The day was blazing hot, moreso in the desert, yet still, Bill and Ralph were there working on suit powers.

Or atleast trying to.

Ralph had his arms crossed over his chest, repeatedly refusing to go along with Bill's suggestions.

"Ralph, you're being a real pain about this, you know?" Bill complained.

"Bill, I feel like I'm roasting out here, it's so hot." He motioned to Bill. "And you're standing there in your three-piece. How can you stand it?"

"Korea," Bill responded simply, causing Ralph to roll his eyes. "Fine, kid, how about trying the weather idea, then?"

"With my track record, I'll probably create a tornado that'll take us to Oz!" Ralph exclaimed, throwing his arms out at his sides. "I'm tired, Bill! I don't wanna do this anymore today!"

"You're really being selfish about this! The word 'brat' comes to mind," Bill said.

Ralph's eyes narrowed. And suddenly, the sky had a complete cloud-cover... with very dark clouds. He looked up, eyes widening. "Uh... Bill?"

Bill was looking up, too. "I see it, kid, and I don't believe it. Or maybe I do..."

There was a rumble of thunder, shortly followed by raindrops. The rain picked up and within seconds it was downpouring. Bill ran for cover in his tan Dodge Diplomat while Ralph stood stock-still looking up at the rain clouds.

Bill watched him from the car, shaking his head. "Kid's a piece-a work."

Ralph continued staring up at the sky, even as another rumble of thunder came and went, followed by a bolt of lightning.

Bill rolled the window down slightly and called out, "Ralph, you're gonna get zapped by lightning! Get in the car already!"

There was another rumble of thunder... a very loud and close rumble. It was so close it practically shook the ground. It made Ralph jump, finally breaking out of his assumed trance. He finally looked towards the Diplomat, but glanced at the sky once more. Another bolt of lightning flashed, bouncing between the clouds before making it's way to the ground.

To Bill, it seemed to happened in slow motion. As Ralph had turned to look up once more and the lightning bolt came down, everything became brightly illuminated. So bright, it almost seemed like a white-out. It faded as the rain came down heavier. Bill squinted his eyes, once again looking to where Ralph had been... and glanced down slightly.

Ralph lay on the ground, unmoving. Bill's eyes widened and he flung the car door open, then slammed it behind him. He ran as quickly as he could and knelt by Ralph. He glanced over the younger man, seeing nothing unusual. He shook him gently at the shoulder. Receiving a subconscious grimace, Bill picked the other shoulder to shake. Ralph merely frowned. Bill slid one arm under Ralph's arms and the other arm under his knees and hoisted him up. Bill flinched slightly; he kept forgetting that, even though Ralph was slim, he was heavier than he looked with his well-toned muscles.

Bill ran the best he could back to the car, all the while thinking up possible one-liners concerning the situation and weight to use on the younger man once he came to. He shifted Ralph around and managed to open one of the rear doors. Bill climbed in and laid Ralph on the seat, causing him to frown again.

"Right, forgot," Bill said and shifted Ralph's weight off the seemingly injured arm. Seeing the frown dissipate, Bill checked other vitals. Both pulse and breathing were fine, but Bill couldn't wake him. He sighed and climbed back out, going around the car to get in the driver's seat. He glanced at Ralph in the rearview before turning the engine over and shifting into drive.

---------------

It was still raining as Bill pulled into the Hinkley's driveway. He shifted into park and glanced in the rearview mirror again. Ralph hadn't moved. He opened his door, slammed it, and opened the rear door. Bill hooked an arm each under Ralph's armpits and pulled him out, letting his feet drop to the pavement. Ralph flinched again. Bill kicked the door closed, then hauled Ralph over to the front door of the house. He then proceeded to kick the door with his foot.

"Counselor, open up! We got a big problem here!"

The door opened seconds later and Pam stood aside as a soaked Bill dragged and even more soaked and unconscious Ralph into the living room.

"Bill, what happened?" Pam asked, as he put Ralph on the couch.

Bill gave half a shrug. "The kid got zapped by lightning."

