Date: Sun, 7 Jun 2009 17:04:57 -0400 From: chris james Subject: Adam Conquers Earth, Chapter 14 Dear Reader: the following is a story of adult fiction, persons under the age of 18 are not permitted to view this material. A school field trip, remember those? Los Angeles has a very nice Natural History Museum, let's hope it's still there when my cast of characters gets done with it. All comments welcomed. Chris James. Adam Conquers Earth (M/B) Chapter Fourteen What Brian always enjoyed the most was the heat. The heat of Mark's passion, the heat of his body as they joined, all fueling the fire he saw in those eyes...he was in awe of the display. Whether it be at fifteen or fifty, Brian was sure Mark would maintain that inner fire his whole life. Tonight they christened the new bedroom on a familiar bed. Rosie was spending the evening with Todd, and Mark was sure he would pop the question. Brian had much the same feeling, but then he'd already seen the answer in Rosie's eyes before she left. The romance with Todd would become a shared life, something Brian felt she deserved. Rosie had given up so much of herself to the boy, and now he'd felt her attentions as well. She wasn't old, merely forty-two, but her life had given her unneeded age, and now she was about to claim it back. Brian snapped back from those thoughts as Mark made demands on his body. The boy was teasing, sitting on his favorite spot, enjoying the hardness deep in his bowels. But he would move a bit and then stop, his eyes closed, savoring the feelings. Brian's cock would begin to lose its fullness and the boy would again move to stimulate the instrument of his pleasure. They had been at it for almost an hour. It was good that Mark had lost that urge to rut early on; he was into extending the sessions, even if it meant making extreme demands on Brian's body. Viagra be damned, Brian had the only sure-fire sexual aid he knew sitting on his cock. What was this, orgasm number three? The house had become a home rather quickly after that wonderful surprise party. Rosie slid her things into place and filled the gaps with several shopping sprees. Brian had more than enough to fill his apartment, although Mark didn't care to see much past setting up the bedroom. And here they were several weeks later, making plans for the rest of the summer, enjoying the city views at night, and settling back down to the long and tedious work schedule. Mark moved again, sliding his butt around in their shared sweat and natural body lubrication. "Stay with me, I am gonna make you cum again," Mark said. Brian groaned. "You'll try, I'm sure...I don't think I have anything left to give." Their bodies were covered in sweat despite the air conditioning. Brian's neck, chest and stomach were soaked with the boy's seed. Mark had brought them there twice; he was going for a third. His butt hole was sore, chafed from the repeat performance, but he had to try...he always tried. He groaned when he felt Brian harden yet again, OK...time for the big finish. Brian grinned up at him when he sensed Mark's need. "Go Baby...you have me now." And Mark groaned again as he bounced up and down. His cock wasn't going to do anything of its own free will, and Brian reached down and began to massage it back to life. Oh yes, the feeling was still there...just a little more of that and... Mark squealed as he felt Brian's cock swell. His body trembled at his own approaching orgasm and they came together one final time before Mark collapsed on Brian's chest. The hardness left his rear rather quickly and Mark hardly felt it leave, he was numb down there. "OK, three in a row, are you done?" Brian chuckled. "Done...we got it done," Mark gasped. "Damn, I'm sore now." "You? I may not be able to pee for a week," Brian laughed. Mark smiled. "I need a bath...you?" "Midnight bathing sounds fine to me." The plumber would be in next week, the Japanese tub would fit in nicely down in the sun room. Mark had requested it and they chose the spot together. For now they did it the western way. As the tub filled they stood at the window looking out at the lights of the city below. "Hard to tell the difference between our view and Tim's," Mark said. "We have a more southerly view; his is a little south and east. There's less development around him, at least we don't have to look in anyone else's back yard," Brian said. "But he's higher too, just the next hill over." They showered off the goo and then slid into the tub. "Are you going to teach Rosie how to bathe Japanese style?" Brian asked. "Not naked I'm not; they don't mix men and women, do they?" "Families bathe together I believe, we are so hung up here," Brian replied. The water in the tub sloshed around and the lights flickered a bit. "What was that...earthquake?" Mark asked. "Felt like it..." And then it happened again. "Come on...out of the tub," Brian said. They dried in a hurry and threw on some shorts. Brian grabbed his wallet and car keys on the way out the door. Another shake occurred as they walked out the front door and Mark followed him over to the driveway. "Where are we going?" Mark asked. "Nowhere, I just want to sit in the car for a while. I don't know this area, it didn't move around much, but I want to see what happened elsewhere." They slid in the seats and Brian turned on the radio. The reports said the quake had been centered in the San Bernardino area, nothing they had to worry about. If the house sat on solid bedrock they would feel the tremblers, but it was unlikely to cause any damage. It paid to be careful; Mark was a valuable asset to a lot of people. The water in the tub was cold when they went back inside, so Brian drained it and they changed the sheets before sliding in bed. They had both grown up with earthquakes as a fact of life; Californians shrugged it off most times. The Big One might come tomorrow; it fed the lifestyle with a sense