• Original airdate: October 6, 2004 in the UK on Fox Kids
• TNBC/DCKids original air date: December 11, 2004
• Australia original air date: October 12, 2004
• Writers: Jeffrey Alan Schechter & Kevin May
• Director: Jerry Ingram

Guest Stars:
Actor's name	Character played
Dru Viergever	Stu Kubiak
Jenny Levine	Sarah Pearson

  Marshall makes the final preparations and readying the computer for the launch of Wheeler 1, his rocket, out in the field. Corrine, Josie, and Lucas have their doubts but Marshall is insistent that the launch will be a success. Marshall counts down and presses the button releasing Wheeler 1. Marshall reports that the rocket has broken 1,000 feet, as well as other statistics, as Josie, Lucas, and Corrine watch the rocket. As it is about to pass the cloud base, a vortex opens and swallows the rocket. It disappears from Marshall’s tracker.

After a second of bewilderment, a gray sphere shoots out from the vortex. It appears on Marshall’s tracker, coming right at them. The sphere maneuvers off course and lands away from them, leaving a crater in the field. Josie, Lucas, Corrine, and Marshall run to the phenomenon, just in time to see the sphere dissolve in a shimmering of electricity. In its place is a black cylinder shaped capsule of about arm span size. No one knows what it is.

  They run the capsole to Professor Z, who in his office. Josie believes that Vaughn should see it but Lucas does not approve. Professor Z, analyzing the capsole, believes that it is possibly made out of an alloy due to its light weight and observes that it is smooth, without obvious markings, below room temperature, and is silent. They explain to Professor Z that it fell from the sky inside a sphere which disappeared. Lucas holds the capsole to Josie, asking her what she believes it is. Josie, defensive, says that she doesn’t have an idea about what it is. Only that it gives her the creeps. Josie glides her fingers along the capsole. Without warning, the capsole begins making a hovering sound. Lucas quickly places it back on Professor Z’s desk, Professor Z backing as far away as he can from it, to the windows. A panel in the middle portion of the capsole opens, revealing a clock on the panel, reading “27:00” and counting down, and a number pad inside the capsole. Lucas quickly assumes that it is a bomb but the rest of them are skeptical of this theory. Principal Durst knocks on the door, telling Professor Z that there is a faculty meeting in two minutes. Professor Z tells them that he really doubts that it is a bomb and then leaves for the faculty meeting. Lucas still believes there is a chance that it is a bomb though. They all agree to take it outside. Looking to each other for who will carry it, Lucas steps forward.

     Lucas, followed by the others, runs down the main hallway with the capsole wrapped in a blazer. Out onto the patio, they continue but Lucas runs right into Stu. Lucas falls to the ground but the capsole goes right into Stu’s hands. He keeps it away from Lucas, as Lucas pleads to get it back.

Stu tosses it in the air and catches it again. Josie, Corrine, Marshall, and Lucas scream for him to not do that. Lucas continues to tell Stu that he needs it back. Stu tells him to “go long” and throws the capsole as if a football. Lucas dashes after it, jumping off a picnic table and leaping into the air in a futile effort to catch the capsole. Lucas misses it, barely, and the capsole lands on the ground, rolling to Vaughn’s foot followed by Lucas crashing to the ground. Picking it up, Vaughn asks what it is. Before Lucas can answer, a panel on the left side of the capsole opens, revealing a small hole with a red light shining from it.

Professor Z comes running out, inquiring about what just occurred. Josie informs him that it is most likely not a bomb. Other students begin making their way over to them to see what is going on. Professor Z begins talking loudly about how they were just taking a project outside and that they’ll be taking it back in now. Professor Z wraps the capsole in his coat and they go back into the school.

