Micky and Melanie Dolenz made their way through the crush of people filing out of the auditorium. They had just witnessed what Micky thought had to be the coolest thing to hit the automotive world since the car stereo, and he was hard put to contain his excitement. "Wasn't that great, Mel? A car fueled by household garbage! Man! That would solve two problems at the same time!"
Melanie smiled at her husband's exuberance, and although she really did share it, she just didn't feel much like talking -- about anything. "Yeah," she said, hoping Micky wouldn't notice her low-key response. "Reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and keeping trash out of the landfills -- ecologically and economically sound, and stylish to boot! At least I think that's what that guy -- Mac -- something -- said."
"He sure did seem particularly proud of that car. Of course, he works for the company that helped design it!" Micky noticed Melanie's apparent lack of interest. "Mel, honey, if you don't feel up to going to the reception ---"
Melanie waved a dismissing hand at him. "No, I want to go! Really. I'm interested in hearing more about this, on a more informal note."
Micky studied Mel's face for a moment. "If you feel like it." He knew she'd been feeling down since her recent battle with Mara. That battle had taken a lot out of all of them, but Mel had permanently lost her power in the process of saving Micky's life.
Mel's eyes softened and she reached up, touching her husband's face. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be dragging you down. I'm still sad, but I'll get better. I spent fifteen years of my life powerless -- I can adjust again."
"Are you sure? You know I'd gladly give up my pow--"
"Hush." She lay a finger on his lips. "No more talk like that. You're needed. Roma said so." She smiled broadly. "Just be there for me."
"Always," he said, hugging her for a moment. "Always."
Mel smiled, then stiffened in her husband's arms. "Micky.....look over there -- some kind of scuffle!"
Micky turned in the direction of the commotion just in time to see a young sandy-haired girl being taken out of the reception area's side door. A tall muscle-bound type was dragging her by the wrist, and sheer size dictated that she would have to go wherever he led her.
That didn't mean she had to like it.
Despite the fact that she was roughly half the size of her "escort", Micky could see that she was putting up a decent fight. She planted her feet firmly and refused to take another step. This just made the goon tug harder, and she yelped in pain. That earned her the back of his mitt of a hand against her delicate features.
For Micky, that was the last straw.
Propelled by instinct rather than his better judgment, and paying no heed to the fact that the goon was also considerably bigger than him, Micky marched across the room. He wasn't a violent person by any means, but he just couldn't stand to see a woman get hit for any reason. And he had no intention of standing by and letting it happen if he could help it.
He had taken only about three steps toward the conflict, however, when he was nearly knocked to the ground by someone not paying attention to where they were going. The person didn't even look back or offer the slightest bit of an apology. "Now look here!" Micky shouted at the person. "What's the big idea?"
"Rats!" the man snarled, bolting to the doorway. "She's gone!"
"Who?" Micky asked, running to his side. "Who's gone?"
"Eliza! My sister!"
Micky pointed after the burly man. "I'm assuming she didn't go willingly."
"You're assuming right." He sighed and looked at Micky. "Thanks for trying to help."
"Not a problem. I'm Micky Dolenz."
"MacGyver. Call me Mac." He rubbed a hand over his nose and mouth. "Lovely. No idea who that was, where he's gone..."
Mel walked up. "Gorilla-boy dropped this." She held up a piece of paper.
"Too much of a coincidence to be coincidence," Micky said. "Who would do this to your sister? And why?"
Mac thought a moment. "Only one man I can think of who's got that much hatred for me and this level of cunning...Murdoc." At the mention of Murdoc's name, Mac's jaw set in a grim line and his fists clenched.
Melanie turned the paper over. "Hey," she said, "there's faint writing on the back of this..."
"Let me see," Micky said. He peered intently at the paper, making the nearly invisible words stand out clear as day. He read them aloud. “Corner of 26th and Asbury... five o'clock...come alone or she dies...M"
"Just like I thought," Mac said. "He wants me."
"Let's get going then," Micky said "It's already quarter after four."
"No," Mac said firmly. "He said alone. I'll not risk her life like..."
"He'll never know I'm there."
"Yeah? and just how do you plan to accomplish this minor miracle?"
"No miracle involved," Micky said. When Mac's eyes were on him, Micky smiled and very slowly faded from sight. "Just invisibility."
Mac just stared, slack jawed, at the spot where Micky had been standing just three seconds earlier. He reached out, not knowing what to expect, and his hand met something solid. Micky giggled as he reappeared, and Mac pulled his hand back as if he'd just put it on a hot oven. "That works," he stated matter-of-factly after a few more moments of stunned silence. "Would you mind explaining how you did that?"