"Lightning?! Bill!" Pam exclaimed. She knelt down and placed a hand on Ralph's cheek. His mouth twitched, almost looking like he was trying to smile.

"Listen, Counselor, you know it as well as I do that it was sunny one second, the next it was pouring rain with thunder and lightning. Ralph did it. He changed the weather and either got so amazed by it or... something, that he ended up staying out in it while I took cover in the car. And he got zapped," Bill explained.

"How could he change the weather like that? As far as I know, he's never even tried anything like that before." Pam paused, then quirked an eyebrow. "Right, Bill?"

"He tried it today, but he wasn't trying very hard. Then the heat finally got to him and he put up a fit. Listen, Counselor, I need to go dry off before I get pneumonia or somethin'. I'd suggest you help the kid outta his jammies and get him dried off before something worse happens." With that, Bill left, slamming the door after him.

Pam glanced at Ralph, then nodded. "Right... towels, I need towels and dry clothes."

---------------

The evening into night was uneventful and long. Bill had returned in dry clothes and hung around a while, waiting to see if Ralph would come to. Shortly before midnight, BIll called it a night and told Pam he'd be back the next morning. Pam meanwhile made herself comfortable on an oversized chair in the corner of the room. She had a perfect view of Ralph to watch him easily. When Bill had returned, he told her about Ralph's shoulder, which Pam in turn told Bill she'd already figured out when she pulled the suit's tunic off and Ralph grimaced deeply. She'd wrapped an Ace bandage around it and put a heating pad on it, figuring the heat was better for it after being out in the rain.

Eventually, Pam fell asleep. And sometime after that, the rain stopped. Then Ralph finally stirred.

He blinked his eyes open. It was dark in the room, but he could easily tell it was his living room and that he was on the couch. He slowly moved to finger the heating pad on his shoulder. The shoulder throbbed. He frowned, thinking a moment. Ralph remembered the rain, watching the lightning between the clouds, then coming down... and striking him on the shoulder. He frowned. He wasn't sure why it didn't strike his head, instead, but decided not to think about that.

A quiet gasp caught his attention and he looked to his right, watching Pam return to his side. She clicked on the lamp and the end of the couch, just above where his head was. The sudden light caused him to flinch and shade his eyes.

"Sorry, hun," Pam apologized. "Oh, Ralph, I was so worried about you!"

"You were worried...?" Ralph gave a slight grin, his eyes finally beginning to adjust. He held a brief gaze into Pam's eyes, which suddenly widened. "What?"

Pam gasped, her mouth opening, but unable to get words out.

"Pamela, what's wrong?" Ralph asked.

Pam got up and disappeared into the bedroom. She returned with a handheld mirror and held it up so he could see his own face.

"I don't--" Ralph couldn't tear his gaze from his own eyes. It wasn't a pair of blue eyes staring back, however.

These eyes were a bright purple.

Ralph let out a breath and whispered, "Damn."

---------------

Bill let himself in the next morning. He stopped in the now-empty living room. "Ralph? Counselor?"

Ralph came out of the bathroom, wearing a robe and toweling his blond curls one-handed. The towel hung down past his eyes.

"Good to see you up and about, kid. How's the shoulder?"

"Sore," Ralph responded, shortly.

"Let me guess, you're mad at me," Bill said, folding his arms over his chest.

"And why not?" Ralph said from under his towel. "My shoulder aches and..." He pulled the towel from his head and glared at Bill with piercing purple eyes.

Bill's eyes widened. "Holy geez, Ralph!" He turned away from Ralph's glare, holding a hand up in front of him as if to shield his own eyes from a bright light.

"Bill, what the hell happened to my eyes?" Ralph exclaimed, pushing Bill's hand down.

"Musta had to do with the lightning strike. I don't know, kid!" Bill paused. "Do you have to look at me like that?"

Ralph didn't respond to that, instead, he tightened the grip he still held on Bill's arm.

"Yow! Kid you're gonna crush my arm--" Ralph eased up his grip and Bill glanced down, noting Ralph's bare feet and lower legs. "Uh, you're not..."

