Title: Part Three Author: Mady - mbay@binghamton.edu Date: 03-01-98 Rating: PG Classification: XA Spoilers: Kill Switch Summary: Deep Fried Mulder (Thanks Vickie!) Disclaimer: Fox, Chris Carter and 1013 own them, I just use and abuse them. Please don't sue me, I don't think I could make any money off this if I tried. Part Three "Somebody pull the plug!" Scully screamed as she pushed past Dr. Werner. The electrical arcs had subsided, but the staff was still very leery about approaching the CAT scan machine. Finally, Scully did it herself. Once done, she rushed to Mulder, still deep in the mechanism. He was shaking all over, small muscle spasms claiming him. Doctors Werner and George quickly helped Scully pull Mulder out of the CAT scan machine. "Sc- Sc- Scully. Sc - Sc- Scully," Mulder murmured over and over, stuttering as he did. "I'm right here Mulder, I'm right here," she said as they got him onto a gurney. "What the hell happened?!" she asked to no one in particular. One of the radiology technicians spoke up. "I don't know. Nothing like this has ever happened before. We didn't even turn the machine on," he said. "Yeah," another tech spoke up. "One minute I'm entering patient information onto the screen, the next minute everything goes nuts." Scully quickly asked Dr. Werner how Mulder was, before continuing her interrogation of the radiology staff. "It looks like some minor electrical burns. The spasms are probably a result of the electrical shocks as well. I'd like to get him hooked up to an EEG and an EKG as soon as possible, though," Dr. Werner told her. "Come on! Let's get him back to the ER, STAT!" he shouted to the nurses that had come to help. Scully nodded to him and returned to the radiology techs as they wheeled Mulder back to the emergency department. "Now, what do you mean by `everything goes nuts'?" she asked. "That's just what I meant. I was ready to start the CAT scan when it started itself. All the commands got locked out. It was like it was possessed or something," she told Scully. "Then," the first tech broke in, "when we tried to get Mr. Mulder out of there, the sparks started flying. When we backed off, they stopped. It's like it KNEW we were coming," he said. Scully just looked at them, unconvinced that this machine "knew" they were coming. "Then what happened?" she asked. The first tech continued. "Then we saw the pictures." "What pictures?" "On our screens," he said, slowly. "On our screens, instead of seeing Mr. Mulder's insides, we saw pictures of a blonde nurse, a red headed woman, you, and then of Mr. Mulder, without arms," he said. "It was really weird," he concluded. Scully was at a loss, totally confused. Who the hell was this Nurse Nancy bimbo that kept popping up. "Alright, thanks," she told them. "If you can find out anything about what happened, let me know, please, let me know," she finished, handing them one of her business cards. She headed back to the ER and Mulder. She entered the exam room where Mulder had been before. She saw that he was now hooked up to a heart monitor and had new IV's added to the one he had already. "How is he?" she asked Dr. Werner. "Stable, for now. His electrolytes were quite off, but I think they should be settling back to normal soon," Dr. Werner answered, continuing, "a few more burns to add to the list. Considering his condition and the fact that we still haven't treated his eye injuries, we gave him another sedative." Scully nodded. "Look, I've got some phone calls to make. I'll be around. Let me know what you do with him," she said, then continued "I know this may sound weird, but please, just," she didn't know how to say this. "Can you keep him away from computers for a while?" Dr. Werner nodded and he and Dr. George went about further tests and treatments for Mulder. Scully went back to the admissions desk. She was going to use the phone to call the bureau to have that phone call traced. She was almost there when she heard her name called. "Agent Scully!" Scully turned around to see who had called her. There she saw the Lone Gunmen heading toward her. "What are you guys doing here?" she asked, dumbfounded. "How did you know we were here?" "We got an e-mail from Esther. She told us to come here to help you. She said that Mulder was in danger and that you needed us to help," Frohike told her. "Frohike, Esther is dead," Scully said sadly. "She couldn't have sent you an e-mail," she finished. Langly stepped forward. "But here it is, she sent it 30 minutes ago," he said handing Scully the message. Scully read the e-mail, signed Invisigoth, instructing the Gunmen to go to the hospital to help Scully. It then gave instructions about a program to run on one of the hospital's computers. "What's going on Agent Scully?" Byers asked. Scully didn't know where to start, let alone whether or not to believe the story she was going to tell. `How could someone upload onto the Internet, and have consciousness?' she thought. `Is the AI really trying to kill Mulder? Is it capable?' She didn't know what to do. And she wasn't thrilled about getting too close to a computer herself, either. "Okay, guys. Long story short," she said, leading them to the waiting room. After a few minutes of Scully's recap of the day's events, the Gunmen sat quietly. Langly spoke first. "Do you trust Esther?" he asked Scully. "What?" Scully asked, incredulous. "It seems like Esther is trying to help Mulder," Langly answered. "She's a step behind the AI, though," Frohike interjected. "She's the one who called 911. She e-mailed us and told us to come here personally, because the AI is finding out what she's doing." "Okay," Scully started. "IF I believe you and IF I believe that some computer is trying to kill Mulder, and IF I believe that Esther is alive as an Internet intelligence of some sort, then what do we do?" she