Chapter 11

Jones came into the diner. He saw the group sitting in a booth on the far wall. They were talking and laughing. Joe reminded him a lot of his own teenage son. The host sat him in a booth not to far from theirs. He thought he would be sick again when he thought about what those gunmen could have done to them. They were just innocent victims. “What was Strone thinking?” he wondered.

Joe felt his stomach grumble slightly as they waited for the food to come over. While the food was worth the wait, today he was hungrier than usual. He also had a slight headache which he hoped wouldn’t become a migraine. When he looked at Frank, he saw a look of deep worry that troubled him. When Frank worried, he didn’t sleep. Joe remembered when he was home from the hospital after being shot, Frank would stay up for often days at a time, making sure he was breathing OK.

“OK, since you guys know how to do this, how are we going to track down my brothers?” Dan asked, after a sip of soda.

“We can go back to our place and regroup. I want to see what my dad has found,” Frank said.

“Think we should?” Joe asked, looking right at Frank, “Mom might be home.”

Dan sighed. He had already gotten the brothers in trouble with their father. He didn’t want to add any more tension.

“She’s going to find out sooner or later. I’d rather she knew then that way if something does happen she won’t panic,” Frank answered.

“It’s a good thing she’s in public places with her job.” Joe pointed out, “She’ll be safer there than around any of us.”

“Think that’d work?” Staci asked. “That guy attacked the school which is a public university.”

“That’s only because he was trying to get to me. The more I move around the less chance there is of an innocent bystander getting hurt,” Dan replied.

They stopped when the waitress brought their food to the table. The food looked delicious, and they hungrily ate everything they had ordered. The waitress brought over baskets of freshly made rolls along with butter, and salad. Joe passed around the basket of rolls before taking two for himself. He tried some of the delicious honey butter with the warm rolls. Each brought slowly brought him out of the intense hunger that had hit him since leaving the fields. He wondered if using his new gifts would always leave him this hungry.

“Dan, will I always get this hungry? I’m afraid I’ll gain a lot of weight,” Joe asked after a bite of his burger.

Dan shook his head. “No. You’re just replenishing the energy supply you lost. You’ll never gain a lot because you’ll burn it just as fast. That’s why you’re going to have to watch how long and how intensely use them. You might put yourself into a coma if you burn too much.”

Frank shuddered at the word coma. Too often he had seen his little brother in such a state. It was something he had vowed he’d never see again. He took a gulp of soda from his glass to wash away the lump that had risen. He didn’t want his brother to see him worrying. He glanced over and was relieved to see Joe was paying more attention to his food then what had just happened. The others were too involved in the conversation to notice.

Jones watched them from his table. He had deliberately ordered appetizers and a big meal so he could watch them as long as it took. He didn’t think he could eat after nearly witnessing a massacre. He had heard Mr. Strone’s orders over the phone. He was already angry that his men had failed. He knew that one more mess up, and Mr. Strone’s real anger would come through. He wondered what they were talking about. He couldn’t help but notice how much they looked like a group of friends just sharing a good dinner with each other.

Cliff had the strange feeling that they were being watched. He swallowed a bite of mashed potatoes, trying to ignore it.

Soon the food was finished and they ordered some dessert. They enjoyed sampling each others order. They exchanged funny stories about events that had happened on the Kane campus. They finished up and after paying the bill, left the diner in better spirits then what they had came in with.

Jones had already finished up and paid his bill. He waited for them to leave before getting into his own car. It didn’t take him long to find them again. He followed them at a distance to make sure that he wasn’t spotted.

Fenton Hardy sighed as he leaned back in his office chair. It had been another long day of information gathering. His friend at the state health department had given him boxes of files that were all on the violations they had filed against Strone Enterprises. They ranged from unsafe lighting to improper disposal of hazardous wastes. He had tried to get in touch with Molder but had reached dead ends. It was as if Molder didn’t exist. None of his contacts had ever heard of him. The Internet didn’t provide anything. He even checked the local morgues but that search had proven fruitless. A knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts. He went to open it. To his surprise, Molder was standing at the door. His face looked like he had been beaten!

Frank kept an eye on the rear-view mirror. Something kept telling him that they were being followed. It wasn’t a clear message, just a feeling. Every time he looked in the rear-view mirror, all he saw were different headlights. They still had about forty minutes to go before they got home. He felt better now that he was filled with food and somewhat relieved that everyone was feeling better. His father was going to hit the ceiling when they explained what had happened today.

“Molder, what happened?” Fenton asked, as he helped him into the house.

“I don’t know. Just a bunch of guys came out of nowhere…” he started to say.

“What.” Fenton stopped him before he could say anything else. “Come down to my office.”

He took Molder to his office and made him sit down in a chair. Grabbing a first-aid kit, he opened it and tried to treat Molder’s wounds. He looked like he had been in a bad fight… the losing end of a bad fight.

“What happened?” Fenton demanded.

“It happened just after I left your house. I had walked for about five minutes to where I had parked my car. Several guys jumped me and put a hood over my head. I felt nothing but pain. The next thing I knew I was tied up in a room. All I knew was pain for the next couple of days. They wanted me to tell them about my nephew,” Molder explained.

“Dan? That’s impossible he’s barely been here a week,” Fenton remarked as he dabbed at one of Molder’s cuts with an antiseptic.

“I know. I kept telling him that. Who could have known about him? We were so careful,” Molder said.

“Strone,” Fenton moaned as he put a small bandage on Molder’s face.

“Who?” Molder asked as he winced from the applied pressure.

“Mr. Strone, from Strone enterprises. He called me on a new case. He wants me to find Dan,” Fenton explained.

“How did he know?” Molder demanded.

“He refused to say. I don’t know how he found out. The point is that is does know. You’re nephew is in danger,” Fenton told him as he closed the lid on the first-aid kit. And so are my sons.

“I know, it won’t be hard to convince him to keep moving around it’s…” Molder started to say.

“I know.” Fenton interrupted him, “It’s convincing my sons to stay away from him that will be hard to do.”

Frank pulled the van into the driveway of their house. While it was a long trip, he was also becoming tired, and the idea of bed sounded great. He looked around but didn’t see his mother’s car. It was a small relief because it meant there was more time to figure out how they were going to explain all of this to her. Joe was at the door first and noticed it had been left open. Staci closed her eyes, but couldn’t detect any cold coming from the house. They entered to hear voices coming from Fenton’s office. While their guests settled into the living room, the brothers went to see if their father was OK. They were both surprised to see Molder sitting in the chair.

“What happened?” Frank asked, coming over to get a closer look at Molder.

“Boys we have to talk,” Fenton told them, putting away the first-aid kit.

“That we do,” Joe said, coming to stand next to his brother.