      In Professor Z’s office, they fill in what Professor Z missed. Lucas accuses Vaughn of doing something to the capsole, causing a swift denial from Vaughn. Professor Z tells Vaughn that he may actually have done something though. Professor Z hypothesizes that the capsole was sent specifically for Josie and Vaughn, seeing that it only responds to stimulus from the two of them, and theorizing that it uses biometrics to identify them. Corrine points out a red spot on Marshall’s shirt; Marshall is standing where the end of the capsole emitting the red light is facing. Corrine, picking up a water bottle, squirts some water, in a mist form, into the path of the light, and a red beam is seen. This reveals that the light is in fact a laser. Corrine points out that the laser appears to be modulating which means that it may be carrying information, or even a hologram and they move the capsole to the Science room to test the theory.
      In the Science room, Corrine has set up a series of mirrors and prisms to break up the laser and form the hologram. She explains the light from the laser beam will pass through a beam splitter. One light will travel through a lens, bounce off of a mirror, then it will hit an object that one wants to make a hologram of, then bounces off a photographic film. Lucas takes Professor Z’s coffee cup to use as the object. The second beam passes through the lens and bounces off the mirror but this one hits the photographic paper directly, without hitting the coffee cup. When the two lights collide, they make an interference pattern on the film which creates a hologram. Ready, the lights are dimmed and the laser beam is turned aimed to the beam splitter. The two lights meet at the photographic film but nothing happens. Professor Z applauds her theory due to its complexity, even though it didn’t work, and then takes back his coffee cup. After doing this, a hologram forms. Rotating in a circular pattern, the hologram is a set of numbers. The first line reads “10,” the second “04,” and the third “87.” They wonder what the numbers mean until Professor Z notices that the numbers are the date of the Pearadyne explosion. Lucas points out that the current day’s date is October 4, the anniversary. They are unsure what the numbers are intended for until Lucas takes a bold move and presses the buttons on the capsole’s keypad. The keypad flips, revealing two indentations. Josie tells them that she recognizes the pattern.

  Vaughn asks how she knows what goes into the indentations. Josie tells him that, in one of her waking dreams (episode: Nocturnal), she saw Vaughn’s mother with a pendant that matches the shape of the indent in the capsole’s lower panel. She tells them that his mother gave the pendant to Victor to give to Vaughn and that Vaughn would know what to do with it when that day came. Josie now believes that the capsole is a “message in a bottle” and that the pendant is the key to getting the message. With about 14 minutes left, Vaughn begins to pick up the capsole but Lucas stops him. Over Professor Z’s opinion that since the capsole was sent for Vaughn that Vaughn should have a say in what they do with it, Lucas does not want Victor seeing it. Josie asks how he will get the pendant from his father if he does not show his father the capsole. Lucas tells Vaughn that when he messed around with his glasses and got supervision (episode: Vision), he saw a safe behind the painting in Victor’s office. Inside of it was something that resembles the indentation in the capsole. The painting is the one near Victor’s desk. Vaughn heads for the door. Lucas adds one more thing: under no circumstance is Vaughn to tell Victor about the capsole. Vaughn agrees and then leaves, running out of the school across the driveway. Marshall asks if Lucas thinks that Vaughn will keep his word. Lucas replies:

      At Pearson mansion, Vaughn bolts through the hallway and into his father’s office, wasting no time sliding the painting aside along the wall. Behind it is a safe, just as Lucas said. But the safe is locked and has a number pad for entering the code to unlock it. Vaughn, frustrated, says out loud “What’s the combination!” Victor walks in, calmly, at that moment, saying a set of numbers, “01, 16, 61” telling Vaughn that is the combination and that it is his mother’s birth date. He tells Vaughn that he will need a key to open the safe as well, which Victor holds in his hand. Victor then asks what would be of Vaughn’s interest inside Victor’s safe. Vaughn tells his father that he knows about the pendant and he wants it. Victor inquires to how Vaughn knows about it and why he wants it. Vaughn hesitantly tells Victor that Josie saw it in a dream. Frustrated, Victor opens the safe, telling Vaughn that it is true that his mother left it for him. But Victor asks again why Vaughn needs the pendant. Vaughn, stumbling for what to say, tells his father that his friends are waiting for him and he would really like to have the pendant. Victor gives it to Vaughn and Vaughn promises to take good care of it. Victor tells Vaughn that he knows that Vaughn will, the reason he gave it to Vaughn. Vaughn runs off. Victor just stands there, seemingly reflecting on the moment.