of urgency. The thought nagged in everyone's mind on a daily basis, but it didn't keep them from falling asleep. Wayne Edwards and Leonard Avery took the studio shuttle downtown to the museum; Tina loaded the extras on two comfortable buses. Tim and Brian took the limo alone because Mark and Steve decided to ride with the other kids in a show of solidarity. The street on one side of the Natural History Museum had been cordoned off. Equipment trucks and two school buses occupied the space behind the police lines. On-site shooting was a pain in the ass for everyone, but you couldn't build a museum filled with dinosaur bones on any studio lot. Episode Three was nicknamed 'Chaos at the Museum' by the writers, it was all of that. The museum closed at five, and they were going to run the shooting late, as late as needed. Keeping thirty-five kids under control would be a challenge, especially when Adam began reacting to the dinosaurs like they were Narts. The kid scenes would be over in three or four hours, then they would shoot the aftermath and every detail they needed. Alan did not want to return here, it cost too much. Studio B back on the Triton lot had been the site of some serious construction the past three weeks, all in an attempt to reproduce the actual gift shop at the museum and the imaginary storeroom where Puckett and Adam would be trapped. But first came the museum, and the transport buses pulled up at the side entrance. Once the camera equipment was set up out front, the kids would board the two school buses and drive around the block, pulling up to the entrance and unloading as the cameras ran. The effort would show that Blake, the science teacher, was in complete control of twenty kids, Puckett was at a loss with his. But then he had Adam and Steve to contend with, along with Butch the Bully. The younger extras were not selected for the scenes, this was to be a seventh and eighth grade outing. Butch was the catalyst for much of the bad behavior in this episode, Steve was the fall guy. And even though the story in this episode would carry into the next, there would be some strange happenings to charm the audience's socks off. The caterer had set up in the middle of the blocked off street, and here Alan was holding court with the two dozen adult extras required in the scenes. People in 'off the street' clothing, guards in 'uniform', and several other 'museum' employees all listened to his instructions. Only three of them had lines, and they would be paid scale for their participation. The cameras were finally in place and Tina moved the kids to the school buses, Puckett and Blake took their seats and then so did Mark and Steve. Beverly was not in these scenes, they were holding her back for the next episode, giving Adam a chance to relive what was about to happen. The buses drove around the block and Alan stood behind the cameras with Tim and Brian as they hove into sight. "Rolling," Frank called out, and the buses were captured on their approach to the curb. There were three camera positions, Alan didn't want to chance losing a shot so all three were running. Blake and Puckett were wired for sound, two sound techs held a parabolic mike for the background sounds of kids and traffic. And the doors of each bus opened. Blake stepped down and addressed the kids in his bus. "Single file now, let's move along." He said. The orderly fashion in which they disembarked was almost a laugh, the kids looked like robots. The spacing between them was exact, the steps slow and even, two hours of rehearsal had been needed to achieve the result. Puckett stepped down on the sidewalk and was nearly run over by his kids who seemed to boil out the doorway. "Slow down, stay in line." He yelled, all to no avail. Butch stepped down and landed right on Puckett's foot. "Oops, sorry," The boy said insincerely. Puckett was hustling around trying to maintain order when Adam and Steve stepped off the bus and stood watching the chaos, then they waded through it to the front steps of the museum. Steve turned and let out a piercing whistle, a talent that Alan had only recently discovered. "Line up people," Steve yelled, and the kids did just that. Mark smiled at Puckett, and they all followed Blake's group up the steps and through the doors. "Cut," Alan yelled. "Jeez, what a mess." Frank hurried over. "We got all kinds of stuff to work with, are we OK?" Alan laughed. "I have no idea, we wanted chaos and that's what we got. The kids were great, thanks Tina." Tina smiled, she had rehearsed them well. Alan was always lavish with his praise, but it was good to hear, and now they could move on. The cameras were moved, the dollies and booms hoisted up the stairs by the crews. The sound crew tagged along last. Each scene and every location they might shoot was evaluated beforehand. Lighting and sound was planned out to maintain production standards. Cameras were adjustable for lighting conditions, lenses could achieve different effects. But digital equipment was sensitive, it picked up damning details that a director often wished wasn't there. Editing could only do so much, and then it became expensive if the special effects guys had to be called in to add or remove something. Sound was like that too, it picked up all kinds of garbage. The ambient noise in the museum was like recording in a cavern, and there were maintenance guys waiting around in case they had to shut down some equipment as the shoot took place. But the wireless system allowed them to tag each actor with a personal mike, mixing the sound levels later in the studio. The nice thing about a museum was that the kids couldn't get bored; there was so much to look at. Right now they were staring up at the bones of a tyrannosaurus which towered over their heads. Most of the extras had been here before; it was a favorite field trip experience for the kids in Los Angeles County. Tina