Molder looked through his good eye at the two of them. “Something happened, didn’t it?”

Fenton looked up when they didn’t answer right away. He knew something had gone down, something bad. Short of locking his sons in their room, he didn’t know how he was going to stop them from investigating.

“I think you better come upstairs, Dan’s waiting and so are the others,” Joe said.

“Dan’s here?” Molder asked.

Molder got up out of his chair and ran out of the office. The brothers followed after him. Dan was shocked when he saw his badly injured uncle storm into the living room.

“Uncle Molder, what happened?” Dan asked, getting up.

“Don’t worry about me. Are you OK?” he asked.

“We had a couple problems but we’re OK. What happened to you? What’s wrong?” Dan asked, trying to get his uncle to calm down.

“They know you’re here. Strone knows you’re here,” Molder said in one breath.

“Strone? As in Strone Enterprises?” Frank asked.

“How do you know about Strone?” he heard his father ask as he came into the room.

“Strone Enterprises makes a lot of computer hardware, software, and games. There’s a rumor going around in the chatrooms that his company is going to release the most advanced VR game to date,” Frank explained.

“VR?” Fenton asked as he sat down on a chair.

“Virtual Reality.” Frank answered, “It’s a game where you actually think you’re moving and talking inside of a video game. The first few versions leave a lot of gaps in the vision so the player always knows it’s fake. The version Strone is coming out with supposedly seals the gaps and gives the player a true sense of being in the game.”

“What would he want with me?” Dan asked, trying to take everything in.

“I don’t know. But I promised your parents I’d protect you. I’ve got to keep you moving around,” Molder told him.

“Just wait a minute. You’re not doing anything without any of us. We’re involved in this just as much as you are,” Frank said, looking directly at Molder.

“No you’re not,” Fenton said, standing up.

“What?” Joe demanded.

“You heard me. You’re not helping. From this moment on I want you to forget everything that happen and let Dan leave with his uncle,” Fenton told them.

Frank and Joe were shocked. There father had never ordered them off a case before, let alone nearly demand that they stop helping someone.

“You can’t tell us not to help him,” Frank told him.

Joe was shocked. He couldn’t believe that his brother being defiant towards his father. Something had definitely changed in him.

“I’m your father, and I’m ordering you off the case,” Fenton said, looking directly at him.

“Look I don’t want to start a family argument. We already had enough trouble for one day,” Dan said, trying to defuse the situation.

“What happened?” he demanded.

Joe sighed and him the whole story. He hesitated but didn’t leave out any details. The last thing they needed was their father to get angrier than he already was. He still couldn’t understand why he was being so protective.

“I’m telling you. All of you, that I don’t want my sons working on this case any more. I don’t care who can do what, or who has what crystal. I don’t care anymore. I want all of you to stay away from my sons!” Fenton yelled.

“What’s all the screaming for?” another voice said.

They turned to see Laura standing near the front door. She was wearing her red-cross disaster aid clothes, and her shirt was stained with ashes.

“I could hear you screaming all the way in the street. What’s going on?” she demanded.

For a moment no one could say anything. The story was so bizarre at first that even they didn’t know how to explain it so it would make sense. Molder was shocked. He had seen the pretty woman before. His brother had shown him a picture of her before he left. He didn’t say who she was, only that she was connected with everything.

“Mrs. Hardy, it’s a long story, and I’m sure you’re tired,” Molder said.

“I’ve got plenty of energy. And have you had a doctor look at those wounds, I think they might be infected,” Laura said, coming closer to him.

“I’m fine,” Molder assured her.

“Honey you better sit down. We’ve got a lot to talk about,” Fenton told her.

After she had changed and Frank had made her some tea, she settled into a chair. The others talked patiently amongst themselves while Laura settled in.

It would take the better part of two hours to explain the whole situation to her. When they were over, she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was going to take her sons away. She looked over at Dan. She could understand why her sons wanted to help him. She couldn’t understand why her husband was so adamant about her sons staying off the case.

“I still don’t understand. Why my sons? Don’t others have the same gifts as you?” she asked Dan.

Dan quietly sighed. “I know they do, but not like Frank and Joe do. They have more. They’re special.”

“Dan, we really need to keep you moving around. We should get going,” Molder told him.

“We’re going with you,” Joe said.

“You are not. You are my sons, I’m telling you what to do,” Fenton said, getting very close to him.

Staci had sent the others a mental message that they should wait outside before the argument grew any worse. They waited outside, but Fenton’s raised voice could still be heard.

“Dad, please don’t go any closer to him,” Frank told him.

“You two are my children and you’ll do as I say,” Fenton said, walking closer to him.

Joe got between his father and his brother. “Leave my brother alone.”

“Or you’ll what? I want you two go to your rooms, NOW. I’ll deal with this,” Fenton ordered the two of them.

For some reason Frank felt that Fenton wasn’t a man he had to listen to. That somehow he wasn’t his father. But how could he think that way? Of course, Fenton was his father.

“Dad, we’ve got to help. You can’t expect us to stand aside,” Joe tried to tell him.

“I’m you’re father, and I say who you can and can’t help,” Fenton told him.

“Dad, don’t make us hurt you. But we will if we have to. We have to help Dan. There’s no other way out of it,” Frank told him.

Fenton seethed. He grabbed Joe by the arm and tried to pull him upstairs. Joe, in a blind panic by the sudden move, grabbed his father’s wrist and suddenly his father let go holding his wrist in pain. Frank’s eyes opened wide. His brother had actually delivered an electrical shock. The brothers didn’t waste any time. They ran upstairs and threw some stuff in duffel bags before leaving the house with Dan and Molder in tow. They refused to say anything about what had happened.

Laura could only cry. She cried for the fact that her sons had run away. She had cried for the fact that she feared her sons might be lost forever. Fenton slightly cursed himself. Here had had been worried that someone was going to take his sons away. He should have been more worried about his own temper. He had driven his own sons away!

In his office, Mr. Strone smiled to himself. He had heard the entire argument on the speakers of his computer. Fenton Hardy had played right into his hands. He knew all it would take was a threat against his sons to get Fenton Hardy’s temper going. Now, he had done all the work for him. Now his sons were on the run with Dan. All of them were now together.

“Dan, now you’re like a scared cat running loose,” Strone thought to himself. “The crystal will be mine.”

As a storm settled in, Laura could only snuggle closer in a blanket as she stared out the window. Time had moved so fast. She remembered how the doctor’s had told her she could never get pregnant. Then all it had taken was a wish on a shooting star for her to get pregnant not once but twice. The doctors were all mystified at how she could have had a baby, let alone two healthy ones. It didn’t matter. Frank and Joe were her sons. She looked over at her husband who had given up pacing and sat on the sofa.