"It's a long story, Mac. Maybe later." Micky grinned. "Now, we'd really better get a move on! We don't have a lot of time!" Not waiting for Mac, Micky ran out the door heading for the parking lot.
Mac quickly followed, shaking his head and mumbling, "Again with this we business!"
Mac heard a voice ask, "Which is your car?"
"Er...the jeep. Where..."
"In front of you, heading for the jeep!.....okay, I’m in! Let's go!"
Mac slid into the driver's seat and paused, reaching tentatively over. His eyes widened as his fingers closed around Micky's arm. "Yeah," Micky said with a chuckle. "I'm here."
"Whoa," Mac said, shaking his head and starting the jeep.
As they drove to the meeting place, Micky began to fill Mac in on how he got his powers, explaining that he kept them secret from all except people who needed his help.
"We're here," Mac whispered suddenly. "Hush."
They both got out of the jeep, Micky sliding over to exit through the driver's side door to keep his presence a secret. Looking around, Micky saw nothing unusual about this particular street corner, and began to wonder if they'd been led on a wild goose chase. He couldn't ask Mac about it without revealing himself, but he could tell by the expression on the other man's face that he was thinking the exact same thing.
"Well," Mac addressed thin air, both to ask Micky what he thought, as well as to be heard on whatever listening devices he was certain Murdoc had rigged, "am I just supposed to stand here all day?"
His assumption about Murdoc and listening devices proved to be correct; for at that moment, the front door of a building that appeared to be abandoned swung open and Murdoc's voice could be heard over a PA system. "How nice of you to come! Please forgive my lapse of manners, MacGyver!" he said, sarcasm dripping from every word. "Do come in, won't you?"
Mac just stood there looking at the open door, knowing that Murdoc had probably had his own version of a carnival house of horrors waiting for them. He knew from experience that Murdoc and empty buildings made an explosive combination. Unfortunately, he also knew from experience that when one was "invited" somewhere by Murdoc, it wasn't wise to refuse. Especially when Eliza's life is hanging in the balance, he thought grimly.
He felt a slight pressure on his left elbow and he looked around quickly, only to hear a barely audible, "Sshh, I'm right here. Let's go," from Micky. Mac didn't know if he could ever get used to working with a partner, let alone a partner who couldn't be seen unless he wanted to be. All that aside, however, he had to admire his spunk.
Mac, with Micky invisibly in tow, took a cautious step -- then another -- toward the door. it was completely dark inside -- not a good sign. Mac's good sense screamed for him to run in the opposite direction and get reinforcements, but his love for his sister overpowered the rational part of his brain. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Mac marched right into the building -- and into darkness that became complete and almost palpable as the door slammed shut, effectively locking Mac and Micky inside.
"I don't like the dark," Micky whispered in Mac's ear.
"Me either," Mac whispered back. "Can't see a thing in here."
"Good thing about darkness," Micky said as the room began to lighten, "... is it's just another form of invisibility."
"What's happening?" Mac gasped.
"I'm using my power...making the invisible visible." He whistled. "Not much to say for your man's fashion sense."
Indeed, the room coming into view was spartan. Two lamps. A couch. And a table with an electronic device on it, very faint numbers changing.
12.
"Oh, crud!" Mac screeched.
11.
"Typical?" Micky asked.
10.
"Very! Let's get out of here!"
9.
"No time!" Suddenly Micky grabbed Mac by the shoulders.
8.
"What are you doing?" Mac cried, shocked to find himself suddenly prone on the ground.
7.
"No time to explain! Trust me!" Micky shimmered into view.
6.
"Trust you?" Mac gasped.
5.
"Trust me! Keep your head down!" Micky threw himself over Mac.
4.
Then Micky looked up, reaching up a hand as if pleading to Heaven.
3.
He lowered his head and widened his eyes before squeezing them tight shut.
2.
Field piled on top of field piled on top of field.
1.
Micky prayed. Hard.
0.
In a cacophony of light and sound and force, the building exploded.
I'm dead, Mac thought numbly. I've always heard that people see a bright light when you die.
But do they also see streetlights and traffic signs?
I'm seeing daylight! he realized. "Micky," he croaked. "You okay?"
There was a soft moan above him. Micky's fields had not only deflected the effects of the bomb itself, but also had protected them from the mountain of debris that would surely have buried them. Unfortunately, the strain had nearly knocked Micky unconscious. There was one plus at least, Mac thought. At least now I can see him!
