DROP POINT Episode Nineteen: True Purpose

They started walking back toward the garage. “I still hate you, by the way,” Michael added. Kyle nodded. “The feeling is mutual,” but then he stopped. “Oh, crap! Kenny is still missing!” Suddenly, all the lights in the corridor went off. Kyle couldn’t see a thing. The shades over the windows had flown up to block out the light reflecting off of the Earth as soon as the lights went out,ensnaring both boys in complete darkness. Michael froze, and swore loudly. A moment later, he inhaled sharply, making Kyle glance in the direction he assumed Michael was in. “Kyle?” Michael’s voice trembled. Nothing could be seen. No auxiliary power? No red emergency lights or loud wails? This was not good. “What?”

Michael started to say something, but there was a swift sound, a thump, and a smearing sound. Michael stayed silent. “Michael?” Kyle reached his hand out in the other boy’s direction, groping in the darkness, but nothing met his touch. A strong, hot hand came out of nowhere and caught Kyle’s neck in its death grip.

“Come on, Kyle,” the voice was low, raspy. Familiar. Suddenly, a dozen firecrackers blew up inside his head. Kyle was unconscious before he even hit the ground.

“Ngghh,” Kyle moaned as his surroundings slowly cleared up around him, like early-morning mist. The first sign that something was wrong was that he felt vaguely as if someone had pounded him in the side of the head with an iron pole. The second sign was that he couldn’t move: his hands were tied to the cold metal chair underneath him.

“Kyle!” someone hissed. There was movement behind him. “Kenny?” Kyle asked. “Shhh!” Kenny was warning him to be quiet. Kyle took a look around him. They were in the destroyed basement floor that used to be Bradley’s underground lab, used for the especially dangerous (and Kyle preferred to not think about what qualified as ‘especially dangerous’ to Doctor Bradley) experiments. It had been destroyed after the inhibitor experiment had been botched – and it occurred to him now that whoever was doing this probably botched the inhibitor on purpose.

And it was probably that person walking towards them now. Tall, wide- shoulders. Absence of light made the person just a silhouette. It stepped over a fallen column that was stuck fast in a diagonal position, propped up by the wall that cornered the two boys.

“Kyle, it’s time for you to know who your friend here really is,” said the familiar voice. It stepped into the light, and Kyle gasped. “Y ou!” “Me?” Captain Amos faked surprise and horror. “No, it can’t be! Simply can’t!” His southern dialect and Very Little Brain look was gone, replaced

with an atmosphere of I’m-going-to-kill-you-don’t-worry-it’s-just- business-nothing-personal. Anger roared up inside him, and Kyle planted a faceful of fist in the man’s face – or, he would’ve, if he had not been tied to the chair.

“Back to the subject at hand,” he said, relishing Kyle’s attempts to break through the rope, “it is time for you to know who Kenny really is. “You see, he’s not really from this timeline at all. He’s like you and I – a time-traveller.”

“That’s a load of bull-” Amos cut Kenny off. “Kenny, or Ulysses is his real name, is from the year 2467, some time after you were sent. We know this because someone on your side had done some time-hopping and noticed a change in universes. So they went publicly blabbing about it. We soon learned that originally, the Mutual Interest Party had not won. They must’ve sent someone back in time to do some serious game-changing. In other words, you, Kyle.” Kyle felt Kenny’s hands moving behind his back, and took the initiative. “Hold up for a second,” Kyle shook his head, acting confused. “You’re saying that Kenny’s real name is Ulysses?” “Yes,” Amos said, aggravated. “Moving on. Luckily, I was sent along with Kenny to make sure he fulfilled his true purpose. Which was to kill you before you went to Piott. Which he failed to do once, because you weren’t at the military academy on Earth. He planned on finding you as soon as possible here, on Luna. But someone got to him in his CryoPod and [Omniscient Narrator Censorship] it up. It didn’t kill him, but he lost his memories.” “Who?” Kenny asked, looking a little peeved that someone had tried to kill him. “I don’t know. But you were down for the count. Luckily I was backing you up. I left a message for you a couple of nights ago, with Kyle. I’m coming for Ulysses,” Amos pulled out a pistol. “I’ll just have to do you both.” “HOLD UP,” Kyle shouted, hoping the captain-turned-assassin (or was it the other way around? He’d have to come back to this later) wouldn’t hear the sound of sliced rope. Kenny pushed the knife into Kyle’s palm and coughed. “So, what you’re saying is, his name isn’t even Kenny? Ulysses? Really?” Amos sighed as if he hadn’t been planning on explaining this a dozen times to a fifteen-year-old kid he met a month or so ago. “Hey, that’s getting a little offensive,” Kenny/Ulysses said.

“Sorry, dude, but your name is Ulysses. I don’t think we can be friends anyMOoore,” Kyle raised his voice briefly as the rope popped and came undone. Amos was looking increasingly infuriated. “And to think I was going to let you teach me some of your Slamball moves.”

“Seriously, my name is the least of our problems now,” Kenny/Ulysses said. “But ULYSSES!” Kyle insisted. “How about a compromise, like... Kennysses?”

“Too weird. You always go for the top of the word,” Kenny/Ulysses criticized over the hidden message, “I like Ulynny. It’s more euphonic.” “Nerd,” Kyle said. “Ooh, I know: let’s count to three, and say our suggestion at the same time.”

“One,” Kenny/Ulysses said. “Two,” Kyle continued. “Will you two boys stop-” Amos started. And what happened next is a moment that could only be distorted past recognition by Kyle, in future retellings to other recruits for the rest of his life. Or, the next several months – whichever comes first. “Three!” They said together, launching themselves at their captor, who totally did not see this coming. Kyle launched for Amos’ head (“go for the top”), landing a punch against the large man’s jaw with one hand and twisting the gun out of his grip with the other. Kenny/Ulysses ducked under Kyle and tackled Amos’ feet, latching on and causing the man to lose his balance. The gun clattered against the concrete, sending a blast into the darkness of the collapsed room, as Amos came tumbling down. Kenny/Ulysses grabbed the rope off the chair and tied up the man’s wrists and ankles. Kyle stood up, looking around. He’d heard a scream when the gun went off. “But it almost hit me,” whined Bradley. Piott ignored him. “Congratulations, boys,” he said, walking up to the detained Amos. “You just caught our mole and saved the lives of thousands.”