3. Translucent

3.3 – Translucent

Teaser:

Fi: Remember that model I found? Remember it was the cellular structure of an alien meteorite? Or what I thought it was anyway. But it was also a model of our solar system. Now is this just a coincidence, like a scientific property, or was it more than that? Was it supposed to be like that? Was there another purpose...one we haven't thought of yet? Was Jack right? Is it a roadmap for aliens...or something else?

<September 13> "So...Br+OH=..." Fi reads out of a science book. "Broh?" Jacks finishes. "Ha ha," Fi laughs. Ned walks onto the bus and says, "Don't laugh, you guys. Jack was very close." "Really?" Jack asks. "Yeah...remember those formulas I gave you before," Ned says. "Oh yeah!" Fi says and starts flipping through her notebook. "Thanks Mr. B!" Jack says. "No problem," he laughs, and goes to get off, but Clu runs on. "Hi dad! Bye dad!" he says, rushing past him. "Woah, Clu!" Ned says. He stops, "Yeah dad?" "How about your homewo...oh, that's right, you're in college. I forgot...sorry!" Ned says. "No sweat, dad!" he says, and runs into the back. Ned shakes his head and walks off.

The bus drives down the road (it's same bus as seasons 1 and 2, no redecorating or name change). Molly and Irene are alone in the cab with Ned driving up front. "So...how ya doing?" Irene asks. "OK, I guess, why?" Molly asks. "Well, you always get...kinda depressed around this time of the year," Irene says. "I know..." Molly sighs. "Could it be...your anniversary coming up in three days?" Irene asks. Molly takes another deep sigh. "It's...just...so depressing...so know it's your anniversary, to celebrate it...yet have no one to celebrate it with," Molly says. "Aw, cheer up Moll," Irene says, "You've got us!" "Thanks, Irene, but...it's just not the same," Molly says. Irene smiles a knowingly smiles, "That's alright," and they hug.

That night, the bus is parked in a hotel parking lot, and everyone is asleep in their room. Then lightning and thunder start to come. A lightning bolt hits the bus, and it lights up like a lightbulb. After it stops, a little piece of something is glowing on top of the bus.

"Dang!" Ned yells the next morning. "What's wrong Mr. B?" Fi asks. "The bus won't start!" he says. "What's wrong honey?" Irene asks, looking out the window at the sunny sky, but the wet ground. "Everything! I turn the key and nothing happens! No lights, no nothing!" he says. "Ned! We have to be at my first gig in two hours! It takes that long just to get there!" Molly says, looking up from her book. "Here...let me try," Carey says. "Alright, son," Ned says and sighs, and stands up. "Oh, no need dad," Carey says. He gets off the bus and goes around to a hatch in the side of the bus. He opens it and there's alot of switches. Carey switches a few of them, and closes the lid. "Try it now, dad!" Carey yells. Ned turns the key, and it works! "Carey, man, how'd you do that?" Clu asks, getting off. "Remember that science project I did on the bus? Well, that was it...I rerouted the wires so if something happened, we could just rewire it until we got the a garage to get a new battery or something," Carey says. "Cool," Jack says. "Well, let's go!" Molly says out the window. Everyone runs on and they pull out of the hotel.

"I don't believe I have window duty the first time!" Fi complains outside the club. "Don't worry, honey," Molly says, "It won't take long." She kisses her forehead and walks inside. "Grrr..." Fi moans and starts wiping. Inside, Molly walks around, looking at the play in awe. "This place is really nice," she says. Irene, who is right behind her, says, "Yeah...nice...quiet and serene." Suddenly, Jack, Clu and Carey run behind them, making lots of noise. "Until them," Ned smiles, walking up to Molly and Irene. "Are the roadies here Ned?" Molly asks. "Yeah, they're unloading the truck," Ned says. "Good," Molly says, and walks around some more.

