receiver and informed Skinner to call for back up at
Scully's residence. The alien was encroaching upon her.

"Sweetie? How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I can't explain it. I felt this way before, but I can't remember when or
why....." Mulder was driving to her place as fast as he could with Scully
still on the phone. He instructed her to switch on all the lights in her
apartment. 

"Mulder? I never knew how much I needed you in my life, until tonight,"
she confessed. "I'm going to get better, and we're going to work this out,
this relationship, if you want to." 

"I need you, Dana Scully. There's no doubt about that," he responded.

"My head feels tingly, in the back.........Mulder?"

"What?" he frantically asked.

"The implant on my neck-it's a sensory device. He's here, Mulder!"

"Grab your gun and protect yourself! I'm almost there!" 

Scully pointed the gun to the air in front of her. She heard a sound from
the window and quickly shifted her hands in that direction. Then she saw
shadows pass by under the space of the door. The apartment was filled with
the deafening sound of her heartbeat, as she kept her eyes on the bottom of
the door. When she finally mustered up enough courage to move from her
position she walked towards the door to look into the peephole, and saw no
one. She breathed a sigh of relief, leaning on the door trying to gather
her nerves. The same moment she realized the tingling sensation had gotten
stronger, she was knocked down by a strong force that tore the door off its
hinges. 

The wind was knocked out of her as she had herself on all fours. Slowly,
she turned her head to look at the unhinged door, smothered with the
encroaching oil, now spilling onto the carpet, breaking down into black
rolling beads only inches away from her hands. Her fears were amplified as
she saw the alien bounty hunter appear at her doorstep. She looked straight
into her attacker's face re-envisioning the assault in the lab, and how
much pain he caused in a split second. However, while Scully was filled
with terror, the alien bounty hunter observed the black organism on the
door. Then suddenly, it gathered itself together, keeping its course
towards Scully. The alien bounty hunter ran towards her. She could only
grab the gun before he lifted her body off the floor. Scully felt him
release her and for a second she was air born, until she landed on her
couch. She quickly turned and cocked her gun, but saw the black oil rising
from the ground towards her.

"Shoot me!" the bounty hunter cried. "Shoot me!"

Before she could make sense about what the bounty hunter said, the rising
oil had made contact with the tip of her gun.

"This is the only way to contain it!" he explained.

Right when she felt a tingling sensation on her finger, she pressed the
trigger and fired and fired and fired, until all the rounds were expended.
She looked at the bounty hunter languishing to the floor, the green slime
oozing out of him. The oil reacted quickly afterwards retreating from its
course towards Scully, swarming around the alien, blending with the green
ooze, as if it was trying to seep it back into the bullet holes. Scully
still pressing the trigger, grew increasingly dizzy from the toxic fumes
emitted from the bounty hunter's wounds. 

"Scully?" Mulder cried. She slowly came to and saw Mulder crouched over
her. The oxygen inhaler was already covering her mouth, as she was being
transported to the hospital in an ambulance. 

"Mulder?" she wearily whispered.

"Sssh," he admonished. His eyes looking compassionately at hers. "It's
over. He's dead." 

He leaned over and kissed her forehead before they rushed her into the
Emergency Room. Then, he turned to the direction of the approaching
ambulance. Inside, was the body they found in Scully's apartment. Mulder
unzipped the body bag to take one last look at the killer. He was
mistaken, it was not the bounty hunter. It was someone else.

He was glad though, that Scully took the opportunity that not only saved
her life but other innocent women as well to bring down this rapist/killer
back to the dirt where he belonged.

Three hours later, a military van arrives at the morgue to retrieve the
body. The receiving personnel hands the doctor orders indicating that the
body is under federal jurisdiction and is needed at Quantico for further
investigation to be conducted in their facilities. 

As the van drives away, the CSM seated at the passenger seat turns and
speaks, "Well done my friend."

The alien bounty hunter removes the sheet over him and lifts himself from
the gurney, transforming back into his original appearance. 

 

 The End