"...Wearing the suit." He shook his head. "Nope. Yet, I can still do everything that it allows me to."

It took a moment, then BIll grinned. "That's great! You won't have to worry about changing into the suit everytime we need it!"

"And that's fine," Ralph conceded, then amended, "but not if that means having purple eyes!"

"Well, what do you want me to do, Ralph? Go conjure up another thunder storm?" Bill said.

Ralph ran a hand through his damp curls. "I don't know." He paused. "I called in sick today. I couldn't go to school like this. They'd probably have me get tested for drugs or something." He paused again. "There's something else I can't figure out."

"What's that?"

"Why, if I have the suit's powers, can't I hardly move my arm?"

Bill moved closer and motioned to his arm. "You mind?"

"Just don't let it drop."

Even though Bill hadn't really done body injury checks since Korea, he still knew what was right and what was wrong, and there was definitely something wrong with Ralph's shoulder. "You gotta get a doc to check that out, kid. Best guess, I'd say it's separated."

"Go in there like this?" He pointed to his eyes with his good arm, then jerked his thumb to point behind him. "The doc would probably not even get past the color of my eyes. I'd probably end up locked up for examination and experiments. Neither of which is promising."

"What about the suit? Would that fix any of it?"

"Already tried it." Ralph shook his head. "No."

---------------

Later that morning at the Federal Building, Bill sat at his desk, on the phone. He had a couple file folders open and spread out in front of him. Ralph came in and made a bee-line for Bill's desk. He stopped, perching himself on a corner. Then he readjusted the dark sunglasses he wore. Several other agents in the room gave him odd looks. He turned away from them and toward Bill, who waved for him to wait.

"Alright, thanks," Bill hung up the phone and glanced up at Ralph. "Nice sunglasses, kid."

"Thank you, Uncle Bill," Ralph commented, sarcastically, then forced a grin.

Bill made an aggravated sound. "Listen, Ralph, I'm trying to help you out, here." He grabbed at one of the files. "And you're sitting on my paper work!" He gave it a tug, pulling it out from under him.

Ralph leaned over and looked at one of the other files. "Rare weather occurances. Freak thunderstorms..."

Bill clasped his hands together, resting on the desk. "That storm yesterday was a freak accident in timing."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Hmm." He glanced up and around at the other agents, some still looking in their direction. "Bill, can't we go discuss this at my house or your apartment? Somewhere more inconspicuous, or atleast with less people to overhear us and give me weird looks for wearing sunglasses indoors?"

"My apartment. I've got books and files there that might be useful." Bill closed up the files on his desk and shoved them into a briefcase.

Ralph stood. "Good."

---------------

Ralph hung up the phone and crossed the apartment to where Bill sat, mulling over reports and books. He flopped himself down on the battered couch, wincing slightly from jostling his injured shoulder too much.

Bill tapped the eraser-end of the pencil he held. He glanced up. "Counselor's on her way?"

Ralph nodded. "Yeah. She said she picked up something at the store that'll make me feel better. I'm not sure what she might've found, but it'd take a near miracle to make me feel better."

"You know, kid, I really hate seeing ya like this. Moping around and everything." He tapped the book with his pencil, "That's why I'm doing this egghead work."

Ralph motioned with his good arm. "It isn't so much getting struck by lightning that bothers me. I don't even care that the suit's powers have transfered directly to me. Heck, even atleast with wearing the suit I could cover it up in a not so obvious manner. It's my eyes that really bothers me. Or rather, the color that bothers me. I mean, I can see just fine, maybe even better than before. It's just the fact that they're... purple." He made a face.

"If only we had that instruction book. It'd probably have something in it about the transfer of the suit's powers and a tell-tale sign that they've been transfered." Bill reached over and grabbed a notebook, then flipped it open. "It goes right along with alot of the other more odd powers of the suit. Like the mind-push that gave you headaches."

"Yeah..." Ralph scratched at the back of his neck. "So, it's a choice between wearing the suit or having purple eyes? I want a third option if that's it."

A knock came at the door, followed by Pam's voice. "Bill? Ralph?"