hustled the kids in a semicircle around the dinosaur exhibit, the skeletons looked fierce and that was what Alan wanted to capture. The Steadicam moved around behind the kids and Frank nodded, they were rolling without a voice command. The sounds of the kids whispering, the awe of what they were looking at, the camera recorded it all. Blake stepped forward and clapped his hands for attention. "We will go in our groups to one of the displays and I will stop for any questions you might have, and then we will move on to the next display. Please stay together and raise your hand before you speak. There are other people in the museum so we don't need to make a lot of noise." The groups moved on towards the next room, the insect displays. "Ew, bugs," Steve said, and his voice echoed around the room. "Not just any bugs, here we see species that have been extinct for millions of years. Like this fine creature," Blake said. "This is the ancestor of the cockroach, see how big they are?" "I've seen roaches that big in the dumpster behind the school," Steve whispered. Adam nodded. "On Regalia they're considered quite a delicacy." "Oh no way," Steve said. "You eat those?" "I'm not one of the bug eaters; I'd rather have a hamburger." "Quiet," Puckett hissed from several feet away. "It comes as no surprise to us that as the food sources on Earth became scarce after the cataclysm which brought the dinosaurs to extinction, bugs became smaller. Nature allowed them to adapt to their surroundings and thus provided their continued existence. Larger creatures did not adapt, and they are no longer with us...now over here we have..." The camera eye followed the students down the room and into the next, a display of ancient native people. "These are some of the early tribal people that first populated North America...Yes, Adam?" "They came after the dinosaurs were gone...was there anything here?" Blake smiled, a surprised look on his face. "A good question, what was left? There were millions of years between the age of dinosaurs and the first human inhabitants. By then the surviving creatures had adapted and new species were evolved. The natives found a lot of game animals, for in the beginning they were hunters and did not grow their own crops." Adam stood fascinated as the group moved on. The diorama around the still figures depicted the grasslands of the valley. These were not like the Indians Adam had seen on television, and there were no cowboys either. The images he had seen on television for years must have been wrong; surely the museum knew what was right. He looked up and the room was empty. Adam was moving towards the entrance to the next exhibit when he heard a mighty roar. Did they have live creatures here? He peeked around the corner and saw the students all plastered against the wall as this giant dinosaur moved its head around and looked down at them. This one was alive! The room was darkened, it was hard to tell what was going on, but Adam sensed danger. Some of the girls screamed as the dinosaur lifted a huge foot and roared. Yes, his friends were in danger. And as luck would have it there was a display of native weapons right by the door. Adam grabbed a bow and two arrows from the case, notching one of the arrows as he had seen Indians do on television. He popped back around the corner just as the dinosaur roared again and its head came swooping down, the huge jaws opening to bite at something. Adam stepped in the doorway and fired off an arrow at the beast, and then he fitted the second arrow to the bow. The first arrow had bounced off the beast's plastic hide so this time he took careful aim and the beast seemed to leer at him as it opened its mouth to roar out a threat. Narts did that, and they had thick hides that could deflect a weapon's projectile quite easily. Every boy on Regalia knew that the best place to shoot a Nart was in the soft skin of the neck, that's where their heart was. And so Adam aimed and fired, just as the dinosaur opened its mouth. The arrow flew straight down the beast's throat in mid-roar and the sound immediately stopped. Steve rushed around the corner and pushed Adam up against the wall. "What the hell are you doing?" Steve demanded. "The dinosaur was attacking...."Adam began. "Adam, snap out of it...that thing is a mechanical display, it's not alive." "Oh...but..." Adam dropped the bow and Steve bent to pick it up just as Puckett rushed in the room. "Steven...what the hell are you doing?" Puckett stripped the bow from Steve's hand and tossed it back on the display, he glared at Adam and yanked Steve by the arm back into the other room, Adam meekly followed. OK, he had been wrong, dinosaurs really were extinct, but Narts weren't. The lights came up and the students followed Blake out of the exhibit, no one had seen the arrows fly. Except now the dinosaur was speechless and Adam seemed to get some satisfaction out of that. "Cut," Alan said. The prop girl retrieved the bow and went looking for the arrows. The cameras were once again moved as the museum people set up a ladder to see if there had been any damage to their display. The arrows had rubber tips, they had been assured that if there was any damage that the studio would pay for it, Alan had to sign a waiver. Mark had spent an hour practicing with the bow back at the studio. It wasn't very strong, but he was happy, he'd nailed that dino right in the kisser. Frank wheeled his dolly on past and grinned. "Nice shooting, paleface," He laughed. The museum guy retrieved the arrow from the dino's mouth and dropped it back down to the prop girl. At least that bit was over. Alan called a break and Mark followed Brian out to the chuck wagon for some tea. Steve was there in the short line, joking with Butch Peterson. "How late do you think this is gonna run?" Butch asked when he saw Mark. "Two more scenes with you guys, and then Wayne and I do