“Fenton, why aren’t you going after our sons?” she asked.

“I’ll track them down. I have a tracker on their van, but not now. Not yet,” Fenton said.

“Why?” Laura demanded.

Fenton sighed. “Because what Joe did scared me.”

Chapter 12

Frank continued driving the van. He had no idea where they were going, only that they had to get out of there. None of the others questioned what had happened. They had heard Fenton’s angry voice, followed by a cry of pain. Dan and Molder had come outside a few minutes later. When Sunray asked what was going on, Dan couldn’t answer him. A few minutes after that, the brothers came out with duffel bags strapped around there backs. They climbed into the van and drove off. Now that it had started to rain, Frank didn’t know what to do.

“Frank, let’s go to my house,” Staci said.

“I can’t risk you getting hurt,” Frank told her.

“I have to take care of Boomer. Besides, my dad is working the late shift, and doesn’t mind when I have people sleep over. At least we can form a plan there,” she suggested.

Frank sighed but knew she was right. Both he and his brother were now running on emotions. They had to calm down to figure out what to do. The rain was now coming in torrents with howling winds. Staci had started to worry when it had started to thunder. Boomer was a fearless dog, but preferred that she was home with him when in was storming. Frank didn’t say anything and neither had the others.

When they arrived at Staci’s house, Frank was relieved when he didn’t see Mr. Rivera’s police cruiser in front of the house. Even over the rain they could hear Boomer’s howling. Staci got out and opened the door. They gave her a few minutes to calm him down before letting everyone else in. They took off their wet jackets and shoes, leaving them near the coat rack. While they settled down into the living room, Staci fed Boomer and let him out back. After coming back in, she dried him off and he returned to the living room to enjoy all the attention from the new people.

“Look guys.” Dan said, looking directly at Frank and Joe, “I’m sorry I got you in trouble with your dad. I should have just left, instead I made everything worse.”

Frank waved his hand to stop him. “Don’t bother. It wasn’t your fault. I’ve never seen my father act that way. He knows the type of danger we’ve faced in working on cases before, but this is the first time he’s ever ordered us off a case.”

“Yeah it was strange.” Joe agreed, “Dad was angry that we were trying to help. That’s the first he’s ever threatened to lock us in our rooms.”

“I could feel a lot of hidden anger in him. Did he give you a clue as to what he was really angry at?” Staci asked.

Boomer came and put his head in her lap. She gently stroked him behind his ears.

Frank sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I don’t know what’s bothering him. But it was more than anger I saw in him. He was scared of something.”

Joe stared at his brother. If there was one thing that he had never seen in his dad was fear. When he thought back to the argument he and his brother had had with their father, he remembered that look in his father’s eyes. For one brief instant he thought he saw fear.

“How could you be afraid of your own child, Fenton?” Laura demanded, looking right at him.

Fenton didn’t look at her. His gaze went to the floor. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” she scowled, looking right at him.

“I’m scared someone will take them away,” Fenton said in a small voice.

“What?” she said, her tone dropping.

He looked up at her, tears in his eyes. “I’m scared someone’s going to take them away, and we’ll never get them back.”

Laura hugged him. She understood his anger, because she had the same feelings too. But taking his anger out on their sons wasn’t helping. Something was going to happen.

“Something’s going to happen, Fenton, and it’s making me worry,” Laura admitted.

He hugged her back. “I have that feeling too. But as long as I have one breath left, no one is going take our sons away. I promise you that.”

As thunder clashed overhead, Laura turned her gaze outside, to the rain that was pounding at the window. She wished with all her heart that she could believe him. She closed her eyes and tried not to cry. She felt Fenton’s strong arms around her, trying to offer her support. She cried into his shirt, trying desperately to believe that her sons weren’t going to leave her.

“I promise you, they will not leave,” Fenton replied.

When she didn’t reply, he knew that he was going to have to convince himself first. He took a deep breath and helped her to the couch so she could stretch out. He stroked her hair and remembered how he loved to just sit with her and stroke the long silky strands. The thunder continued crashing, yet the house remained silent. He shuddered to think what the house would be like without Joe running from one end to the other. What it would be like without Frank yelling at him to turn down the music. No! No one was going to take his sons away. Whoever was going to try to do that had just signed their death warrant.

Frank had explained some of the various ways he and his brother use to Dan. He was impressed by their knowledge and hoped that they could find his brothers before Strone did. Staci had called her father to let him know that she was well protected and didn’t need to stay out of town.

“Do you think Strone knows about my brothers?” Dan asked, as he settled back into his chair.

“I don’t think so. The attacks started after you arrived. He’s waiting for you to find them. That’s when he’s going to strike,” Frank said.

“Why? I mean why not attack now?” Sunray asked.

“He will attack.” Joe added, “What he wants is for all of Dan’s brothers to be together at one time. That way there won’t be anyone coming for him later.”

“So why not leave the brothers alone? If that’s going to draw Strone out, why risk it?” Staci suggested as Boomer had fallen asleep at her feet.

Dan sighed. “Because my mother wants me to find them. She wanted me to have the family that I never did. She died in the hope that I’d be able to live normally. Once I find my brothers, I can have all the powers turned off until the time is needed to turn them back on.”

“Well, that will ease their minds over at Kane.” Sunray said, “So what do you want to do now?”

“Let’s see about getting sleep. We’re all tired and it’s not good to investigate in the storm,” Frank suggested.

Staci handed out sleeping bags and pillows to her new guests. She let Boomer out for one last time before locking the doors. She didn’t mind having guests over. She hated being the only one in the house besides her dog. She made a sandwich for Molder who gratefully accepted the food. Frank tended to Molder’s arm wounds before they went to sleep.

When they decided to go to bed, Laura left the living room and back porch light on. The storm had not let up, and she grew more worried with each hour that passed. When she started crying, Fenton held onto her until she couldn’t cry any more. She reluctantly walked upstairs with her husband. She had wanted to stay up until her sons came home but was tired to the point that she couldn’t keep her eyes open. Fenton was already in bed by the time she laid down. They hadn’t spoken since she finished crying.

“They’ll come back,” Fenton said as Laura tried to get warm under the covers.

“You think they will? They were pretty mad when they left,” Laura quietly replied.

Fenton wrapped his arms around her. “If they don’t I’ll find them,” Fenton said.

“What if you can’t? They can go anywhere,” Laura quietly said, a tear rolling down her cheek.

“I’ll find them.” Fenton promised her, “Even if they go to the opposite ends of the Earth, I’ll find them.”

As he heard the sounds of everyone sleeping, Frank lay awake. He was grateful to his girlfriend for putting them all up for the night. When a good night’s rest they would be able to put together a game plan in the morning. Still he was upset at how they had left their own home. He couldn’t believe how angry and scared their father had looked. Still, he wondered what his father was so worried about when they said they were going to help Dan and his uncle out. It wasn’t like they were going to leave them forever.