"Man!" Micky was saying as he got to his feet, "That guy sure is a whacko!"
"That's the understatement of the year!" Mac said. His face suddenly turned as white as a sheet as he looked at the pile of junk that was once a building. "Eliza!" he cried. "...no...."
Micky understood immediately. If she had been somewhere in the building... "Hey, Mac," he said, hoping he sounded reassuring, "I don't think this Murdoc guy had her in this building at al. I think this was a decoy."
"Quite right!" came a voice from within the rubble -- one of Murdoc's audio-visual rigs had somehow survived the blast. "My, my, MacGyver! Your little friend certainly is bright! But I'm afraid you didn't play by the rules." Murdoc's voice took on a petulant tone. "I thought I told you to come alone."
Mac's eyes flashed with unbridled anger. "And I thought you said I could get Eliza back if I came here. If you've hurt her, so help me --"
"She is unharmed -- for the time being," Murdoc interrupted. "But if you wish that to change, by all means, continue to disobey my orders."
The voice flatly gave them another address to go to. "And this time," Murdoc informed them coldly, "by all means, bring your friend. He....fascinates me. Has since I saw him enter the building with you."
Mac swore under his breath as the pair picked themselves up. Then he looked around at the mountain of rubble that had been the building they had been in ...astounded to find himself and Micky standing unharmed in the middle of a clear circular path!
"How in the world..." Mac breathed.
"How what?" Micky asked, rubbing his arm.
His eyes widening, Mac continued to turn and stare at the rubble that should have, at the very least, buried them alive. "How did we survive this? How did we end up unhurt?"
Micky drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. "Remember the radiation I told you about? The stuff that made me able to make myself invisible?"
Mac nodded. "Yeah...so?"
"So...this is another power I got from it. Walk forward." Mac shot Micky a 'whatever' look, but did as Micky asked him to. He got about five paces from Micky, then he hit something solid. He ran his hand along the solid surface for a moment, then took his fist and struck it. Micky winced, clutching at his head. "Don't do that, please!" he said. "I can feel anything that hits one of my fields." He looked around at the rubble. "This stuff nearly knocked me out completely."
Mac began picking through the remnants of the building. "What are you doing?" Micky asked.
"Looking for that A/V equipment of Murdoc's. He knows about you -- you don't have to stay invisible any more, but I need something to see you with in case you need to use that... power, did you call it?.. again. Having a partner that I can't see gives me the creeps!"
Mac began picking through the remains of the building, pushing aside chunks of brick and steel that should have killed him and Micky. Finally he found what he was looking for--the surveillance camera used by Murdoc. He was happy to see that the infrared device attached to it had not been harmed in the blast.
"What are you doing?" Micky asked.
"Looking for something to help me see you," he answered. "The way Murdoc saw you."
"Ah... infrared lenses?"
Mac turned from his rummaging to look at his companion. "Yeah...how'd you know that?" He was openly impressed.
"Mike uses infrared beams to locate me." Micky said simply. He pulled his sunglasses from his pocket and used twin fields to pop the lenses out. "Try these."
Mac took the sunglass frames, still wondering what he meant about 'Mike and the infrared beams'...he wasn't sure he wanted to know. "Thanks. Now all I have to do is rig this to the frames, and I'll be able to see you when you're invisible...and I'll still have my hands free."
"Good plan," Micky said. "You rig, and we'll test them."
Mac worked swiftly, detaching the infrared scanning device from the camera with an ease that amazed Micky--this guy must do a lot of this sort of thing, he thought. Mac slipped the lens into the frame--it wasn't an exact fit, so he had to anchor it by bending the frames around it. "Lemme see that regular lens...I'll put it in the other side."
Micky handed it over by floating it on a force field, grinning impishly.
Mac peered at the floating lens, then at Micky's expression. "Showoff!" he said with a grin of his own. Popping the regular lens back into the other side of the frames, he then put the sunglasses on. "Well?" he asked, "modeling" them.
Micky sighed. "I wish Mike were here."
"Who is this Mike, anyway?"
"He's one of my partners. He could laser the lens to the frame and not make it look so lopsided."
Mac gave Micky a look of mock-hurt. "What? you mean this isn't the latest style? And here I thought I was being a trendsetter!"
Micky stuck out his tongue.
Mac laughed out loud. "Now we just have to test this baby and see if it works. Do your stuff, Fuzzy!"
"I resemble that remark," Micky cracked, but faded from sight.
Through the infra red lens, all colour faded from Micky. All features blurred and dissolved. There was only a human-shaped white blob standing there. It spread its arms. "Well?"