"It's open, Counselor!" Bill called out, flipping the notebook closed.

Pam came in carrying a small brown-paper bag. She pushed the door closed then went to sit next to Ralph. She smiled and handed him the bag. "Here you go, hun. I hope this works."

"What--" Ralph opened the bag and peered into it, then tipped it over, letting a small box fall out onto his hand. His eyes widened slighty and he grinned. "Contacts... now why didn't I think of that?"

Pam tapped the box with an index finger. "They're colored. I'm pretty sure they'll do the trick." She looked him straight in the eyes. "Although... you know, Ralph, they aren't as bad as you think they are."

Ralph sighed. "But it isn’t my eye color and I’ve never personally seen anyone with this coloring..."

"It does exist, though," Bill spoke up, glancing at them from behind a two-page article he held. "Of course, it’s mostly found in women, but you ought to see the other qualities that come along with the color. Perfect vision, living over a hundred years, slow aging process..."

"Bill, stop, alright. This," he pointed at his eyes, "was a mistake. I think I’ll just wait for the next thunderstorm, then head out to the desert and stand around in it." He got up and headed off to the bathroom with the box in hand.

Bill waited a moment before commenting, "I’ve known the kid for over three years and I’d never guessed that something so trivial would send him overboard like this."

"Ralph’s just... upset. If what’s happened is going to remain with him, he’ll get used to it after a little while."

"You sure about that Counselor?"

"Almost."

---------------

That weekend, all three traveled back out to the desert. It was sunny, but cooler than earlier in the week, plus there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

The suit sat folded in its box in the back of Bill’s car. Bill stood, leaned against the car, arms folded, nodding approvingly.

"This still feels weird." Ralph’s voice came out of nowhere.

Pam shook her head. "I still can’t help but wonder how much of this had to do with the suit itself."

Ralph blinked visible. He now wore a sling on his injured arm. "Maybe the whole thing, who knows. Unfortunately, it might’ve been in the instruction book." Bill snorted and Ralph gave him a glare. "Perhaps I could attempt pyrokinesis next."

"I’d be careful with the car, Ralph, as it’s our only form of transportation at the moment for all three of us, plus the suit is in there," Bill said.

"Hmm..." Ralph glanced around. He stopped and focused on a smaller plant. He concentrated on it... and it began to smoke. A few seconds later, the plant burst into flames. Ralph tossed a grin over his shoulder. "And you were afraid for the car, Bill." He turned back to the plant, took in a deep breath, then blew the fire out. Looking around again, he subconsciously rubbed at his injured shoulder.

"There’s always flying," Bill said, knowing what the younger man was thinking about.

"Oh no, I don’t think that’s such a good idea," Pam said.

Ralph seemed to debate it. "The only thing keeping me from trying is that when I crash, I might land on my shoulder. It’s actually feeling better today and I really don’t want to tempt fate."

"Then maybe we could find out if you have any new powers," BIll suggested.

"Like what?" Ralph asked.

"Anything you can think of," Bill challenged, grinning.

"Alright..." Ralph thought for a moment, then matched Bill’s grin. He turned back to the already-charred plant and focused on it again. He blinked a few times before keeping wide and unblinking eyes on it. For a split second, Ralph could’ve sworn a hair-thin red light came from his eyes... and made a small explosion on the plant.

Bill’s eyes and grin couldn’t have gotten any wider. "Laser vision!"

Ralph scratched his head. "I-- wow."

"Oh dear," Pam said, chewing her lower lip.

"That was amazing!" Ralph said, now excited.

"Just think of all the wonderful Russian electronics you could blow up with those eyes," Bill said.

Ralph rolled his eyes, but he was still grinning. "Russian electronics? Bill, where do you come up with this stuff?" He chuckled.

Bill pushed off from his leaning spot and walked over to Ralph. "Kid, I’m serious. After seeing this display, I feel better about telling you what I’m about to tell you. It’s top secret gub’mint knowledge, very hush-hush, wrapped up, locked in a safe, in the deepest basement."