Frank sighed and turned over. “Yeah, it’s not like we’re going to leave forever.”

That was his last thought before surrendering to the bliss of sleep.

Joe was slightly awake next to him. He listened as his brother tossed and turned before finally quieting down. He was relieved when Frank finally fell asleep. When his brother worried it often took its toll on him, not letting him sleep. He remembered the last time he was in the hospital. Frank barely slept, and it broke his heart to see the dark circles under his eyes. Joe closed his eyes and let the power of sleep take over.

Upstairs, Boomer slept at the foot of Staci’s bed. Normally he slept on his bed along the wall, but he insisted on being near her. Staci finally relented and let him sleep on her bed like he did when he was a puppy. She felt safer when him there. That night she slept feeling surrounded by warmth.

In his office, Mr. Strone too, slept soundly in his chair. He hated sleeping in bed on days like these. Especially when he was now so close to getting what he wanted. He had Jones tell him twice about what he had seen the crystal do. “Dan doesn’t realize the power that can be harnessed from those crystals… It’s funny how my own father didn’t believe my grandfather’s stories. We’ll daddy dearest, they’re true! All of them! And now, I’ll have all the power and wealth I could ever want. I’ll be more powerful than any president. Yes! I can even be a god in my own right!” Mr. Strone smiled in his sleep. “Yes, a god. People will worship me. Hmmm… Molder said that I will be stopped. We’ll Molder, I may have not have broken you, but I will not be stopped.”

Early the next morning, Fenton woke up. He had had a terrible night and was now trying to get himself going. He let his wife sleep in by making his own coffee and toast. She had cried in her sleep most of the night and now was sleeping soundly. As he sat down in his office chair, he wondered where his sons had spent the night. The storm had been nasty and the forecasters were predicting more of the same today. The tracker he had put on their van showed him that there were out of Bayport, out of its range. His plan was to wait a little while, then drive around to look for them.

Staci awoke the next morning after Boomer licked her face. She got up and let him out before giving him his breakfast. She kept him quiet when she saw the others still sleeping in the living room. She cleaned up and changed her clothes. When it started to rain again, she felt herself growing sleepy for some reason.

“I guess it’s just the weather. Not to mention what had happened yesterday. I wouldn’t be surprised if those guys slept all day,” Staci said to herself as she scratched behind Boomer’s ears.

Frank was awake but kept his eyes closed. He didn’t want to wake his brother, his friends, or his new friends. He heard the rain outside increase again. He looked over to where Joe was and saw him still sleeping. He quietly got out of his sleeping bag and went upstairs to Staci’s room. He was relieved to find her awake. Going on her computer, he began trying to track down some of the other names on their lists.

Strone too, had woken up early. He had given out the orders to continue tracking down where Dan’s brothers could be located. So far his men had turned up nothing, and it was getting him agitated. All the money in the world and he couldn’t find three people! Still, he loved the fear they had in their eyes when he gave them an order.

“Fear, now there’s something I know how to use,” Strone thought to himself. “But will fear work on Fenton Hardy? Well, the fear of losing his sons caused him to loose his temper. I wonder just how far Fenton Hardy would be willing to go to protect his sons… I wonder…just what a man of honor would be willing to sacrifice for his precious sons.”

Chapter 13

Frank quietly typed away at the keyboard. Staci sat in a chair next to him, going through the phone book. They had managed to eliminate seven from the combined lists that everyone had. Boomer came over and nudged her arm.

“Does he have to go out?” Frank asked, looking at him.

Staci shook her head. “No, it’s just I usually play with him right now. I just don’t want to wake anyone up.”

“I have to admit, I could use a few more hours of sleep,” Frank said, leaning back in the chair.

“Why don’t you? It looks like everyone is out cold downstairs,” Staci remarked.

“I guess using these new gifts are more draining then even Dan knows. He’s probably to the point to where they don’t use as much. Though I don’t know where we’re going to go from here. I doubt my father will help,” Frank said, leaning over to scratch the dog’s ears.

“What scares me is that I’ve never known your father to be scared about anything,” Staci said as she closed the telephone book.

Frank sighed. “I know. Even as a little kid I used to think my father wasn’t afraid of anything. Sure he would get angry at suspects or criminals but never people who needed help. Even then he would hold his temper in check.”

He let a yawn slip.

Staci gave him a slight smile. “Why don’t you go and get a couple more hours of sleep?”

Frank agreed with her and went back downstairs to sleep. Crawling back in his sleeping bag, he was surprised that no one else had woken up. It didn’t take him long to return to the bliss of deep sleep.

Fenton Hardy stayed in his office. He was trying to find anything on Molder that would convince his sons to give up trying to help him. He had talked to Interpol, his friend over at the CIA, even someone from the Russian government. No one had heard of Molder, but everyone warned him about Strone. All of it worked against him. Nothing he found was compelling enough to convince his sons. This was one of the times where he wished his sons hadn’t followed in his footsteps. He heard a knock on his office door.

“Fenton, honey, did you find anything?” came the tired voice of his wife.

“Not yet, why don’t you try to get some more sleep?” he told her, not getting out of the chair.

Laura shook her head as she came into the room. “I can’t sleep. I keep thinking my sons are out there somewhere in the rain. It’s almost time for breakfast.”

“I don’t think they’re coming home for awhile,” Fenton told her.

Laura sniffed back a couple of tears. “We’re their parents. This is their home. Please Fenton you have to go look for them.”

Fenton wanted to go look for his sons. He wanted to just run out into the street and chase his sons down. Yet something held him back. He couldn’t just let his sons get away with defying him.

“Fenton?” Laura asked when he didn’t say anything. She walked over to his desk. “Honey, don’t tell me that you’re going to wait until they come home by themselves.”

“Maybe we should. They did leave by themselves,” Fenton said, not looking at her.

Fenton saw his wife’s face pale over. “You can’t do that. They may have left but they’re still our sons. You’re their father. Go out there and find them!”

Strone woke up to the sounds of Fenton and Laura’s argument over his computer speakers. Things couldn’t be better. He knew that if there was one thing he had seen in a lot of fathers. It was pride. He knew that Fenton Hardy was going to put up a fight and not give in that easily. He smiled as he heard the argument grow more heated.

“You can’t just let our sons take off. They’re still kids, now get out there and find them!” Laura yelled at him.

“They’re old enough and capable enough of taking care of themselves. I’m not going to find them just so they can have that satisfaction. They defied me!” Fenton fired back.

Laura’s jaw dropped. “So that’s what this is about. You just want them to come back and apologize to you. Fenton you practically threw them out, you can’t expect them to come back. Go find them.”