Mac, much to Micky's surprise, walked right up to him and touched him on the shoulder. "How's that?" he asked smugly.
Micky laughed. "Stand back and lemme try something."
"OK." Mac took a few steps backward as Micky said.
Micky shimmered back into view, all details reappearing through the infra red lens. Then to one side of Mac's vision, nothing seemed to change except Micky's eyes widening.
But through the infrared lens, Micky suddenly vanished behind a solid white sphere.
"Wow! That's an unexpected side effect--I can see your fields with this, too!"
Micky smiled and Mac saw the sphere shred and disappear.
Mac shook his head in amazement. "I still don't know if I'll ever get completely used to this!"
"Oh this is nothing!" Micky said. "See, I can also --"
The microphone flared into life again. "You two are running late, MacGyver! I suggest you haul it!"
"Yes sir," Mac muttered under his breath, hopefully too low for the mic to pick up. "Come on, Micky...we have a date to keep!" But they were a little more confident now that Mac knew Micky could protect them.
They piled into the jeep and drove to the next address. There they found another building, another directive to go inside. "Well, here we go again!" Mac quipped, hoping it sounded more like a joke than he actually felt.
Micky smiled. "That's what Davy would say whenever Roma would send us on a quest and we'd come out of the vortex. Right before he'd land on me." This was said with a scowl.
Mac was curious as to what exactly Micky was talking about, but was almost afraid to ask--Micky had already dropped enough bombs on him for one day.
Micky smiled, lost in a private memory. "Course I am grateful he was always normal height when he did... last thing I needed was a super-strong man land on my spine!"
That was all it took to shove Mac's curiosity level over the edge. "Okay! I give up...I'll bite! Super-strong? 'Normal' height? Wait...don't tell me--this Davy guy was exposed to the radiation too?"
"Yeah. All four of us were."
"Ah," was all he could say.
"My power's the most flexible. Davy's is the most controllable. Mike's is the most impressive and dangerous. Peter is the most powerful one of us."
"And just what is it that Peter can do? You've hinted at Mike's and Davy's powers, but this is the first I've heard of Peter."
"Sorry. Peter's telekinetic."
Mac's eyes widened. "Man, you guys have all the bases covered, don't you?"
"Excuse me?"
"With your invisibility and force-fields, Davy's super-strength and whatever it is he does with his height, and Mike's lasers, and Peter's telekinesis, you guys could probably take on anyone and cream them!"
Micky frowned. "We've lost so many battles it's not even funny. Peter's power's neutralized when his eyes are sealed shut. Davy and Mike are easily knocked out. And I... well, my weakness is my emotions. If I lose control of them..." he shook his head.
"If you lose control of your emotions...what? Does your power go out of control? or do you lose it completely until your emotions are under control again?"
"The second one," Micky said grimly.
Mac rolled his eyes heavenward. "Great. Just great. Promise me something, partner."
"What's that?"
"Keep a lid on the emotions, please? We may need those fields again, if I know Murdoc."
"You got a deal." Micky frowned. "Up."
Mac looked confused. "Beg pardon?"
Micky pointed toward the elevator. "Up. The sign says up."
Mac looked, and sure enough, there was a sign, obviously placed there for their benefit. Against his better judgment, he pushed the button marked with the upward arrow. The doors opened and both men stepped inside. The elevator began to ascend rather slowly. Then--it stopped. "Wonderful." Mac said sarcastically. "Now what?" Wondering if this was part of Murdoc's twisted game, or if it was simple mechanical failure, Mac began searching for the emergency access panel. He found it and got it opened just in time.
The opening of the emergency panel and the free-fall of the elevator car were almost instantaneous. Before Mac even knew what was happening, he heard Micky say, "Hang on!!" He felt hands grip him under the arms and then he was airborne, shooting up the elevator shaft with nothing between him and the bottom--where the car now rested in pieces--but Micky.
"Ohmig-d!" Mac screamed as the realization of what was happening impacted him like a fist to the stomach. "How the hell are you doing this?!!?!!?!"
Micky just grinned. "How do you think?"
Mac looked down at their feet. Under Micky's feet rested twin force fields plainly visible through the infrared lens. And Mac realized the truth that even Micky didn't fully understand.
Micky was telekinetic too... but only with his own force fields! When he created them under his feet and manipulated them... he could...
He could fly!
And it was all too much for Mac. He slumped in Micky's arms, head lolling against his chest.
"Mac?" Micky asked. Oh, great! he thought. And he was worried about me losing it!