"Gee," Ralph grinned in Pam’s direction, "it must be important, then, huh?"

Bill made an annoyed sound. "Kid, I still think you have some type of head injury going on, too. Now can we all settle down and let me finish?"

"Okay, Bill, go right ahead," Ralph said, still grinning.

"Anyway, there’s atleast one gub’mint idea that’s been stolen by the Russians: virtual reality."

Ralph sobered. "Virtual reality? You mean like a realistic video game sort of thing?"

"The US Army was going to instate virtual reality as a way of getting troops in some ground work without actually going to war. It’s a great idea, I saw some of the plans. No one gets hurt, but it’s real enough to feel like the real thing. Thing is, the Russians found out and apparently created their own version," Bill explained.

"I don’t know, Bill..."

"Ralph, all you gotta do is vibe in on it, fly over there, zap it with those wonderful eyes of yours, and come right back. Simple," Bill said, his "I know you’ll help out" smirk appearing full force.

Ralph opened his mouth to respond, but Pam stopped him. "Bill, is that safe?"

"The kid’s practically indestructable, Counselor. Besides, if someone causes him trouble, then... he zaps them!" Bill said, as if it was the most obvious thing on earth.

"I can’t do that, Bill, you know that!" Ralph argued. "I’ll zap anything mechanical, but not another human being."

Bill sighed. "You’re gonna make my eyes water."

"Bill, I’m just worried that maybe this will wear off. Then what? I won’t have the suit, I’ll just be plain ol’ Ralph in the middle of who knows how many Russians with many deadly weapons."

"Then take the suit with you. Do I have to tell you everything?" Bill said. "Ralph, with the suit on, even if you don’t need it, you’ll be fine. They won’t be able to hurt you and zapping that machine couldn’t take very long. Come on, Ralph, do it for me. Do it for the gub’mint. Do it for your country." He gave him a smile that reminded Ralph of a politician blowing smoke.

But he conceded, anyway. "Alright, Bill. I’ll fly over there and take it out," Ralph said.

"Great! That’s wonderful, kid!" Bill clapped his unharmed shoulder.

"Maybe there is something to what you said about me possibly having a head injury, too..." Ralph sighed.

---------------

"This is crazy, Ralph, really crazy," Pam said, worriedly. She was leaning against the doorframe of their bedroom

Ralph fastened the cape around his neck, grabbed the small bag from the bed and went over to her. "Hun, I have the suit and I know exactly where the machine is. I’ll just go in, take it out, and then get myself out."

Pam gazed into his still-purple eyes. She could tell from the look in his eyes that he really did not like this scenario, but was indeed doing this, not just for them, but for the country. If he didn’t get that technology out of foreign hands...

"Be careful." Pam kissed his cheek and offered a small smile.

Ralph nodded. "I will. I’ll keep in contact with Bill best I can. I’m just not sure how well the communicators will work over such a long distance." He paused, then grinned. "Maybe we should introduce two cans tied with a string. That might work better than the communicator."

Pam gave a small chuckle. "It might."

"I’ve got to get going. I’ll be back as quickly as possible," Ralph said.

The couple walked together into the living room and through to the kitchen. Ralph stopped, hand on the knob of the kitchen door.

"I’ll be waiting," Pam said.

"I won’t be long." Ralph left the door way, leaving the door open purposely. He took three steps and shot up into the air, his flight path much straighter after much practice, though he still wobbled here and there.

Pam watched until she could no longer see him, but still remained in the doorway.

The front door opened and Bill came in. He went into the kitchen and stopped beside Pam. "Lookit him go."

All Pam could say was, "Hm."

---------------

Ralph flew non-stop until he reached the military base that held the Russians’ version of the virtual reality machine. Unfortunately, he crash landed in the greenery just outside the base. He lifted his head up from the ground and shook it, clearing the cobwebs. He moved to push up, but his injured arm gave out and he fell back down.

"Great, just great..." Ralph muttered, then pushed himself up again, this time with his good arm. Standing, he brushed himself off, then snuck his way into the wide-open base. He couldn’t help but be amazed at how stereotypical the base was.