“Laura, I’m sorry…” Fenton started to say.

“No you’re not sorry. You’re just too stubborn to go find them. Now get off your ass and go find them or I will!” Laura threatened.

Frank woke again in Staci’s living room. The others had just started waking up as well. The aromas of coffee, hot chocolate, and banana muffins filled his nose. He got up and went into the kitchen to find Staci taking a pan of hot muffins from the oven. Boomer was sitting nearby, anxiously hoping for a dropped muffin.

“In a minute Boomer, they have to cool,” She told him.

“Can I help?” Frank asked.

“Could you take the other pan out for me?” She asked as she took the first pan on potholders to cool.

Frank put the second pan next to the first. The smell of the muffins made his stomach growl.

“Do you want coffee or chocolate?” she asked as she brought down some mugs.

“Chocolate but I’ll get it. I think you better keep an eye on Boomer,” He told her.

“I know. He loves warm muffins.” Staci replied, “How did you sleep?”

“OK I guess. I had the feeling someone was watching the house,” Frank admitted.

“I slept OK. That may have come from exhaustion though. I don’t feel any cold right now,” Staci told him.

Frank nodded and walked back to the living room. There he found Joe and the others waking up. Joe sniffed the air, and the smell of muffins filled his nose.

“Mmm, muffins,” he whispered.

After they cleaned up, they came into the living room where Staci had set up the table. Joe had fun warming up the butter as he put it on his muffin. Dan suggested he try doing the same for the others to practicing focusing. Staci put a muffin on a plate for Boomer who happily ate his treat. Frank showed Dan the names that he and Staci had eliminated from the list.

“All dead ends. I wonder if the names were ever listed,” Dan asked as he sipped his juice.

“Orphans? You know Frank, we didn’t check adoption records,” Joe said, looking over as he picked up a muffin from the plate.

“That’s a possibility, but I don’t think it would pan out,” Frank replied, taking a sip of chocolate.

“He’s right.” Molder said, finally speaking, “I spoke with the one who would deliver the children. They were to be born here, to families that we could track. Which families he chose I don’t know.”

“Can we find this guy?” Staci asked as she kept an eye on her dog.

Molder sighed. “Unfortunately no. A biotracker placed on him showed him that he committed suicide shortly after the last child was placed in a family. The tracker only looks for pulse and respiratory rate. It can tell when a person has died.”

They continued eating while everything was hot. Frank suggested that they waited until the storm passed over before venturing out. Staci assured them that he wouldn’t mind if they stayed. Mr. Rivera always preferred that her daughter had someone there so she wouldn’t be alone.

“Answer me Fenton Hardy. Are you going to sit there all day, or are you going after our sons?” Laura demanded.

When still didn’t want to look at her. His pride kept telling him to not listen and stay home. Still the love for them was telling him to get up and go find them.

“I’ll give them until the afternoon. I know they haven’t moved much from where they stopped last night. I want to find some more information on Molder before I try to convince them to come home,” Fenton explained.

Laura nodded, “OK. I’ll wait until three this afternoon. If you don’t leave by then I’m going to find our sons myself.”

She stormed out of the office, leaving him sitting in despair. He looked at the growing list of agencies that had never heard of Molder. Strone had called him three times already, asking him if he had found Dan yet. Fenton was now extremely suspicious of Strone. He pulled out a small wand from on of his desk drawers. Waving it over the phone, the red light on it flashed. It had been tapped!

“He’s been in this house! He knows they left!” Fenton thought with growing horror.

He sat in disbelief. Instead of protecting his sons, he had led them right out of the house. He took a deep breath and gathered himself. He called the surrounding neighbors. Sure enough, one of them saw someone in the bushes of their own house. He told the neighbor not to panic but to call him if the guy moved. Whatever secrets Dan had, Strone wanted desperately to have.

Strone smiled as he sat in his office. Already he had called in Jones who said he was following the group, and they were now at a house in Bridgeport. So far, the storm had kept them inside. He ordered Jones to let him know exactly when they left. He made sure Jones knew he better not fail. He loved to hear the fear in Jones’s voice. So he leaned back in his chair and listened to the argument. Fenton Hardy was right where he wanted him.

“So I know now how much daddy loves his sons. Now let’s see just how much his sons love their beloved parents.” Strone thought.

He dialed into his computer and made another call.

“Lewis,” came the deep voice over the phone.

“Is everything ready?” Strone asked.

“Everything ready for the delivery. We’re waiting for its arrival,” Lewis replied.

“Good. Keep me informed,” Strone replied before hanging up.

“OK, kids, you’re just about to prove how much you love your father,” Strone thought.

Laura Hardy was fuming. She couldn’t believe how stubborn her husband was being. Why couldn’t he just admit that he overacted and go out there and get them? Good god why did he pick now to show off his authority? She shook her head and sighed in frustration. Her sons had often remarked at how stubborn the other was. All this time living with her husband, she knew where they got that from. As she went to clean the kitchen, she felt the temperature of the house get warm. Looking at the thermostat, she noticed it should be quite comfortable. She couldn’t understand why she felt so warm. Downing half a glass of water, she tried to fight whatever it was off. Feeling dizzy, she let the glass slip from her hand. The shattering noise seemed muffled to her. Stumbling towards the door towards Fenton’s office, she tried to call for help, but no noise came out.

In his office, Fenton was trying to focus on his computer but couldn’t get his hands to cooperate. The words on the screen were blending together. He heard the sounds of shattering glass coming from upstairs. Trying to get up to see where the noise came from, he tried walking over to the door. His legs gave out, and he hit the floor. Closing his eyes, to try and get rid of the dizziness, he tried to focus on getting out of his office. Nothing in him refused to obey his commands. Slowly he found himself drifting off to sleep.

Chapter 14

The storm continued on. The local weather reports had posted a flash flood warning for the area. Mr. Rivera had called and told them to leave the moment any officer told them to evacuate. Staci packed up some stuff for herself and Boomer in case they had to leave. The others helped to move stuff from the basement to the first floor when water started coming in.

“I don’t understand how the weather could turn so badly this fast,” Joe remarked as they brought up the last of the stuff that wasn’t too heavy to move.

They had placed the appliances and hot water heater on cinder blocks.

“It’s what the weather forecasters call a Nor’easter. It can drop a lot of rain in a short time. We’re lucky it’s not winter,” Frank explained.

“Then we’d be hit with a blizzard,” Cliff added.

The crystal had not responded since last night, and he was worried that something had happened to the Phoenix. Dan assured them that everything was OK with her and that she probably retreated until the time was right for her to reappear. Boomer began pacing back and fourth. Staci assured them that he was only pacing to keep her alert.