Fi is cleaning the top of the windows, when she notices something on the roof. She looks around and crawls up on top of it. She walks on her hands and knees to get to it, and finds that it's a piece of something and it's glowing. She picks it up, and goes back down onto the ladder she was on to clean the windows. "Hey Fi!" Jack yells, and Fi, startled, falls back. Jack runs to catch her, and does. "Fi, what were you doing?" he asks. "Just getting something," Fi says. "What?" Jack asks. Fi shows him the piece of something. "A...a...what is it?" Jack asks. "I don't know," Fi says. "Well, anyway, mom wanted me to tell you to take a break...come watch her practice," Jack says. "OK...I'll be there in a minute," Fi says. "OK," Jack says and runs inside. Fi walks onto the bus and places the piece of something on her desk. Then she looks over at a few pictures of her father. She touches them, and whispers, "Let this tour be good." Then she runs off.

"...She gave up chasing that hit single, why should she work so hard? When she can write one catchy jingle..." "Have you seen this place?" Clu asks everyone else. "What about it, Clu?" Jack asks. "Aw, man, you HAVE to see it! It's huge!" Clu says. Everyone else looks around and just from where they're standing, they can see it's big. "Um, yeah Clu. Big," Carey says. "Ye-ah!" Clu says. "Mom's sounding better everyday," Fi says. "Yeah...Molly really has been practicing for this tour," Irene says. "What's so special about it, though?" Jack asks. Irene sighs, "I think...it's just the album, worrying about you, dear(looking at Fi)...just everything, really." "Me?" Fi asks. "Oh, I'm sorry honey, it's just...she's...really worried about you," Irene says. "Oh," Fi says. "Then maybe you shouldn't show her that rock, or whatever it is," Clu says. "How did you find out about that?" Fi asks. "Jack told me," Clu says. Fi looks at Jack, and he just kinda turns away. "What? What rock?" Ned asks. "Oh, Fi found it on top of the bus," Carey says. "How did everyone find out?!" Fi asks. "Jack," Clu and Carey say together. Jack doesn't look at Fi. Fi just laughs, and turns to the table. She takes her laptop out of her case and boots it up. "Fi's So Weird Webpage" appears. Fi clicks on "Search" and types in "clear rock." "Searching...Please Wait." "Ready to try the new one?" Fi hears Molly says. "Sure," the band says, and starts playing. "Well I can't sleep at night, and my days are like a dream. I feel you holding me tight, I try to remember, can't fight! Tell me, what you do, what you do. with you voodoo? What you do, put a spell on me..." Fi finds a site on alien meteorites. She mouths the words, "Again?" She opens it and it takes her to lots of pictures. She scrolls down. "...When you let go of your sight, then nothing is what it seems. I see the end of the light, I try to run, using all my might! Ooh, ooh. Ooh, Ooh..." She finds one of a clear metal, rumored to be originated in outerspace. She clicks on it, and it takes her to a page about it. She pulls out her portable printer and prints it off, then runs out of the club onto the bus. "...With you voodoo? What you do, with a spell on me. What you do, what you do, with you voodoo. What're you doing to me?"

Fi takes the rock out from under her bed. Suddenly, her eyes get big as the metal starts to flash. She drops it, and it stops. She picks it up and looks at it. She carefully puts it down on the desk. She reads the paper, "The metal is thought to be from a planet unknown, as we know as Planet X. It is composed of cobalt in its natural state, alloyed with iron, nickel, an unknown gas, and an unknown liquid! Since cobalt does not exist in its natural form on Earth, it is from someplace else, but samples from all 9 known planets don't match up with this, so its from a UNKNOWN planet. It's uses, or how it works, if it does, is still being tested." Fi looks at the metal. She runs back into the club to get her laptop.

"...But I come out on the other side of Paradise!..." "Where'd you go Fi?" Jack whispers to her. "Oh, just to get..." Fi starts, but then Jack rips the paper off of her, "Hey!" "Oh no, Fiona, not this!" Jack groans. "Jack! It's my business, so stay out of it!" Fi says, grabs her laptop, and storms out. "Good going, man," Clu says. Jack gives him a look and he backs away.

On the bus, she goes to "*.* People Search." She gets there and types in "Mansfield, San Francisco, CA." "Searching...Please Wait." "One Match," Fi reads and clicks on it. "Arlene Mansfield, widow. See husband's website Here." Fi clicks on "Here," and it takes her to a page about the alien meteorite HE found. "Site managed by Arlene Mansfield," Fi reads, "This picture is a detailed drawing of the meteorite my husband found." Fi looks at it, then reads on, "The cellular structure is arranged in a way that it resembles the solar system as we know it, the first 9 planets in orbit around the sun. His collegues are working to get more information out about this meteorite fragment. Until then, it is top secret." Fi looks at her piece of metal. "So I know it's metal, and its from another planet. I just have to know its structure, and others will take it from there," Fi smiles and walks off the bus.