our thing," Mark said. "Why, you got a hot date?" Butch laughed. "No, it's my little sister's birthday, she's three today." "Aww, sweet,"" Steve said. "At least you have some girl in your life." "Hey, I do alright with the ladies," Butch threw back with a grin. "I got fan mail." Brian smiled. Everyone in the cast was getting mail. Mark and Steve spent thirty minutes to an hour a day reading e-mail from the fans and responding to some. The ACE website was flooded and Triton knew better then to ignore the television audience. They had backed off placing a YouTube clip; there were already bootleg copies of the first season out there on the internet. Their break ended and they resumed the shoot in the hallway outside a display room. Blake was droning on about the La Brea tar pits and the discovery of dinosaur remains, a young lady raised her hand. "Mr. Blake, may we use the bathrooms?" She asked. Blake looked concerned, as if he had forgotten the needs of the kids while rambling on. He nodded and a dozen kids of each sex split off from the group and headed for the restrooms. Puckett had been standing there with a hand on Steve's shoulder; he wasn't planning to lose sight of his little alleged troublemaker. But Blake turned and followed the boys towards the bathroom and Steve slid out of Puckett's grasp and went along. Puckett had to stay with the group and didn't see Butch smile and follow Steve, but Adam did. All along Adam had been there when Butch had confronted the boy, he had just missed the punch that bloodied Steve's lip, but Butch had paid for that. The prop guys had pumped a small cafeteria style carton of chocolate milk with forty pounds of air pressure. The minute Butch popped the seal in a cafeteria scene the kid was sprayed with milk and the whole room laughed at him while Adam sat across the room and smiled. Blake paused at the bathroom door as the boys went in. There was now a water fountain attached to the wall by the entrance, a special fountain rigged for the scene. Butch shoved Steve into the wall as he stood at one of the urinals, and then laughed until Adam stepped between them. For some reason Butch could not do anything while Adam was there, Steve grinned and walked out of the bathroom. "You're being bad again, Butch...haven't you learned anything?" Adam asked. Butch was frozen in place as Adam looked around the room. He spotted the water fountain and smiled. Like a robot Butch took short deliberate steps to the water fountain and bent over for a drink. "You need to cool off, Butch," Adam said, and then Butch grasped the sides of the fountain as Adam walked out the door. The fountain began to spray water, splattering Butch's face and shirt. He struggled but his hands seemed to be glued to the fountain, he couldn't get away. "Help," Butch yelled. And from beyond the door Adam could be heard laughing. The tour resumed with a very wet Butch standing at the back of the group. Blake led them back to the lobby and they were allowed to visit the gift shop. Not all the kids went inside but Adam did, and Puckett tagged along to keep an eye on the boy. The gift displays were mostly under glass and locked up, but there were several counters of shirts, baubles and beads out in the open. Puckett stood by the door and looked at his watch. A girl approached. "Mr. Puckett, do I have time to look at the books?" She asked. He looked at his watch again. "Five minutes and then we have to leave," He replied. She rushed over to the book shelves and Puckett looked around, Adam had disappeared. The camera cut back to a low shot of Adam on the floor behind the counter, he was on his hands and knees picking up beads from a broken necklace. The camera angle caught Puckett from the knees down as he stepped around the counter, scattering beads even further across the floor. "What did you do?" Puckett whispered loudly. Adam looked up. "I don't know, it just broke." Butch stepped up at that point and smiled. "You broke it...that will cost you." "Mind your own business, Butch," Puckett said, and turned to look back at Adam who had once again disappeared. The door to the rear storeroom loomed open before him and Puckett stuck his head inside. "Adam?" He said. And from the rear of the room filled with shelves and boxes came Adam's reply. "Oh, Wow...would you look at this." Puckett stepped through the doorway and disappeared. Butch stood there a moment and looked down at the key sitting in the lock. He looked around and smiled, pulling the door shut and locking it. Then he removed the key and tossed it in the bin with a large display of souvenirs, chuckling to himself. The camera followed Butch back towards the entrance where the girls and two boys stood. "Puckett says it's time to go, we better move out," He said, and the kids all left the gift shop. They were the last customers, and the young lady behind the counter looked around and then down at her watch. She smiled and flipped a few switches on the wall. The display lights went out and the room became dark. She stepped out and pulled down the security grating and there was a click as it locked in place. The final shot from the camera showed the face of the metal storeroom door. The knob moved a bit, it was locked, and from behind the door the microphones picked up a lone voice. "Hello?" Puckett could be heard saying. "Is anyone out there?" "Cut," Alan said. "Good job." Tina strode over and opened the door, and Wayne stood there grinning. "Did it work?" He asked. Tina smiled. "Like a charm." "I need some time filler," Alan called out as he watched the playback. The grate slid open and the lights came back on. Mitch moved the Steadicam towards the back and Alan had Mark get back on the floor while Wayne resumed his stance by the counter. Props scattered some more beads on the floor. "I need you to give the beads another little kick around, Wayne. Try to make some roll