Joe pulled his brother by the arm into the dining room.

“Frank, do you think we should call mom, at least to find out if she’s alright?” Joe asked, as he looked outside at the raging storm.

“We might as well. She’s probably worried sick,” Frank replied.

They tried repeatedly to get through to their parents, only to get the answering machine. While Joe was worried, Frank tried to assure him that their mom was probably out helping the Red Cross through the storm. They tried their father’s office but got no response either.

“Do you think we should go back home?” Joe asked, trying not to worry.

“We can’t now. Not with this storm. Let’s wait until it passes to even try to make an attempt to get there,” Frank replied.

The lights started flickering. Staci handed out some flashlights and brought out her portable radio. By the time she had cranked enough power, the lights had completely went out.

“Sunray did you manage to get the report before the electricity went?” Molder called out.

“No, the station went about a minute before the electricity did,” Sunray replied.

“OK everybody it looks like we’re just going to have to sit tight.” Frank decided, “We can’t leave until the storm lets up so we might as well try to see if we can come up with some suggestions on finding the remaining people.”

“They’re going in now,” Jones said over his phone.

“Good, let me know when the package has been delivered,” Strone replied.

The skies had become so dark they were nearly black. The rain made it nearly impossible to see. Jones kept surveillance as the men went inside the house. All of them were dressed like utility workers in rain gear. They had carefully disabled the house alarm before opening the door and finding Laura on the kitchen floor. Near by was a small pile of broken glass. One of the men carried Laura into the living room and placed her on the couch. He carefully smeared ketchup onto her shirt and carpet. The others had retrieved Fenton Hardy from his office. Stuffing him into a utility bag, they carried him out of the house, closing the door behind them. Jones watched as they placed him in a van and drove away.

“They have the package and it’s being delivered,” Jones said into his phone.

“Get out of there now and wait for further instructions,” Strone ordered before hanging up.

Not wanting to disobey his boss, Jones turned on his car. Giving a small sigh of relief when his engine started on the first try, he turned on the heater and drove off. He could only pray that Fenton Hardy’s sons found him in time. He knew what would happen if they didn’t show up. He had been forced to bury what was left of one poor man that dared to defy Strone.

Joe felt an instant brush of cold. He rubbed his arms in an attempt to warm himself up. He closed his eyes and collapsed to the floor.

“Joe!” Frank nearly shouted.

He picked his brother up and laid him on the couch. Staci ran and got a blanket. Frank took it and covered Joe with it.

“Staci, this may sound strange but you can read his thoughts, just like your friend Brian,” Dan told him.

“How do you know?” Frank asked.

“Where I come from those that have very high ESP also have mind reading abilities though it can be dangerous,” Dan explained.

Staci raised an eyebrow. “How?”

“Because you’ll also be able to see all the bad memories that my brother has inside of him. You’ll have to be careful and look for only what you need and leave,” Frank explained.

He looked around confused. He had no idea where that came from.

“Super intelligence.” Dan pointed out, “You’re remembering something gradually from the past. You’ll probably be able to retain a lot more than you usually do.”

“It’s OK Frank, I don’t mind,” Staci assured him.

She put her hands on his forehead. Instantly instead of feeling warmth, she was greeted by a blast of cold. She let go.

“What?” Frank asked, worried something was very wrong.

“He’s scared of something. He won’t let me in,” Staci replied.

Frank took Joe and cradled him in his arms. “I’m here baby brother. You don’t have to be scared.”

Staci tried again. This time there was a small window she was able to get through. She saw his father covered in darkness but alive. She could see their mother still at home but for some reason not responding. She left before she could see anything else. She told them what she saw. Joe felt the cold feeling leave, and he woke up.

“What happened?” Joe asked, trying to sit up.

“You have to learn to control that. You probably have ESP too.” Dan told him. “Have you ever been more aware of your surroundings? Like you can always tell when something is bad?”

“I’ve noticed that,” Frank admitted.

“When?” Molder asked.

Frank sighed, “Ever since we were little kids, he’s always been able to know who is good and who is bad. He’s always had feelings that that we were walking into danger or that I was in danger. I guess I never really believed in ESP.”

“We’re all finding out a lot of things are possible,” Cliff assured him.

“Frank, we’ve got to get back home. Something’s not right,” Joe said, trying to get up again.

Frank gently pushed him back down. “We can’t go anywhere until the storm dies down, just relax.”

“Frank, they just issued another flash flood warning for this area. And there is some water in the basement,” Sunray told him, coming into the room.

“I’ll go turn on the water pump,” Staci said as she walked into the basement.

She went downstairs and turned on the water. She noticed that there was something in the basement that had forgotten to move upstairs. When she picked it she recognized it as a listening device similar to one like the detectives on the Bridgeport police force use.

“Frank,” Staci’s voice came into his mind.

“What?” he returned.

“There’s a bug in my basement. Someone knows what’s going on,” Staci replied.

“Leave it where it is and pretend like you didn’t see it,” Frank told her.

Joe again got up. He shrugged off his brother’s arm and assured him that he was feeling better. He looked out the window to see the raging storm outside. He couldn’t believe how dark it was outside. He remembered a woman. A very beautiful woman laughing at the rain. She was standing on a hill in a flowing white dress. It seemed like she was controlling the weather.

“This storm reminds me of my mother,” Dan remarked.

“Yeah, she loved making rain showers,” Molder added, remembering how pretty she was.

“Why would I remember someone I’ve never met?” Joe thought to himself.

Frank opened the door for a little bit. He saw rain running in small rivers on the road. The ground already looked like a swamp, and he wasn’t sure how much more it could take. Looking up at the sky, it looked like the storm wasn’t going to give up for awhile.

“Storm or not, Joe and I have to get home!” Frank thought.

Fenton Hardy felt water it his head… ice cold freezing water. It hit him again, and he opened his eyes.

“Wake up,” a male voice told him.

He tried to open his eyes but tape had kept them closed. He moaned lightly. He felt a hand strike the side of his face. The pain caused him to rouse more.

“Who are you?” Fenton demanded.

“There’s no need for you to know now. You’ll figure out soon enough,” the voice replied.

He felt more pain. He closed his mind as best as he could and tried to shut out the pain that kept coming.

The storm finally let up late in the afternoon. Joe was anxious to get back home. Staci warned them all that the roads would probably be flooded, and they might not be able to get around. They went into the Hardys van. Frank told Staci to bring along Boomer so she wouldn’t have to worry about him.

Frank carefully drove along the streets. They had to bypass many streets because they had been flooded out. Finally they got to the last possible road but it too, was impossible to move.

“We have to get across!” Joe moaned. The feelings of foreboding that he had had in Staci’s house had returned, and now he felt that they had to get home no matter what.