Micky found the closest opening--the 12th floor--and put Mac down on the floor. Maybe I should have told him about that part, Micky thought.
Mac came around slowly. The first thing out of his mouth when he saw Micky was, "Is there anything else I should know about you?"
"Yeah... I'm technically an alien. My friends and I are from another dimension."
Mac groaned, not quite sure what to expect. "Sorry I asked."
Micky sat on his heels. "Well... we seem to have some time between attacks... is there anything you'd like to ask me?"
Mac thought about this. There was plenty that he wanted to ask him, but there was a part of him that didn't really want the answers. "There is one thing," he began. "Didn't you say something about having a sister too?"
"Yes. Three of them, all younger than me."
"Do they worry you they way Eliza worries me sometimes?"
Micky's face fell. "I... I don't know. I haven't seen or heard from them in 20 years."
Mac let out a low whistle. "Wow! That's a long time to go without contact. Didn't you guys get along?"
Tears welled up in the almond eyes. "We loved each other like the sun and moon. But when I got my powers, they couldn't know. Too dangerous. Then we got pulled here.. stuck here.... and they stayed behind in the home dimension. All of us lost everyone we'd ever known, ever loved.... in the blink of an eye."
Mac's eyes were filled with a mixture of sympathy for Micky and his friends, and grief at knowing the loss of family. He had lost his dad and grandmother when he was very young, and his grandfather had just recently died as well.
"So you see," Micky said, eyes drying out, "I had to help you. I can't let another man lose a sister. Not like Davy, Peter and I did."
Mac found himself nearly on the verge of tears himself. This man had lost so much...then he thought of something. "Micky," he said gently. "I know what you're going through--believe me I do. And I appreciate your help more than you can ever know. But you can't let yourself get emotional right now."
Micky looked blankly at him. "I can't..." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, seeming to pull into himself.
After a moment, he opened his almond eyes... which were tearless... and smiled.
Then he vanished.
Seeing him through his rigged infrared shades, Mac smiled. "Excellent!"
Micky shimmered back into view. "Anything else? He checked his watch. "The last attacks were 90 minutes apart..."
"...and it's been nearly that long since the last attack."
Micky shook his head. "We've got 30. I mean it, Mac." He grinned. "Ask now or forever hold your tongue..."
"Well...you mentioned something about 'quests'. What were you talking about?"
"We were sent on quests through dimensions to find pieces of an ancient relic. The quests were successful, and we were sent where we were needed the most." He spread his hands. "Here."
"So you aren't from around here..."
"I told you... we're from a parallel dimension. In the dimension we're from, we were actors playing musicians. Here we're musicians and real life superheroes."
"Wow! You guys sure have been busy!" Mac said.
Micky just smiled. Then he checked his watch. "We'd better move... this building is probably rigged... I'm surprised your man hasn't taunted us yet."
"Poor MacGyver," came Murdoc's voice from yet another mic rigged to yet another camera. He had been watching them the entire time, which didn't really surprise Mac at all. "Did that nasty business in the elevator shaft scare you off?" He made a clucking sound with his tongue. "And just when the game was getting started!"
Game? Game!!!??? This infuriated MacGyver, but he refused to let Murdoc control him in this way. "I don't call kidnapping and attempted murder a game, Murdoc!" he said, his voice low and dangerous.
Micky's eyes were beginning to blaze. Temper, he reminded himself. Keep rein of yourself, Dolenz.....
"I just wanted to inform you that your dear sister is safe and well... for now. .... and your next address is..." it was given them...
And a low pitched whine began to sound under their feet.
Micky barely had time to lunge across the room and grab Mac, blow a window out with a field and glide through it.
They turned around to see the building implode on itself.
"Man," Micky breathed, "that could have been us...."
"Yeah...and just wait till I get my hands on Murdoc..." Then he noticed they were still 12 stories above the ground. He closed his eyes quickly. He muttered something to himself.
"What was that?"
"I said, 'Man, I hate heights!!'"
"Oh. Okay. Do you trust me?"
"With my life."
Micky held Mac at arms' length and Mac suddenly felt two spheres enclose his ankles.
And then Micky let Mac go.
To Mac's astonishment... he didn't fall!
"Wow!" he said, once he regained control over his power of speech. His stomach was doing somersaults, but he was maintaining his position--12 levels up!
"I'm going to lower us two floors," Micky said quietly. And slowly, they drifted downward... 10 stories up now. "You doing okay, partner?"
