TITLE: Intergalactic Space Babe ("First Person Shooter" PRE-episode story!)
AUTHOR: Sister Moon
DISCLAIMERS: The characters don't belong to me and I'm not doing this for
profit, just for love.
E:MAIL:  Dhcmoon@aol.com
SUMMARY: The spoiler pictures I've seen from the upcoming episode "First Person
Shooter" were just too good to ignore. I've read only a tiny bit about the
plot, so I'm going off on my own little tangent; I hope you enjoy it.
KEYWORDS: UST (oh yeah), DAL (always), a mild bit of Muldertorture for those of
you that like that sort of thing <eg>
RATING: R (mostly for colorful language)
FEEDBACK:  Yes, PLEASE!!  E-mail me at the above address.
ARCHIVE:  Go right ahead, but please e-mail me so I know where it's going.

NOTE: For Dee, Marina and my pals at FODDX---thank you all.  And a special
thanks to Mairead, for her inspirational artwork  :)

"Intergalactic Space Babe"  (1/1)

The Lone Gunmen stood outside the playing arena, preparing Mulder and Scully to
go inside.  Mulder's skin tingled with excitement as he finished fastening his
metal chestguard; he was bouncing on his heels with nervous energy.  He glanced
 at Scully, who was strapping on her own protective gear.  Jesus, she looked
hot.  She looked like every sci-fi geek's wet dream.  When she caught his
admiring gaze, he winked at her, eliciting a grin from Scully as her eyes swept
over him from head to toe in approval.

Frohike caught the looks they were giving each other as he approached Scully to
hand over her headgear and weapon.  Byers stood next to Mulder to do the same,
saying Mulder's name quietly.  When Mulder didn't answer, too busy gawking at
Scully to notice, Frohike said loudly in annoyance, "Hey Bruce Willis, if
you're done making eyes at your chick, Byers is trying to give you your
weapon."

"Did you just call me a 'chick', Frohike?" Scully teased him in mock anger.  "I
didn't mean that, Scully," Frohike said, making sure to speak loudly enough for
Mulder to hear.  "I don't think Mulder's taking this seriously enough.  This
isn't a game.  The last six people that went into this place ended up dead, and
it wasn't pretty."

"Lighten up, Frohike, I know what I'm doing," Mulder said cockily, then turned
to Byers and mumbled, "So--what am I doing?"

Byers handed Mulder a headpiece, and as he put it on, Byers held up a long
sword.  "Scully's gonna be shooting at the target to disable it long enough for
you to stick this in.......remember to go for where its heart would be--that's
where the main software is.  Anywhere else you strike it might slow it down,
but piercing clear through that main area is the only way to completely destroy
it."

"Got it."  Mulder turned to Scully.  "You ready, Sigourney?"

"Ready to kick ass and take names," Scully replied, playing along.

Mulder grinned at her as he put on a pair of black sunglasses. "Let's rock and
roll."

"Is the cliche fest about over?" Frohike blurted testily, visibly nervous.

Mulder turned to Frohike and attempted his best Schwarzenegger.  "Ah'll be
bock."

"You'd better be," Frohike said without a trace of humor, then leaned in closer
to Mulder so only he could hear, "Anything happens to Scully in there and it's
*your* ass, comprende?"

Mulder slapped his hand on Frohike's shoulder and dropped his joking demeanor.
"I've got her back, buddy," he said seriously. "Don't worry."  Frohike grumbled
unintelligibly and turned away.

**********

The heavy door closed behind Mulder and Scully with a loud, final-sounding
*Ker-THUNK* as they stepped into the playing area of "Intergalactic Space
Babe."  With its cutting edge special effects, painstakingly detailed sets and
astonishingly life-like interactive robots, "ISB" was the most popular live
game attraction in the country--or had been until visitors had begun dying
violently while playing the game.  Incredibly, the culprit had been discovered
to be one of the robotic figures-- "ISB"'s famous main character, the
ultra-sexy "Space Babe" Cara Loft.  The robot had somehow acquired its own
thought-process outside the parameters that had been set by its creator,
displaying a lust for killing and an ability to elude capture thus far.
She--or it--was hiding somewhere in the labyrinth of the game, and Mulder and
Scully had taken on the assignment of destroying it.

"Too bad you're not meeting Cara under better circumstances, huh, Mulder?"
Scully teased as they moved into the cavernous main entrance to the game.

"I don't know *what* you mean, Agent Scully," he replied innocently.

"Stop lying, fanboy, I've seen the home version of "ISB III: Cara's Revenge" on
your computer."

"Don't blame me, the Gunmen gave it to me for Christmas......you know it's rude
to refuse a gift."