“Joe, you can control the water. Concentrate and move the water around the van as your brother drives across,” Dan suggested.

“How?” Joe asked, not thinking clearly.

“Close your eyes little brother,” Frank told him. Joe did as he was told. “Now imagine yourself pushing the water aside with your hands. That all you have to do is hold out your hand, and the water will move.”

Joe opened his eyes and nodded. Everyone braced themselves for the drive across the road. Joe looked straight and mentally moved the water aside. Frank drove through the passage way. As soon as was on the other side, Joe let go of the water. He slumped in his seat, rubbing his forehead.

“I feel sick,” Joe moaned.

“It will pass soon, just close your eyes and relax,” Dan suggested.

It would take Frank close to an hour an half to drive the van back to their house. A drive which under normal conditions that would have only taken forty minutes. They could see that the main power transformer and some phone lines were down. Frank pulled the van into the driveway. Joe jumped out and ran to the front door before his brother could completely park.

“Joe, wait! You don’t know what’s in there!” Frank shouted, trying to shut the van off as fast as he could.

Boomer ran out of the van and right to where Joe was. He nudged his way past him and into the house before anyone else did.

“Mom!” Joe shouted.

His eyes went wide when he thought he saw blood on his mother’s shirt. Rushing over, he took her wrist. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt a strong pulse. It was then that he could smell the sickly sweet odor of chloroform in the room. In his mind he could see all of the windows opening in the house. Instantly all the windows opened, letting the gas escape.

Frank and the others came in a minute later. Frank’s eyes went wide when he saw the “blood” on his mother’s shirt. When he saw Boomer lapping at the “blood” on the carpet, he realized it was actually ketchup.

“Boomer, stop it,” Staci told her dog.

Boomer stopped but kept eyeing the treat on the floor.

“Is she OK?” Frank demanded, coming over to her.

Joe nodded. “Yeah, there was a chloroform-like gas in the room. I opened all the windows to vent the house.”

“I’ll go see if I can find where it’s coming from,” Molder said.

“Frank, where does your mom keep the carpet cleaner? I’ll try to get this up before it stains,” Staci offered.

“Under the kitchen sink, but later, I want to get Con Riley here first,” Frank told them.

He pulled out his cellphone and called for Con Riley. He wouldn’t be able to come because he had his hands full dealing with the problems of the flood.

“Joe, we have to find dad!” Frank said, suddenly remembering that their father hadn’t answered the phone either.

The brothers went downstairs, while the others searched the bedrooms. Fenton Hardy was no where to be found. Joe tried his own cellphone, but they found the phone on top of their father’s desk. Frank checked the voicemail that his father had for his business, but the box was empty. Joe checked the answering machine for upstairs and found one message left for them.

“We have your father. We’ve left coordinates at the end of this message. If you don’t bring Dan with his crystal and surrender him by midnight tomorrow, you’re father dies. Next time it won’t be ketchup on your mother’s shirt.”

Chapter 15

Joe felt the cold air surround him once again. The cold was followed by a sense of dull pain from somewhere. He could feel darkness. So much darkness that it was like he could almost taste it. He looked over at his brother who had not stopped staring at the answering machine. Some numbers had come over the machine that didn’t make any sense.

“Frank, what are we going to do?” Joe asked.

“Huh?” Frank asked, looking back.

“I said, what are we going to do?” he asked again.

“I know what you’ll do. You’ll hand me over, just as the message asked you to,” Dan answered, coming down the stairs.

“We won’t. Dad wouldn’t want us to risk another life just to save his, not even our own. He’d rather die then have us put someone’s life in danger,” Frank told him.

They all looked at each other straight in the eyes. Joe looked at them both. For a second he could see a startling resemblance in the look coming from their eyes. He knew he had to do something.

“There’s something that dad was doing before all of this happened. Can you find out what it was?” Joe asked, looking at Frank.

“I’ll know in a minute,” Frank replied.

He began looking through his father’s notes. He explained to them both some of the new information that Fenton had gathered. Apparently he was gathering all the fines and other penalties that had been placed against Stone Enterprises but hadn’t found much else. What surprised them all was how he was also investigating Molder. He had checked all his known big sources but found nothing on the man.

“I wonder why he would be investigating my uncle?” Dan asked, sitting down in a chair.

“Probably wanted to see if he was legit. Considering how much he wanted us to drop the case, my guess is he wanted to find something to convince us to do that,” Frank replied.

“But why? Why is he so determined for us to drop this case?” Joe asked out loud.

“Like Staci sensed, he’s scared about something. Since we’re here, do you think your father’s files can find out if the remaining names might be my brothers?” Dan suggested.

“Wouldn’t hurt to try,” Frank remarked.

He tried searching for all the names. Still, they had nothing but dead ends.

“My uncle is hiding something,” Dan said, after they had finished the last of the name.

“What could he be hiding?” Joe asked, trying to make sense of his father’s kidnapping.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out,” Dan replied, getting up from his chair.

As they came upstairs, they found that their mom still had not woken up from the gas. Staci had managed to clean up most of the ketchup but was not having much luck with the stain out of the carpet. Sunray and Cliff had gone through the house with the wand that Joe had given them. They had found that each room, including the closets, bathroom attic, all had the mini-listening devices in them. They all were no bigger than the head of a match. Instead of pulling them out, they left them where they were. If they didn’t let on that they knew, maybe they’d have some advantage. Sunray quietly wrote down that they had found over 15 of the devices in the rooms.

“Uncle Molder, what are you hiding?” Dan asked, coming into the living room.

“Hiding?” He asked, trying not to look at him.

“Yes, hiding. We’ve looked everywhere and I can’t find my brothers. You came here before I did. What did my father tell you?” Dan demanded.

“If I tell you, it’s going to put a lot more people in danger than you all realize. We can keep moving you around…” Molder tried to say.

“Now look.” Joe interrupted, “My parents have been attacked, and my father has been taken. Now someone is demanding we had Dan and his crystal over, or they’ll both be killed. Now start talking.”

Frank was scared by the look in his brother’s eyes. It was the look that meant talk fast or blood spills. Frank had only seen it a couple times before, and it was only because someone had threatened or hurt him in front of his brother. If Molder didn’t start talking fast, he was going to have to do something to calm his brother down.

“Molder, this isn’t a matter of just keeping Dan moving around. Strone knows what’s going on. These people have our father. Now start talking or I’ll let my brother loose,” Frank warned.

Molder looked at the angry look in the younger Hardy’s eyes and knew it was time to tell them the whole truth. He started out by telling them about the war that had gone on Dan’s home planet. His father, who was the ruling king, was fighting against an invading force that was trying to take over the planet for its resources. When Dan was very young, his mother had become pregnant three times. This was during the time the war had begun. Each time the child was taken before it was born to be reborn on Earth to keep him safe.