Mac managed a shaky smile and said with an equally shaky voice, "uh...I'm doing fine, for someone who's flying under their own power for the first time...partner."
Micky grinned. "Technically, it's my own power, but who's quibbling? Two more down now." And he lowered them to eight, pausing to let Mac get acclimated again.
At every level, Mac had to fight the urge to reach out for something solid to hold on to.
"Eight more... unless..."
"Unless? What unless?"
"Well, when I did this with Mike... he asked if I would let him fly a little before I set him down. Do you want to...?"
His heart nearly jumped out of his chest from the mere thought of it...yet he was curious to see what it felt like.
"We can do it at a lower level if you'd like..."
"That sounds like a better idea." Mac said, smiling.
Micky took him down three more levels... then said, "Stretch out like you're lying on your stomach."
He did so, and was amazed to find that even with his weight shifted this way, he didn't fall.
In fact, he was being pushed forward... feeling wind strike his face and arms.... feeling it slide over his body like he'd never felt before and thought he never would again....
And as much as he hated to admit it, and as much as he had always despised heights...he was actually enjoying this!
He became aware of a form beside him, and realized it was Micky, gliding beside him like a wingless bird. Micky smiled at him and asked, "Faster? Higher? What?"
"Maybe a little faster...we'll have to work up to higher."
Micky smiled, and increased the speed, and Mac felt the wind increase in response. He couldn't stop the smile.
"Like it so far?" Micky asked, coming up alongside Mac.
Mac looked more than a little surprised. "Yeah!" he said breathlessly. "I actually do!"
"When you're able to fly, heights aren't a problem, are they?" Micky teased.
Mac had to laugh. "You're right."
"Then come on. I want to show you something... And I won't let you fall."
"Lead on!" And Mac suddenly realized something... Micky's fields were holding him up... but why was it he seemed to be determining their direction?
He asked Micky about that. "How can someone else control your fields?"
Micky grinned. "They can't. But these particular fields... well..." He pointed toward Mac's wrists. "Look."
And through the infra-red lenses, Mac saw thin invisible strands leading from his ankles to his wrists. Micky had given him control over direction... and Micky kept him in the air!
Mac was in the position of co-pilot!
"I give you a push, so to speak, and you take it from there"
"Whoa!" was all he could manage to say. "So this is me! I'm doing this? In a manner of speaking." he added quickly.
Micky chuckled. "Uh-huh. I'm holding you up and giving you propellant... you're determining speed and direction. Like ailerons on a plane."
He was simply in awe of this fact. Mr. Afraid-of-Heights...in control--basically--of their flying. *Well,* he thought, *I won't have any more excuses to not go mountain climbing...after you've flown, a mountain shouldn't be too big a deal.*
"Follow me," Micky said, altering direction and going... up!
Mac's eyes grew huge for a moment--but only for a moment. He followed Micky's lead, putting his hands by his side, and next thing he knew, he was shooting straight upward.
Micky pulled up short, bringing his hands level to his waist, hovering.
Mac did the same once he was level with Micky.
Micky smiled. "You catch on quick."
"Hey...when you're good you're good." Mac said teasingly.
Micky chuckled. "There," he said, pointing to the west. "That's what I wanted you to see."
And Mac was treated to a sunset like he'd never seen it before.
Mac took in the sight in silence. He didn't want anything to disturb the moment..
"So... the height's not bothering you anymore." It was not a question.
"Uh...what heights?" Mac asked distractedly.
"We're fifty stories high, Mac."
He blinked, then looked around, then down at the world below them. To his own surprise, it honestly didn't bother him.
Micky smiled. "It's a lot different when you know you won't fall, isn’t it?"
Mac smiled. "A lot different!"
Micky glanced at his watch. "We'd better get back down... it's nearly an hour since Murdoc gave us that address."
Mac was reluctant to turn away from the sunset before him, but he immediately tensed at the mere mention of Murdoc's name. "Micky,” he said quietly. "I sincerely hope for his sake that he hasn't hurt my sister."
"So do I. Follow my lead," And Micky kicked backward, pointing his head down and stretching his arms in front of him like he was diving.
Mac once again followed Micky's lead.
They dove through the clouds, pulling up six stories from the ground. Micky altered direction, heading east toward the address Murdoc had given them, with Mac following close on his heels.
“Uh, Mac..." Micky said as they came upon the address. "Either we took down the number wrong, or Murdoc's still playing his game."