That night, everyone is in their hotel rooms. Fi, Jack, and Ned are sharing a room. "So you think that this metal is some kind of alien fossil, again?" Jack asks. "Why do you care?" Fi asks. "Woah, woah. Let's hold the fighting until later! I want to get some sleep!" Ned jokes. "He's right. Let's hit the sack," Jack says. "Yeah," Fi says, glaring at Jack. She places the metal on the table between the beds, then turns over to fall asleep. "Thanks for turning the light off!" Jack says, in the other bed, and reaches over to turn it off. His hand slips and lands on the metal. As soon as he touches it, he sees his castle, and zooms into it. He walks down the hallway and opens the door. This time, he sees a king or someone in high power sitting on a royal throne. As soon as Jack walks on the carpet leading to the throne, he comes back to reality. "Jack? Jack? You alright?" Fi and Ned are asking. He shakes his head. "Yeah...I'm...fine," he says, breathing heavily. "You sure you're alright?" Ned asks. "Ye...yeah. Night," Jack says. "Good night," Ned says and goes back to his sleeping bag on the floor. Jack lays down too. Fi just looks at the metal. It's flashing, faintly, and it was flashing while Jack was touching it. "Weird..." Fi says, turns off the light, and goes to sleep.

The next day, Molly looks at a picture of Rick on the bus. "Hey mom," Fi says, walking into the community room from the back. "Oh, hey baby," Molly says. "Mom...I know what today is," Fi says. "Y...you do?" Molly says. "Yeah...the 12th anniversary of daddy's death," Fi says, shakily. Molly laughs a little, "I...wouldn't call it an anniversary," she looks at Fi, then says, "Come here." They hug, as they both think about Rick.

"Welcome to the Sheraton Club, everyone! Tonight, we have a very talented singer and her band, it's Molly Phillips!" the announcer says. Molly runs on stage, "Thank you, everyone! As you may or may not know, this is a comeback tour for me, and a little while ago, I quit it. But times change," Molly smiles at Fi backstage, "And I'm back!" The crowd cheers and goes wild as the band starts to play.

Well I can't sleep at night

And my days are like a dream

I feel you holding me tight

I try to remember

Can't fight

Tell me

What you do

With you voodoo

What you do

Put a spell on me

What you do

With you voodoo

What're you doing to me

When you let go of your sight

Then nothing is what it seems

I see the end of the light

I try to run

Using all my might

Ooh

Tell me

What you do

With you voodoo

What you do

With a spell on me

What you do

With you voodoo

What're you doing to me

When you take preparations

And they don't work at all

You're pushin' to make it in

I try to work

Under the min.

Tell me

What you do

With your voodoo

What you do

With a spell on me

What you do

With you voodoo

What're you doing to me

Ooh

What you do

With your voodoo

What you do

With your spell on me

What you do

With you voodoo

What're you doing to me

The crowd goes even wilder, as Molly announces that "Origami" is next. Fi is backstage, online, now. She prints out a page about her metal. "Natural cobalt, iron, nickel, and two unknowns," she reads. She writes all that she has:

Then she remembers more notes that Ned gave her, "You cannot have two unknown substances in a chemical formula, because it is impossible to deduce what they are and in what amounts." Fi smiles, and goes to "www.scienceplease.com." She e-mails them, "I have an unknown substance. Maybe you can help me. I am sending it to you within the next few days. It is a clear-white color, and it flashes." "Message sent." "They won't believe you!" Clu says. Fi whirls around, startled. He smiles, "They won't, but just between me and you," he bends down to her, "I do." Fi smiles and laughs. He smiles and laughs to, and Fi hugs Clu. He's surprised at first, but then hugs back. Jack looks over, and frowns. "...And ended up with ten thousand me’s! When you met me you said I was ice. You said you were the one to thaw me..."

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