back through the door. I want Adam to crawl back through the door after the beads as you do your line with Butch, then a little expression as you see the boy has vanished. Then do your slow walk through the doorway and we'll follow. " "Got it," Wayne said. "Mitch, keep low as Adam follows the beads into the back and then pull back as Puckett follows. I want a half shot of the door, Puckett from the waist down, that way I'll get the key's dangling in the lock before Butch even sees them. OK? Let's do it." They shot it twice until Alan saw what he wanted. The sequence was Adam crawling after beads, Puckett's lines with Butch and then a shot of the man from the knees down. A turn this way and that, then a slow steady approach to the doorway. The view of the keys dangling before a full shot of Puckett leaning in the doorway and saying, "Adam?" The cuts would be spliced into one smooth flowing chain of events, leaving the audience with no doubt that Puckett and Adam were trapped in the storeroom. Then it was time to shoot the last scene in the gift shop, something simple at least. Adam and Puckett stood behind the grating, the lights out behind them. The sound of an alarm bell could be heard ringing in the background as Puckett grasped the grate and shook it to no avail. Adam had the final line. "Uh Oh," He said, and Alan yelled "Cut." They shot the final scene on the front steps outside the museum. Blake was there with Steve and two security guards. Two angle shots, one facing the building and the other out towards the street and the two yellow buses. "But you heard the young man, our Principal and a student are missing," Blake said to one of the guards. "Sir, we'll take one last look around inside, but I assure you we saw no one. The alarm sets automatically and if the sensors detected movement it would go off, but there is no alarm. I'm sure they left without informing you," The guard said. The guards unlocked the door and stepped inside. Blake stood there, distress clearly etched on his face. "This is terrible, where could they have gone?" He was talking to himself, and Steve just smiled. "What will I say to Adam's parents?" Blake groaned. Steve cleared his throat and Blake looked down. "Yes?" There was a knock on the glass door and Blake looked up at the security guard standing inside, the man shook his head and shrugged. "Oh my," Blake said. "How terrible for Adam." "Mr. Blake, I think you ought to feel sorry for Mr. Puckett, Adam can take care of himself," Steve said. "Cut," Alan said. "Wrap it up." The final shot would once again be the storeroom door and Puckett's voice. "Hello, can anyone hear me?" Tomorrow morning they would move into Studio B for the opening of Episode Four. Alan sighed, that would be a lot easier to manage. The storeroom and the police station sets were done, and in the afternoon Brandon Edgerton would grace the set with his presence. The star of a dozen cop style television shows, numerous drama films and even a few comedies, the man was a legend. He had the part of a cranky police detective down to a science, and Alan was counting on it. Their first featured star, Adam Conquers Earth was about to go into new territory. Rosie and Todd were sitting in the kitchen when they got home, two glasses of wine on the table. Mark took one look at the smile on Rosie's face and knew Todd had finally popped the question. Brian smiled as Rosie held up her hand to display the ring. "How wonderful," Brian said, giving her a kiss and shaking Todd's hand. Mark was quiet; things were going to change again. Todd at least was savvy enough to sense the moment and he smiled at Mark. "I'm marrying your aunt, Mark...nothing changes for you. No young man wants life to change, I understand that. We'll take our time, and I hope we can work this out." "Will you move out?" Mark asked, and Rosie shook her head. "I'd like Todd to come live with us, it's too soon for me to leave," She said. Mark seemed to accept that and sat down to eat his dinner. Brian knew this would change things, but he wasn't expecting it to be challenged right away. He and Mark cleared away the dinner dishes and Brian said good night, figuring Mark needed a good night's sleep and some time to think. Todd and Rosie went in the living room and settled down as Mark went to his room. But fifteen minutes later he was back and smiled as he crossed the room towards the door. "Mark...where are you going?" Todd asked. "To see Brian," Mark said. "It's kinda late there, isn't it? I think you should go back to your room." Mark paused at the door and turned back. "I visit Brian any time I want, we like to talk." "Go back to bed, Mark," Todd said. Mark shrugged and turned towards the door once again. "Mark," Todd said a bit too loudly. He had crossed the line. Mark turned around and walked over to the couch. Rosie was sitting quietly, wondering at Todd's attitude and knowing how Mark would respond. "I'm going to see, Brian. Just because you're engaged to my aunt doesn't give you the right to control my life, this is my house after all and not yours. If you plan to stay here you'll learn that I set my own schedule and meet my own commitments, and that will not change no matter what you say." Mark did an about face and left the room, shutting Brian's door quietly behind him. "What the hell was that?" Todd asked. "You won't control him no matter what you try," Rosie said. "He's very much in charge of his own life, and he does it quite well. And believe me, if Mark says you have to leave you will. He has a very large bodyguard that would throw you out the door in a minute if Mark asked him too." Rosie reached over and patted Todd's hand. "Brian is his source of strength; they talk all hours of the day and night so get used to it. He's the only man that can get through to the boy, and I thank the Lord every day that's he's in Mark's life right now. So let it go, you