“OK, we know that so far, from what Dan has told us, but what do we have to do with Dan’s missing brothers?” Frank asked.

“First, to explain about your friend Cliff. He is a guardian, the last of his race from the sister planet to ours. He was sent to Earth to be reborn so he could protect the children once they came if that time should come,” Molder explained.

“So that explains why Cliff is here.” Joe said, “But that doesn’t explain why we have powers like Dan, or why the crystal reacts whenever I touch it.”

“Because your mother was the woman selected to carry two of the children to term. Sunray’s mom carried the third,” Molder quietly replied.

The answer hit Frank and Joe like a ton of bricks. All the fights that they had since Dan arrived. Their father desperate to keep them apart. Their father! Joe thought miserably. Fenton wasn’t their father. If he wasn’t their father, then who was it?

“Frank, I don’t feel so good,” Joe said, his face turning white.

He ran upstairs, with his hand over his mouth. He began throwing up everything that he eaten over the last two days. Frank patiently waited outside, letting his brother be by himself while he was sick. Sunray had sat down in a chair. His face mirroring the shock that was on Cliff’s. All the stories they had seen of government conspiracies that say aliens don’t exist. They knew now that aliens were real. Because this time, they are the aliens.

After hearing the toilet flushing and the sink running, Frank felt it was OK to open the door. He had never seen his brother looked so crushed before.

“It was a lie,” Joe choked out, throwing more water onto his face.

“What?” Frank asked.

“Fenton being our father…these rooms… you and me being detectives…it was all a lie,” Joe said, drying his mouth off.

He angrily tossed the towel on to the pile of towels that was in the corner of the bathroom. Joe stormed into his room and threw himself onto his bed, crying.

“It was all a lie,” Joe repeated through his sobs.

Frank came over and held his brother to him. He didn’t know what to say to his brother to calm him down. He was just as shocked. All he knew for the past eighteen years had been thrown out the window. He didn’t know what to do, so he just laid there and held his brother as he cried.

“What is it you want?” Fenton demanded through his swollen lips.

The recent beating had gone on for over a half hour. He didn’t know what these men wanted from him. Only that they tell him what he had seen Dan do with the crystal, and if his sons had gotten a reaction from touching it. He had refused. Each refusal had been answered with more pain.

“What we’ve been asking for the past few hours,” the same male voice replied.

“And you’re getting the same answer,” Fenton replied, his voice as defiant as he could make it.

“Alright then. It’s obvious you’re going to be stubborn. We were told to get the information from you one way or the other. Looks like it’s going to be the other way,” the voice said.

Fenton Hardy could only think of one thing as the pain came… his sons. He had vowed that no matter what, he was going to protect his sons. If he should die, so be it.

Joe had finished crying and was now resting quietly in his brother’s arms. Frank knew that it was better to let his brother get out his emotions now, or it would take a toll on him. They both needed a clear mind to find their father. To Frank, it didn’t matter what Molder had told them, Fenton was still their father. He was the man that had raised them. He was the man that chased away the monsters and made it fun to go camping. He was the man that protected them and loved them. What could a stranger do?

“He’s still our father, little brother. No matter what Molder says,” Frank quietly said.

“But what if our real father comes looking for us? What do we do then?” Joe quietly asked.

“I don’t know. Right now, dad is waiting for us to find him. Are you in?” Frank asked.

“I’m in,” came the quiet reply.

Joe continued lying quietly in his brother’s arms. He closed his eyes and tried to not think of anything. He only wanted all of the pain to go away. All the pain that now inflicted him caused him to moan lightly. Frank helped his brother take a pain pill and stayed with him until he dozed off to sleep.

Fenton Hardy had no idea how much time had passed. He only now knew the darkness of sleep. It had been an hour since his captors had given up for the time being. He had overheard one of them saying that his sons had finally decided to come and look for him. Their happy reactions made him shiver slightly in fear. The last thing he wanted was for his sons to come after him. He knew they were going to be killed. If they could inflict this much pain on him, he could only imagine what they would put his sons through.

“They still believe I’m their father… Why did I have the feeling they’re still going to leave me and their mother? What is it about this whole case that is scaring me to the very core?” Fenton thought.

He didn’t have much time to think as he heard the sounds of a door opening and footsteps coming towards him.

Dan sat in the living room. All this time he had been looking for his brothers, and here they were right in front of him. He had liked the Hardy brothers since they had first met. They love they had for each other was like nothing he had seen since the war had begun on his own home planet. When he got back, he was going to demand that his father tell him why he was never told that he had brothers. It was like his dream and nightmare were coming true at the same time. He had gotten his wish for brothers, now because of that, he could loose them at the same time.

“Strone wants me and my crystal? OK, Strone, you’ll get to see me face to face. And I’ll show you what this crystal can REALLY do. You’ve messed with the wrong person,” Dan said to himself.

He walked up to Joe’s room, leaving the others to tend to Laura. He knocked lightly and opened the door. He found Joe sleeping in his bed, with Frank next to him. Frank motioned for quiet when Dan came in. Dan nodded and went to Frank’s room, closing the door behind him.

“How is he?” Dan quietly asked.

“Tired, hurting, scared, confused… is no wonder he didn’t collapse earlier,” Frank remarked, slumping down on his own bed.

Dan sat in the chair.

“I’m going after Strone,” Dan told him.

“We’re not stopping you. This is my father we’re talking about. I’m not going to stand by and not do something,” Frank told him.

“Strone doesn’t know what this crystal is capable of. I’m going to teach him a lesson he’ll never forget. I’ll get your father back,” Dan promised him.

Frank looked at Dan right in the eyes. “Strone wants us all dead. You’re not going alone.”

“That’s what he wants,” Dan growled, trying to keep his voice down.

“Then we’ll fight him as a team. You might be our brother. But there’s something you don’t know about Joe and me. We fight as a team, and we die as a team. If you’re going to risk your life to find our father, then we will too.”

“Frank, we don’t know what Strone is capable of. I have mastered my powers, the rest of you have not,” Dan said, trying to reason with him.

“I don’t care. Joe and I as well as Sunray know our basic stuff. I’m going to get Staci to go to the Kane campus and stay there. Just teach us a little more, and we can fight,” Frank answered.

Dan sighed. He knew that he wasn’t going to get them to stay home.

“Then after your brother takes his nap, I’ll teach you all how to use more advanced steps. It won’t be a lot, but it will help you learn faster,” Dan replied.

Strone smiled to himself as he heard Dan and Frank talking. Dan was going to come, and he was bringing his crystal with him. All he had to do was be a little more patient. Midnight would come soon enough, and then…then he’d be the most powerful ruler the world had ever known.