Mac was about to ask what he meant by that, but then he saw it--the address Murdoc had given them was for a vacant lot!Mac let out a string of expletives, and he and Micky had barely set foot on solid ground before he was running toward the lot in question. Shaking his fist in the air, he roared, "Enough is enough! Murdoc, I'm sick of your games! Do whatever you want to me, but let my sister go--now!" Silence. "Do you hear me!?"
After a few more moments of silence, the two men were beginning to think that Murdoc had simply abandoned the game. Then, Murdoc finally spoke. "I heard you, MacGyver." he whispered. "I also saw you--you were flying!"
"What of it?" Mac asked.
"Where did you learn to do that?" Murdoc asked. Mac could hear the shock in his voice--he hadn't prepared for something like this. Mac smiled, liking the thought of having knocked Murdoc off-balance.
Micky looked over at Mac and shared his grin. They sure had thrown him a curve!
But...curve or no curve, they still had to find Murdoc--and Eliza.
"I take it you've bugged this area too," Micky yelled to Murdoc.
Murdoc's tone regained some of it's smugness. "Of course! I wouldn't have it any other way."
Murdoc leaned against the microphone once he'd shut it down, trying to regain control of himself. He'd been scanning the area, looking for the jeep... when he had seen twin dots in the sky.
Focusing on them, he had thought for a moment his cameras were malfunctioning! MacGyver and his helper were.... were....
They were flying! Under their own power!
Murdoc had almost fainted....
And now he was shaking so badly it made him angry. How was he going to have his revenge if he couldn't control his own emotions?
Micky snorted, shaking his head. Dropping his voice, he whispered, "Lemme try something."
Mac nodded, not sure what he was going to try, but fairly certain it was going to be good!
Micky's almond eyes widened, then narrowed... a sign Mac had learned by now meant he had activated his power.
Cameras and microphones suddenly appeared as debris vanished from the lot.
So did a trap door.
"Yes!" Mac crowed.
Micky made everything visible again, then asked, "You want to, or shall I?"
Mac made an exaggerated gesture. "After you..."
Micky reached an arm toward Mac. "Support me... this is gonna hurt."
Mac reached out, ready to brace Micky.
The infra-red lens suddenly picked up a force-field reaching from Micky...
Forming into a column solid as stone....
And then smashing straight down, shattering the trap door.
Micky cried out in pain, swaying.
MacGyver grabbed Micky just as he was about to fall, and steadied him. "You okay?" he asked.
Micky nodded. He was chuckling. "Listen..."
He cocked his head to one side, listening for whatever it was Micky heard.
Murdoc was still cursing in stunned surprise....
Mac couldn't suppress his laughter. He just loved confounding Murdoc!
Micky leaned VERY close and whispered, "Let's glide in... throw him more."
"You have a streak of pure evil, you know that?" Mac said with a grin. "I like it!"
"Mike always says so," Micky grinned, reforming the force-field rigging on Mac.
Mac was secretly glad to have the chance to fly again.
The pair rose into the air and shot into the hole...
...and found themselves in a sewer pipe. "Ick," Mac whispered. "Leave it to a rat like Murdoc to find a place like this appealing."
"Room to fly," Micky said. "Shall we?"
"Yes, let's!"
They glided down a ways, then Micky pulled up short. "Er.... which way?"
Looking around them at all the possible directions they could take, Mac considered their options.
Micky sighed. "There's got to be some way to see which way...." Then he began to grin. "See..."
And Mac understood immediately--the rigged infrared sunglasses!
Micky moved out of Mac's field of view so Mac could see the infra red patterns of heat a human body gave off.
He looked down the corridor to the right--no dice. Then straight ahead--they weren't there either. Then he looked down the path to his left--
--and saw the shimmering heat signatures he was looking for. "Bingo!" he said.
Micky grinned. "For once, partner... I can't see what you can! Lead the way!"
Mac did so, grinning all the way. It just occurred to him that he was actually working with a partner--and it wasn't that bad!
Especially one that could make him fly!
"How many people are here?" Micky asked.
"I'm getting a little bit of interference from all the electronic equipment Murdoc's rigged down here, but I definitely get two distinct heat patterns.
"Eliza?"
"I hope so."
"Me too..." Micky grinned wickedly. "So tell me... what's it like?"
"What's what like?"
"Being able to do something other people can't... even if it is from technology..."
He hadn't really thought about it before...
"This is what it's like for us everyday," Micky said softly. "This is what having a superpower feels like."
Mac stopped short for a moment, long enough to turn to face Micky.
Micky smiled at him. "Welcome to my world," he whispered.
"So...do you like being able to do these things? Do you ever wish you were just a 'normal' person again?"