won't change things." "I'm sorry," Todd said. "In my family Dad used to do all our thinking when we were kids, I didn't realize that Mark is such an independent boy. But if it works for you I'm just keeping my mouth shut." "He needs time to adjust, Todd...just give him some room." Mark found Brian looking at his mail. "So Todd tried the power play with me and lost, I think he got the point." Brian smiled. "Trying to control you already, huh? Rosie will straighten him out. You ought to be in bed...my bed." "That's why I'm here." The day had gone well and Mark was deflating slowly. A little love, a gentle back rub, and he was out for the count. Todd would soon learn that he wasn't wanted as a father figure; Brian supposed the man felt like he had to try. Rosie would have her hands full. They were fifteen minutes into the shoot on the storeroom set when the ground shook, only down here in the valley it felt larger. Brian had been sitting behind Alan watching the monitor. Puckett and Adam were moving boxes to see if there was another way out. "Hello, can anyone hear me?" Puckett repeated as his opening line, slowly banging his head against the door. "What time is it?" Adam asked. Puckett looked at his watch, "Five-ten." "The museum is closed, no one is out there," Adam said. Puckett groaned. "Thanks for the good news. I'm starving, I didn't get lunch." "We have food, I saw some dinosaur cookies, and there's bottled water on the shelf behind you." Puckett grabbed a water and drank half the bottle. "Better be careful, we don't have a bathroom," Mark advised. Puckett sat on a carton and opened a box of the cookies. He tasted one and made a face. "They're dry, tasteless." "Maybe they're sixty-five million years old," Adam joked. "How did we manage to get locked in here?" Puckett asked. "I didn't shut the door...who did?" "Butch...he was the only one out there, I bet he locked us in," Puckett said. "Sounds like him," Adam said. "We could be here all night." "Oh, now there's a pleasant thought...we have to get out of here. Your parents will be worried." "Maybe...I never know," Adam said. The silence grew around them and Adam scoped out the room. There was a tiny window high up on the wall, but there were bars running across it. Puckett's box slowly collapsed under his weight and the man was left sprawled on the floor. Adam smiled; he seemed to be enjoying the man's misery. Mitch was crammed in a corner with the Steadicam, and there were two other cameras pointing through holes in the wall. The angles were tight, the room felt confining...and then the building shook with the tremor of an earthquake. They froze in place, awaiting a sign from Alan. The ground heaved again. "What was that?" Mark said. It wasn't the line he was supposed to deliver. "Earthquake," Wayne responded. Mark smiled and slipped back into Adam mode. "The ground shakes? That doesn't happen on Regalia." "Regalia, I never heard of that town," Puckett said. Mark was ad-libbing and damned if Wayne was going to be left behind. "Small red planet, about four thousand light years away," Adam said. "So, it's further than Encino," Puckett said, eliciting a smile from Mark. "A little, I'm an alien....don't you think that's weird?" "Weird? I'll give you weird, have you seen the seventh graders this year?" Puckett was grinning now. "Yeah, strange creatures, the bunch of them," Adam laughed. They heard laughter from the other side of the wall. "Stop it you two, the earthquake is over...get back into it," Alan yelled. "We're rolling." Puckett laughed...a short barking sound followed by silence "I ought to be sitting at home in front of my television watching the news and eating my dinner," Puckett said, rubbing his face with his hands to hide the grin. "Instead I find myself trapped here with you...you of all people." He looked over at Adam, the concerned look back on his face. "What did I do to deserve you?" "You don't like me," Adam said. Puckett frowned. "It's not you, it's the way you act...you have no sense of discipline. My school is just a playground for you." "I have to go to school or else..." Adam's voice trailed off. "Or else what? Go on, tell me," Puckett insisted. Adam smiled. "You wouldn't understand...we're not from the same planet." "I can agree with you there." Puckett looked at his watch again. "Fourteen hours until the museum opens again...it seems like an eternity." "You could sleep," Adam suggested. "And what about you?" Puckett asked. "I might try to open the door." "Oh that would be nice," Puckett said, "Why didn't I think of that? It's locked solid." Adam got up and walked to the door. "How does the lock work?" From this side all he could see was a knob and a key slot for the deadbolt. "We don't have a key...it takes..."Puckett began. But Adam had placed a hand over the key slot and Puckett heard a loud snap. Adam turned the knob and the door opened. "It's open," Adam said with a smile. Puckett gasped and scrambled to his feet. "How did you do that?" Adam shrugged. "I don't know...it needed to open that's all." They both stood looking out the doorway at the darkened room beyond, and then they stepped through. "Cut," Alan said. They shot some filler time. Puckett pacing back and forth in the tiny room, Adam looking through boxes. More moments of silence, all to show the progress of time spent entrapped in that tiny room. The whole six minute scene would be made with Alan's edits, splicing the material together in a logical progression. Seventy-two minutes of recorded images all condensed into six, it would probably take Alan three or four hours of work. Every bit of information recorded was digitally encoded, timed to a hundredth of a second so everything was calibrated. The master for each scene would be built from those digital parts into a smooth flowing whole. It would all be viewed by a dozen eyes, but only Alan had the final say, he