"Uh-huh," she smirked, then suddenly paused, snapping to alert attention.  "You
hear that?" she said, just as Mulder heard heavy footsteps echoing through the
steel chambers, heading towards them.

"Let's get ready to rumble," Mulder muttered to Scully as they stood
shoulder-to-shoulder facing the direction of the footsteps' sound, their
weapons raised and ready.

The footsteps came so close, they expected to see Cara Loft appear in the
doorway just to their left--then they faded into the distance again.

"She's toying with us," Scully said softly.

"Let's get this over with." The two of them stepped through the doorway on
their left which led to the West Wing.  They found themselves in a long, narrow
hallway, with doors on either side running its entire length.  Mulder whistled
under his breath, realizing just how difficult a task it would be to even find
Cara Loft much less destroy her.  Although he and Scully had been given maps of
the game and had studied a small-scale model of it, Cara definitely had the
home field advantage.

He and Scully went through the first door on the left, which led to a room no
bigger than a closet.  Their eyes swept the small room carefully, and finding
no conceivable place for Cara to hide in there, they shut the door again and
moved across the hall to the first door on the right.

They searched each room thoroughly before moving on to the next.  Just as they
were about to search the seventh room, the door to it was flung open and an arm
reached out, grabbed Mulder and pulled him into the room.  The door was quickly
slammed, leaving Scully standing in the hallway, pounding on the metal door and
calling his name.

Cara bent Mulder's arm behind him painfully, propelling him forward until he
smashed into the far wall.  The sword he'd been holding clattered to the ground
on impact, and Cara kicked it out of his reach.  Mulder swore under his breath
as he watched his only weapon skitter away.  Cara swung him around to face her,
then with a display of Jackie-Chan-style agility that would've impressed the
hell out of Mulder under any other circumstances, she leaped high into the air
and landed a flying kick in the center of his chest which sent him crashing to
the floor.  As he lay on his back, moaning and taking short, pained breaths,
Cara approached him and plopped down on his stomach, her long, lean legs
straddling him on either side. Her strong thighs squeezed his arms tightly
against his sides, effectively trapping him there.

Mulder had to give the artisans credit-whoever had worked on this robot had
brought the cyberworld's # 1 pin-up queen to brilliant life.  She was perfect
in every detail, from her glossy, jet-black bangs to her ankle-length space
boots. Mulder watched, mesmerized, as her huge, comic-book-proportioned breasts
bounced with every one of her breaths while she studied him silently with wide,
beautiful green eyes.

"I think I had a dream like this once," Mulder quipped, then his face fell as
Cara reached into the belt around her waist and pulled out one of her
character's trademarks-her trusty dagger.  "Oh shit," he muttered, recalling
that Cara Loft's six human victims had each been carved like Thanksgiving
turkeys with that very same knife---very slowly and very painfully.

As Cara caressed his face with the tip of her dagger's blade, Mulder heard
Scully shooting at the door in an attempt to force it open.  Jesus, Scully,
hurry up, he thought in a panic as Cara paused at his forehead and started
pressing the knife into his skin.  At the same moment Mulder yelped in pain
from the gash Cara was slicing into his forehead, Scully blasted through the
door and came running into the room.

With a loud yell, Scully launched herself at Cara, catching her by surprise,
and knocked her off Mulder. When Cara's dagger flew out of her hand, Mulder
crawled to it quickly and retrieved it, then stood up and headed for his sword
in the corner while Scully started to shoot Cara.  As Mulder got to the sword
and reached down to pick it up, he heard Scully yell sharply, "Mulder, look
OUT!"  Just as he turned around, Cara rammed him into the wall again. The back
of his head smacked into the wall and he slid down slowly, his head spinning.
When Cara snatched her dagger out of Mulder's hand and held it up triumphantly,
Scully fired her gun, hitting the arm Cara held up with perfect aim.  The knife
fell to the floor still attached to Cara Loft's arm, which was blown cleanly
off at the shoulder.

The robot ran towards Scully, knocking her to the ground before running out the
door.

Just as Mulder was blacking out, he heard Scully yell "You're *mine*, bitch!!!"
then her fading footsteps as she ran off after Cara's retreating figure.

*********

Mulder's eyes flew open and he blinked them a few times in disorientation.  He
rubbed the lump on the back of his head, then he lightly touched the slash
across his forehead and groaned.  His eyes widened when his head cleared and he
remembered where he was.

"Scully?" he yelled, getting to his feet and reaching down to pick up his
sword.  He hurried through the maze of rooms, yelling Scully's name as loudly
as he could.  Finally, he heard Scully's answering call of "Mulder!" and he ran
towards the sound of her voice.   He ran down one corridor in the direction
he'd heard her and spotted her from several yards away, standing over the body
of Cara Loft.  "You okay, Scully?"  he called to get her attention.