"Nope." Micky's smile turned into a grin. "I have too much fun."
Mac smiled too. "I can see that!"
"Remind me after this is over to tell you about the first time I slid into a woman's restroom...."
They were so close to Murdoc's lair at this point that Mac didn't dare allow himself to laugh out loud--although the mental image of that made him want to!
"So how close are we, partner?"
"Close enough that I think I can see them without the infrared." He pulled the sunglasses up. "Yeah! There's Murdoc at the controls of his surveillance equipment. He must not have thought to rig this hallway--he doesn't seem to realize we're here.”
Micky looked at Mac very strangely.
Catching the look, Mac asked, "What?"
"What does Murdoc look like?" Micky asked. "Normal or still reddish in tint?"
It was Mac's turn to give Micky a strange look. "Well, I've not actually seen him in a while, but--"
Micky reached out and moved Mac's glasses atop his head. "Look at him. Is he slightly reddish? This is important."
He looked closer, and sure enough, there was a distinct red tint to Murdoc from head to toe.
The expression on his face told Micky his answer. "I thought so. Look at me."
He did, and there was no strange coloration there.
But then Micky's features and details faded from view. He became solid white...
Just as Mac had seen him through the infrared lenses...
Which were perched on top of his head.
His jaw dropped as the realization struck him--he could see things that only an infrared lens or scope could pick up.
Micky just looked at him, shimmering back into view... and nodded.
"Do you think this will...is this permanent?"
"No way of telling," Micky said. "Ours came from radiation... ours are permanent. Yours... well where did it come from?"
Mac thought about it for a second. "I've been looking through this infrared lens for the better part of four hours now...I guess my eyes have adjusted to seeing things that way."
Micky smiled. "More than that, partner. Normal human eyes don't adjust to that at all. I was teasing before, but I mean it this time. Welcome to my world."
Normal eyes don't...he thought. Maybe he had some genetic tendency he never knew he had.
Then Mac remembered the radiation in the nuclear power plant he'd gone in to help prevent a meltdown of. He'd been in there so long his badge turned inky black....
Micky grabbed his arm. "Hey, are you all right?"
"Yeah, sure. I'm fine." he lied. "Just thinking about what you said."
Micky frowned at him. "You're... not all right," he said, dissolving the lie instantly.
"No, I'm not. I just realized why my eyes were able to adjust so quickly." Mac nodded.
Micky nodded slowly. "Radiation exposure, huh?"
Mac nodded shakily. "A nuclear power plant on the verge of meltdown. I spent a lot of time inside it....preventing it...." He managed a shaky smile. "Successfully..."
Micky sighed and lay a hand on his shoulder. "I know this is a lot to get used to... but we don’t' have time now. Ready to get in there?"
Thinking of Eliza, he said, "Yes. Let's go!"
And then he saw why Micky had discovered his power.
The door was closed... and steel. He had seen the heat signatures through a closed door!
"Oh, man!" Mac stared at the solid metal door in astonishment. "I...saw...through that?"
Micky grinned. "Looks like it! So...how does it feel?"
"How does what feel?" Mac asked, clearly confused.
"You're one of us now. You have your own 'superpower'." Micky's grin widened. "So... how does it feel?"
Mac hadn't really had a chance to think about it--he had barely had time to register the fact that he had the crazy thing. "I honestly don't feel all that different--except seeing in infrared takes a little getting used to."
"Yeah... being invisible took a lot of getting used to."
"Yeah." Mac said, laughing. "Especially for other people!"
Micky lay a hand on Mac's shoulder. "Brace me... I'm gonna bust the door in."
"Okay," Mac said, "But...isn't that gonna hurt?"
"That's why I need you to brace me."
Mac was concerned. That door was at least a foot thick, and solid metal.
Micky formed an invisible field thin as a pebble and sent it into the lock on the door...
Then Mac saw it expand rapidly once it was inside.
Mac held on to Micky for dear life--he couldn't allow Micky to hurt himself. The effort showed on Micky's face, and he trembled in Mac's arms.
Mac considered telling Micky to stop, but didn't dare break his concentration at this point--surely he'd know if he couldn't do it.
Micky began to sweat. He concentrated so hard his almond eyes began to cross.
The door ever so slowly began to buckle.
Pain began to show up in his expression.
With a dramatic sigh, the door collapsed outward and inward -- neatly carved in two by the force field.
And Micky sagged into Mac's arms, nearly unconscious.
"Mick?" Mac whispered.
"Uhh..." And Micky's eyes rolled back in his head as he lost consciousness completely.