got to paint the final picture. Brian watched them setting up the police station set for the afternoon shoot. Steve and Tim walked in the studio and looked around. "Is she here yet?" Steve asked. "No, but she ought to be," Brian said. Steve was referring to Marsha Grant, the reporter for a national entertainment channel's Star Power program. One of the little details of the work day was the interviews that took place, sometimes weekly. Grant had been after Triton for a slot with the boys for weeks, this was her chance. Steve went off to find Mark and get himself powdered by the makeup girl for the interview under hot lights. Both boys had done dozens of these interviews by now, the format was pretty standard. Fifteen to twenty minutes would boil down to a three minute spot on Marsha's show. They would break for lunch in about an hour so Brian had been relieved to see the van from the channel unloading the setup. Three chairs, six lights and two cameras, that standard KISS of television, keep it simple and move on. The only thing that made money was air time, and time was the enemy if it was wasted. Marsha Grant breezed in and within ten minutes they got down to it. Marsha smiled at the camera. "We have with us this morning Mark Harrison and Steven Biddle, stars of the new sit-com sensation Adam Conquers Earth. Good Morning, and Mark I suppose the first question goes to you because I hear you're not only the star of the show, you have a creative role as well. What can you tell me about that?" "Good Morning to you, Marsha. I work with the writers in script development; I think that's the fun part of the process. They're a great bunch of guys with a lot of experience so I get to laugh a lot." "Your previous experience was a minor role on Beacon's World and a good deal of stage work; did any of that prepare you for what you're doing now?" "A little, acting is something I always wanted to do. I can't say I was prepared for the intensity of bringing a show of this magnitude to the audience, but I'm learning fast. At least I have a great bunch of people around me, the cast is full of experienced people, I still feel like the rookie." "Steve, you also came from stage work, a singer if I'm not mistaken?" "Yes, I sang in musicals before I auditioned for this show, that's where Alan Dawkins the director saw me." "So what's it like for you? The role you play as the friend of an alien is unique, and I see they keep giving you more on screen time as the series progresses." "Yes, that's Mark's doing. I'll do whatever they ask of me, the fun never stops." "So the both of you, tell me about the fan response." "Wow, we have the greatest fans in the world," Mark said. "Steve and I spend hours online talking back to them." "You personally respond to your mail?" "Absolutely," Steve said. "We both agree, if they take the time to reach out to us we have to respond. I just want all of them to know we care about the things they tell us." "That's a personal touch I don't think many young stars have," Marsha said. "Mark, you donated a lot of gifts to several children's hospitals." "Yes, and I know the fans who send both Steve and I all those stuffed animals would agree. If we can bring a little joy into the minds of those sick kids out there it's all worthwhile. I feel we have a partnership with our fans. We support those kids together, neither of us could do it alone." "I agree," Steve said, "But it was Mark's idea. We had this huge room full of toys and he said we ought to give them to kids who don't have all the things we do." Marsha nodded. "I'm sure the fans are very pleased with your decision. So what comes next, any thoughts on where the show is going?" Mark laughed. "We get asked that all the time, and the studio tells us not to give things away. But Triton has invested quite a bit in our success, so there will be some new faces showing up in the series. Right now we're shooting scenes with Brandon Edgerton, I'm sure everyone knows his face." "Yes we do, how exciting. So there will be other guest stars in the future?" "Yes, lots of them," Mark said. "Any thoughts about the future of your careers?" Marsha asked. Steve grinned. "I'd like to do films at some point, I think Mark would like to direct." Mark smiled. "I'd take on a film role if something good came up. As for directing, maybe on down the road. Both of us still have a lot of educational goals ahead, but after that, who knows?" Marsha nodded. "I see such energy in both of you; I think you'll be able to accomplish whatever you set your sights on. Adam Conquers Earth has a big following, so I know you'll be busy with that for some time to come. So one final question, and I'm sure the fans all want to know. What's going to happen between Beverly and Adam?" Steve laughed and Mark smiled. "Adam doesn't quite know what to make of all the fuss with Beverly; I don't think most fourteen year old human boys do either. I can't tell you exactly what will happen, but let's just say it will be a very alien response." Marsha laughed. "OK, well at least you're working on it. Thank you for sharing this time with me, I know you have a busy schedule." "You're welcome," Mark said, and he looked over at Steve. "Same goes for me, stay tuned for the season," Steve said. "Thursday nights, be there." Mark laughed at Steve's promo and slapped his shoulder, Steve slapped back and they traded slaps after that. Marsha laughed at their antics and used it to end her piece. "Alien verses human, here in Hollywood at Triton Studios, I'm Marsha Grant." She smiled and looked up at her camera man. "That's a wrap." "Thanks," Mark said. "That was fun." "So I see you guys are friends, I'm sure that must make life easier," Marsha said. "Yeah, we spend so much time together, it's nice to have someone I can really talk to," Steve said. "Long days, hard work, at least you seem to have a handle on it," Marsha said. Mark