finished. "That's where Esther's instructions come in handy," Byers spoke. "We think Esther gave us a virus to kill the AI," Frohike offered. Scully sighed. She looked up and caught sight of Mulder being wheeled toward the elevators. All bandages, tubes and wires. Dr. Werner approached her. She stood. "We're sending him up to ICU. Dr. George managed to examine his eyes. They'll be fine. The left has a minor scratch to the cornea, but it should heal without too much trouble. We're keeping them bandaged to protect them from further injury and discomfort," he told her. "Thanks. I'll be up there soon to be with him," Scully told him. After Dr. Werner left, Scully turned back to the Gunmen. "What do we have to do?" she asked, flatly. Scully and the Gunmen found their way to the Radiology wing. Scully was a little unnerved about going back there, but they needed a computer, and thought they could lure the AI there. One of the techs she had seen earlier approached. "Can I help you?" he asked. "We need to use the computer on this CAT scan machine," Scully told him. He was about to ask why, when Scully just held up her badge, and pointed to the gun on her hip. "My computer espionage team and I are investigating the incident. They will be checking the system for possible viruses," Scully thought up quickly. The tech just looked at the Gunmen, then at Scully, then at her gun and slowly said, "Sure." They entered the observation room and Frohike took the seat in front of the keyboard. "Give me the e-mail," he instructed, hand out. Byers handed it over. Frohike started typing in information about Mulder, as if he was going to have another CAT scan done. Then, just as before, "everything went nuts." The CAT scan machine turned on, and electrical bolts started arcing through around it. Scully watched in horror as the computer screens started showing the pictures the tech described. "It's baaack," Langly sang. Frohike then typed in some codes that Esther had sent them, unlocking the computer. "And now, for the piece de resistance," Frohike said with a bad French accent. He typed in two words: "BITE ME" Everything stopped. The power arcs, the CAT scan machine, the pictures on the computer screens. "I think that did it," Scully said, still a little unsure, though. The two techs they spoke with earlier came into the room cautiously. "Are you guys okay? What happened? What did you do? Was it a virus?" they asked without waiting for individual answers. Byers took the lead this time. "We did find a virus, but it was not in your system. Apparently it had something to do with Mr. Mulder. Entering his name into the system activated the sabotage program aimed toward him," he rattled off efficiently enough for the techs to believe without questioning him. Scully led them out and back to the waiting room. "Thanks guys. Mulder and I owe you one for this," she said and quickly added, "That doesn't mean a date, Frohike," when she saw his eyes light up. Frohike looked mildly disappointed. Byers and Langly gave him their usual "you'll never learn" looks. "Give Mulder our regards Agent Scully," Byers spoke for the three of them. "I will," she said and headed upstairs to the ICU. When she arrived at the ICU a nurse directed her to Mulder's bed after she first inquired about his condition. She approached slowly and sighed as she sat down in the chair next to him. The nurse had told her that so far the EEG and the EKG results were good. She told her that the sedatives and muscle relaxants given to him would probably keep him asleep for a good eight hours at least. So Scully sat and thought about the day's events. The pictures she saw on the CAT scan computer screen horrified her. She now thought she knew what Mulder had seen when he was held captive. She was beginning to understand his terror. `I'd be scared of hospitals too if I thought Nurse Nancy was going to cut off my arms' she thought. `God please let this be over with. He can't take much more,' she finished before falling asleep in the chair. Scully awoke a few hours later to the sound of Mulder's voice. "Scully? Scully?" He called, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'm right here Mulder," she said, taking his hand gently into hers. His breathing became quicker as he became more awake. "Scully, I can't see you. Oh, God no," he said, with dread in his words. He began repeating "This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't" but Scully stopped him. "Mulder, listen," she said firmly as she placed her hands gently on his face, cupping his cheeks. "Mulder, it IS real. I AM here. You're safe now. You're not in the trailer anymore," she tried to soothe him with her words. She continued, "Mulder, your eye was injured when your computer blew up. That's why you can't see. They are bandaged up, but they'll be fine in a couple of days. Do you understand?" she asked. "Scully? How can I be sure? How can I tell if this is really real?" "By trusting me. By knowing that I'm the only one you can trust and I'm telling you that you are safe now, with me and that the AI can't hurt you anymore," she told him. He reached his hands up slowly, and gingerly, and placed them on top of Scully's and cried. Three weeks later Mulder and Scully were in their office when they received a fax. Mulder picked it up and read it quickly before sitting back down heavily into his chair. "Mulder? What is it?" Scully asked going to his desk and picking up the fax to read it herself. She smiled as she put it down. On it was a message to the both of them: "Agents Mulder and Scully, I'm glad you're doing better these days. "Junior" is gone for good. I'm having a blast. Tell that cyber nerd friend Frohike of yours to "Bite Me" I'm sick of him trying to send me love letters on the net. Stay cool, especially you Mulder. Invisigoth." end.