"Got 'er, Mulder," Scully called back in a trembling, edgy voice.  As he got a
bit closer, he saw that Scully was forcefully and methodically stomping on
Cara's head, which was now dangling from her neck, attached by only a few
strands of wire. Each hard stomp from Scully's boot was accompanied by a grunt
of exertion escaping her lips.

"Did you get her in the heart?" Mulder called, feeling inexplicably
apprehensive.

"What?" As Scully looked up towards him, Mulder was horrified to see the robot
leap to its feet, its head still dangling, and grab Scully by the neck with one
hand to choke her. Scully quickly dropped her weapon, her arms devoid of
strength.  Her eyes bulged in terror as she helplessly gasped for air.

"Scully!!!"

Mulder reached them in three long strides.  Picking up the gun, he pressed it
into Cara Loft's stomach and pulled the trigger.  Cara threw Scully aside and
turned her attention towards Mulder, who kept firing until Cara's body dropped
again.  Once she was down on her back Mulder dropped the gun and took hold of
the sword with both hands, plunging it into her heart with all his strength.
He watched as the killing machine finally shut down for good in a manner of
seconds.

Mulder dropped the sword and stood panting heavily.  He pulled off his
sunglasses and headpiece and wiped at the sweat on his face.  He felt Scully
come up next to him, her heavy shoulder pad bumping his arm.  When he turned to
her, he could see she also was huffing for breath, her face flushed and her
eyes glittering with excitement.

"You're bleeding," she gasped out, glancing at the cut on his forehead.  He
waited for "Dr. Scully" to take over.  Whenever he was hurt, Scully's voice
would grow soft and her touch gentle as she ministered to him.  But not this
time.  As she moved closer to him, he could see a sensual glow in her eyes.
"What a rush, huh?" she whispered, licking her bottom lip suggestively as her
eyes swept over his face.  She was turned on---and she wasn't even trying to
hide it. As Scully's heated gaze focused intently on his lips, Mulder felt
himself growing aroused inside the protective codpiece. This was a side of
Scully he'd never seen before, and he liked it.

A *lot*.

He leaned his head down at the same time Scully raised her face to meet his,
then she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.  Their heavy,
clumsy chest gear crashed together as they kissed each other roughly.  The
sunglasses and headpiece slipped from Mulder's fingers as he tangled one hand
in Scully's hair, kissing her as hard as he could, his heart slamming against
his chest.  He reached down with his free arm and grabbed her around the waist.
 He moved forward, backing her up until she hit the wall, then pressed his body
against hers as much as he could through their cumbersome outfits.  His hand
moved from her back and came around front, searching for a zipper, Velcro, a
row of buttons or any opening in her uniform.  He finally broke off their
frantic kissing, moving his lips to her ear.  "I'm gonna fuck you 'til you
can't walk," he said huskily in her ear, sliding his lips down to her neck to
suck at her tender flesh.  Scully moaned and squirmed against him, trailing
wet, biting kisses along his cheek, down his jawline to his chin and up again
to his ear before answering him in a breathless voice.  "I'm gonna eat *you*
alive."

As they kissed each other again feverishly, Mulder's hand ran more desperately
over the bottom half of Scully's uniform, his frustration growing by the
second.   "Scully, how do you open this damn thing?" he groaned against her
lips.   Scully suddenly broke off their kiss and moved his hand away.

"Oh God-wait---not here," she panted, shaking her head.

Mulder brought both his hands behind her to grip her ass cheeks, pressing her
closer to him, grinding his pelvis into her.  "Yes, here," he grunted
insistently, kissing her again.

"Mulder, *no*," Scully gasped weakly in between their kisses, "Come *home* with
me."  Mulder kept kissing her uncontrollably without bothering to answer.   He
felt like he was losing his mind, going mad with lust for her.  He couldn't
possibly wait; it had to be now.  Scully let out an angry-sounding moan into
his mouth, fighting against him until he finally broke for air.

He didn't see Scully's fist heading towards his face until it was too late.  He
was blinded with pain when her punch connected solidly with the cut on his
forehead.  He reeled away from her, his hand going up to feel fresh blood
pouring down his face. He gaped at Scully in shocked surprise. "What the *fuck*
was that??????"

"I told you NO, asshole!" she screamed at him, her eyes now murderous with
rage.  He grabbed her arm as it came swinging at him again and held it tightly
as she struggled to break free.  "Scully, what the hell are you doing?"

"Lemme go!........dammit Mulder let me GO!"  When Scully kicked him hard enough
in the groin for him to feel it even through the codpiece, Mulder felt a surge
of adrenaline and anger explode inside him.  He let go of her arm and shoved
against her chestplate, knocking her off balance and nearly sending her to the
ground.  As Mulder watched incredulously, Scully unhooked her chestplate, threw
it onto the ground and came back at him, her fists raised in a fighting stance.