      In the Science room, all they can do is to wait. The only noise is the sound of those pacing. Lucas, in a slightly frantic tone, states that Vaughn is not going to make it in time. Josie peers out the window and sees Vaughn running around the corner. Vaughn gets back to the Science room, a bit out of breathe. Lucas and Marshall are amazed that Vaughn got the pendant. Vaughn places the pendant into the right indent. The capsole makes a hovering noise and the right side panel of the capsole opens. From it, another laser beam, this time blue, shines into the open space of the classroom and another hologram appears. The image of a lady wearing a black outfit (similar to the one worn by Josie2) takes shape.

Stunned, Vaughn realizes that the hologram is of his mother. She tells Vaughn that she realizes that it has been a long time since the accident and that she tried to send a message to him as soon as she could. She requests that Vaughn leave the pendant in the capsole so that she knows that Vaughn got the message and to make sure that there is a lot of space overhead. When the timer reaches zero, an automatic telemetry is programmed to bring the capsole back to her. She adds for Vaughn to not forget how much she loves him. Vaughn is in a state of disbelief, barely able to speak. Josie has a blank look as she looks from the others to Vaughn. Corrine points out that they should get the capsole outside. Marshall adds that they should track where it does.

      Marshall quickly sets up the tracking equipment out where Marshall tested Wheeler 1 earlier that day. 70 seconds are left, Professor Z informs them, when Josie pulls the pendant from the capsole’s indent. Vaughn is shocked as Josie shares her skepticism that the woman was not really Vaughn’s mother and that it may be a trick to get the pendant. Something about the hologram did not seem correct to Josie. While chewing on his finger, Professor Z, sitting in front of the capsole, watching the time, says that there is 55 seconds remaining. Vaughn addresses that they are going to have to learn to trust each other. Lucas, slowly, tells them that he is in favor of sending the pendant back with the capsole. Josie appears surprised as Corrine and Marshall side with Lucas and Vaughn. With 15 seconds left, Josie hand the pendant back to Vaughn and he places it back into the capsole’s indent. They all back away as the capsole begins making a hovering sound. They begin counting down at 5 seconds left. The timer reaches zero and the middle panel closes (the left and right panels were already closed). The sphere forms around it and it rockets into the air. The computer tracks it up to about 850 feet where the sphere is sucked into a vortex and disappears. The sphere disappears from the computer’s tracker. Marshall is frustrated that the tracker failed and he walks away. Vaughn thanks Lucas for his decision. Josie asks Vaughn if he is alright, to which Vaughn replies calmly that he is and then walks away. Turning to Lucas, Josie tells:

Josie appears annoyed by his answer but then seems to realize the troubles between them have settled.

 In the lounge, Josie and Lucas are playing chess on the couch. Josie tells Lucas that she still does not understand why Lucas let Vaughn send the pendant back with the capsole. Lucas tells her that with the look on Vaughn’s face when Vaughn saw his mother in the hologram, he believes that he would do the same thing if in Vaughn’s position. Lucas goes back over how Vaughn is under pressure with his father and family loyalty. Lucas thinks that maybe he has been wrong about Vaughn and that perhaps Vaughn isn’t as much like his father as he thought.
      Meanwhile outside, Marshall and Corrine are sitting and talking at the picnic tables, in the back of the school. Corrine tells Marshall that she thinks that there may be a connection between Josie and Vaughn, even one that the two of them may not be aware of. As they get up, Marshall sees Wheeler 1 slowly falling from above them, parachute open. Marshall catches it.

      At the same time, the janitor is in the crater left by the giant sphere. He is filling it in with a shovel.

Episode notes:

• Janitor's secret message: "The sky delivers a mystery. The key is used. An image of the past appears."

Personal thoughts: Didn't any of them see the vortex that sucked up the rocket or spit out the sphere? It wasn't invisible.
This episode made good use of two previous episodes, Nocturnal and Vision. It really made the three episodes look well thought out.
Lucas votes to send the pendant back, as Vaughn wants too. Vaughn has to address the trust issue with Josie. It seems like the trust issues between the three are being resolved.
I didn't like this episode that much because everything seemed so convienent. Corrine instantly was able to guess that the lasorbeam was a hologram and was able to set up all the stuff to make the hologram appear.
Rating: 5/10