There were two watch towers, one at each end of the base. All of the "houses" looked like overgrown tents with their cloth roofs and wooden sides. Ralph sighed, then bowed his head. A second later, he blinked invisible and continued on his way. He wasn’t sure which of the "buildings" held the technology, but he was sure to check each one until he found it.

Before going into the first one, he stopped at one of the walls and placed both palms flat on the wood and concentrated, trying to determine if he could vibe in on whatever was inside. For several of these "buildings," he received the same vibe of only humans and various inanimate objects inside.

The next "building," however, gave Ralph some incredible vibes. He could feel them without placing his palms on the wall. Instead, he opted to go right inside. There was one armed guard, a man with a rifle. But Ralph was amazed at the machine that held the virtual reality technology. It was basically a huge computer, kind of like an overgrown arcade game. He walked up to it and placed one hand on it. He got a vibe from it. It was an image of himself flying. He made a face, not understanding why he saw that. Curious, Ralph placed his other hand on the machine and received a jolt.

The jolt knocked Ralph down, completely visible. Unharmed, he pushed himself up with his good arm and glanced around. Something felt weird about his surroundings. He bowed his head and blinked invisible again, then left the building, intending to come back. The base outside still looked the same... until he saw a grenade go flying into one of the buildings, causing an explosion. Then another, and another...

Ralph watched a jeep come barreling through the base, a young man driving and another slightly older man throwing the grenades. It was the second man that caught Ralph’s attention. His eyes widened as the jeep came closer and he noticed the other man’s curly hair. Despite the fact that the man looked as if he’d been through mud half dozen times, his curly hair matted to his head, and wild look on his face... Ralph knew that face. It was his face.

The jeep came to a stop right in front of where Ralph stood, still invisible. His double jumped out of the jeep and heaved a grenade into the building where Ralph had been moments prior. He watched as men armed to the teeth came running out, shooting for all their worth at the two men with the jeep. But the two men held their ground, cutting through the rifle-armed men.

Ralph rubbed at his eyes, disbelievingly. The only explanation he could come up with was that he was visiting a virtual reality. His reverie was broken upon hearing a yell. The younger man in the jeep had been shot and Ralph’s double returned to check on him. Ralph’s eyes widened, noticing a sniper appear in one of the towers, despite it being on fire. The sniper took aim and fired...

Ralph’s fists clenched at his sides, once again standing in front of the virtual reality machine. His eyes began to glow and the same red beam shot out, hitting the machine. It exploded and knocked the guard to the ground, unconscious. Ralph remained still, fists still clenched, an angry look on his face. After a few seconds, he began to shake and the anger faded. He realized he was back in reality and that he had indeed gotten rid of the stolen tehcnology. He stared a moment at the charred metal, then gave a slight smile.

---------------

"...And that’s what happened." Ralph paused, glancing at the looks on Pam’s and Bill’s faces. Both were wide-eyed and slackjawed. All three were gathered in the Hinkleys’ living room.

Bill shook his head. "What you just described sounds like it came straight outta Korea!"

Ralph thought for a brief moment. "Actually, it felt more like Vietnam--"

"That was really scary, Ralph. I mean, he looked just like you?" Pam said.

Ralph nodded. "He could’ve been my identical twin, except he looked a few years older." He shrugged. "I just attributed it to the virtual realty."

Bill cleared his throat. "But their version is gone now, that’s what matters." He paused. "Good job, kid."

"Well, thank you, Uncle Bill," Ralph said, smiling.

"So, I guess your powers didn’t give out on you, then," Pam said.

"Nope., and my eyes are still purple. You know, now that I think about it, it isn’t that bad. I don’t know, I guess I was just unhappy with the sudden change. I will be using the contacts, though. There are still some places that I don’t want to go with purple eyes. School is one of them."

"We deal with it, then. Catalogue it and put it in the archives," Bill stating, reaching for the box of Milkbones.

"I’ll say one thing: this is going to be a very interesting quirk with the suit. Or, in this case, without the suit," Ralph commented.