"You gonna *fight* me, Scully?" he asked sarcastically.

"Yeah....let's go."  Scully punched his chestplate lightly.   "C'mon, what are
you chicken, Mulder?  Afraid I'll take you down?.......Huh?"   She punched his
chest again, a bit harder.  "You can leave this on if you want, but I'm still
gonna kick your ass."

"You don't wanna push me, Scully," he said, his voice low and serious.   He
could still feel a faint ache in his balls where she'd kicked him, but he also
had a rock hard erection straining uncomfortably for release.  He was now
battling two overwhelming, conflicting urges---to fight her or fuck her.

"Come on, Mulder.....you want me?  I'm right here....come get me," she mocked
then struck again, this time surprising him with another powerful punch to the
cut on his face.

Mulder undid his chestplate and flung it on the floor before approaching Scully
again.  His tightly-clenched fist struck out, hitting Scully in the cheek and
sending her head snapping back to one side.  Muttering a curse under her
breath, Scully reared her leg up and kicked him forcefully in the chest, almost
exactly in the spot where Cara had kicked him earlier.  By the sharp pain
Mulder felt radiating from the right side of his chest when he breathed in, he
was sure he had a broken rib or at least a badly bruised one.  He managed to
stay on his feet though, and his next punch was a solid one, landing squarely
on Scully's nose.  Her eyes widened in surprise and pain.  With her attention
briefly diverted as she paused to wipe at the blood pouring out of one nostril,
Mulder seized his chance to end the fight.  He brought his leg behind Scully's
and bent her knee forward to trip her, throwing himself on top of her so they
landed on the floor together.

They glared at each other angrily, nearly nose to nose, breathing heavily into
each other's faces.

"Get off me, you big oaf!.....GET OFF!!!  Fuck!!!"  As Scully struggled
fiercely underneath Mulder, her writhing movements aroused him even further.

"No way, Scully........I won the fight and now I'm gonna claim my prize."  He
smashed his lips against hers and forced his tongue into her mouth, rocking his
pelvis insistently into hers.  He ignored the pain in his chest and the blood
he could taste on Scully's lips from his punch-he wanted her too desperately to
stop.

Scully pulled hard at his hair as she growled into his mouth.  Then all the
fight seemed to go out of her at once and her arms fell to the side limply, her
whole body going slack.  When Mulder lifted his head, he saw that the scowl on
her face was gone and her lips were curled into a soft smile.  Her voice was a
kittenish purr.  "You're right, Mulder.....you win.  I'm all yours."

Mulder knew by the wild, bloodthirsty look still in her eyes that she was
trying to trick him, to catch him off guard.  He knew if he let her go or gave
her any opening, she was gonna hurt him badly.  She might even shoot him if she
got a chance to reach the gun.

He closed his eyes and tried to clear the confusion clouding his racing mind.
This didn't make any sense, he realized.

Scully would *never* hurt him.

And he would never hurt her.

Mulder's eyes abruptly popped open.  "It's the *game*, Scully."

"What?" she said in exasperation.

"It's the game," Mulder repeated.  "It looks like Cara Loft wasn't the only
problem here.  Someone must've sabotaged the game itself, re-programmed it
somehow to bring out the most aggressive tendencies in its players."

Scully rolled her eyes impatiently.  "What are you talking about?"

"Think about it, Scully.  Ask yourself why we're kicking the shit out of each
other for no reason."

Scully frowned in puzzlement as his words began to sink in.

He framed her face in his hands.  "This isn't like us, Scully.......you know
I'd never hurt you," he finished softly.  He pressed his lips against her
forehead for a long moment, then very gently kissed the tip of her nose.  When
he raised his face to hers again, Scully was blinking back tears.

"I'm sorry, Mulder....I don't know what came over me."

"It wasn't your fault, Scully.....we weren't in control."  Mulder stood up,
holding out a hand to help Scully to her feet.  "Now let's go find the main
power source for this goddamned game and wipe it out."

***************

Langley opened the door and stepped aside to let Scully and Mulder out of the
game room, his eyebrows raising when he saw their beaten, bloodstained faces.
"What happened in there?"  he asked.

"We terminated the enemy with extreme prejudice," Mulder answered drily,
handing his sword and headpiece to him, as Scully handed her weapon and
headpiece to Byers.

Frohike looked from one to the other, a heavy frown on his face.  "You guys
alright?" he asked them warily.

Mulder turned to look at Scully, then grasped the hand she was reaching out to
him and squeezed it, feeling relieved when she squeezed back reassuringly.
With his eyes still locked on Scully's, he answered Frohike.   "Yeah....we're
okay."

End.