smiled and looked up at Brian waiting patiently. "I do, probably because I have people to tell me what to do like Brian over there." Marsha looked up and nodded. "I know you need to go, thank you for your time." Both boys shook her hand and Brian led them away. "That went well," He said. Steve looked over at Mark. "I thought you were about to tell her what's going to happen with Beverly." "Hell no...I don't even know yet." "What? But you said...OK, never mind." "We haven't gone there yet, Steve...it's still in the thinking stage," Mark said. Brandon Edgerton was a gaunt gray haired man, the face television audiences knew so well. His usual stern countenance was lit up with a smile as he shook Mark's hand. "I've been dying to meet you ever since my agent said they wanted me on the show. I don't watch much television, but I have seen this one because my granddaughters are such big fans," Brandon said. "Thank you, we're glad to have you working with us," Mark said. Brandon sat across a table drinking coffee as Mark talked them through the scene they were about to do. One by one the production staff slid into the room, even Alan made a showing, but no one disturbed the focus of that little meeting of the minds. Alan had hoped something like this would happen. He could talk himself blue in the face but only Mark could lay out what the scene needed. Brandon was a veteran of thirty years in front of the camera; Mark had been there only a short time. But each seemed to sense the abilities of the other, and Brian could see that the man understood Mark's role in all of this. The shoot was to begin at two, so Brandon was led to wardrobe for his costume. The character of Detective Morris was a stereotype, a serious no nonsense cop who found himself in an odd situation. The scene opened as Puckett and Adam were led into the station handcuffed together. Puckett was distraught; Adam treated it like some grand adventure. They were seated on a bench by several uniformed policemen to await Detective Morris' entrance. "Oh, we're in so much trouble," Puckett moaned. "I'm going to strangle Butch when I get the chance." "We didn't do anything wrong, you can always pay for those cookies you ate," Adam said. "It's not the cookies," Puckett hissed. "We were inside the museum, they think we broke in or something equally absurd." Adam shrugged. "We were just trying to get out." "Well I don't like people pointing guns at me, and this," Puckett said, holding up his hand where the cuffs held him to Adam. "This is humiliating, I'm not a criminal." Adam placed a hand over the cuff on Puckett's wrist and it snapped open. "There you go." "No...don't do that," Puckett gasped, grabbing the cuff and snapping it back on his wrist. "They might think I'm trying to escape...how did you do that?" "It's just a thing," Adam said. Puckett suddenly got serious. "And that door, how did you open it? I know it was locked, I tried it a dozen times." "I just did," Adam said. "Well I need to know, they're going to ask me, I was in charge of that field trip." A door opened and Detective Morris stepped out of an office. The rumpled brown suit and horribly loud tie, yes, he was that old familiar character once again. "Mr. Puckett?" He said, looking at a sheet of paper. "Will you come with me?" Puckett held up his wrist. "We're attached." Morris nodded. "Then I guess you'll both have to come." He led them through another door and into an interrogation room. A uniformed officer followed and Morris gestured to the cuffs, the cop removed them and placed them on the table before he stepped outside. The room was bare, dingy and painted a gull gray. Puckett looked around while Adam never lost focus on the detective. "It's late, why don't you just tell me what you were doing in the museum?" Morris asked. "As I told the officers, one of my students locked us in the gift shop storeroom as a prank and we couldn't get out," Puckett said. "We didn't go in there intentionally, we just couldn't get out." Morris nodded, reading the report in his hand. "And yet somehow you did." "Adam opened the door," Puckett said. Morris looked at the boy and then back down at the report. "Adam Vernon. We called your parents, they'll be here shortly." He lay the report down and looked across the table at the boy. "So the door was locked and you opened it?" Adam nodded. "Yes, it just went snap and opened when I turned the knob. I didn't know there was a screen outside, and then the alarms went off." "Yes, you tripped the motion sensors." Morris stared at the boy. "Did anything happen while you were in that storeroom?" Adam nodded. "Mr. Puckett ate some cookies and we talked." "Cookies...he didn't touch you?" Morris asked. "Oh My God...you don't think..." Puckett stammered. Morris held up his hand. "Let the boy talk. Adam, did Mr. Puckett touch you?" Adam looked puzzled. "No, we just sat there until I opened the door." "How did you do that?" Adam picked up the handcuffs and locked one side on his wrist. He closed his eyes a second and the cuff popped open. "Like that," Adam said. Morris raised his eyebrows. "You do magic tricks?" Morris asked. "No, it just happens," Adam said. Morris picked up the cuffs and snapped one of them on his own wrist. "Can you make it open now?" Adam reached over and touched the cuffs, they sprang open. "Telekinesis...do you know what that means?" Morris asked. Adam shook his head and Morris frowned. "So you just unlocked the door the same way?" Adam nodded and Morris sighed. "Who locked you in?" He asked. "Butch Peterson, he does bad things," Adam said. Puckett was sitting there, silent, his mouth open...stunned. Morris nodded and fiddled with the handcuffs and then looked up at Puckett. "You're the principal at Brighton....does this Butch character cause you a lot of problems?" Puckett nodded, but Adam answered. "He's a bully." Morris nodded. "He picks on you?" "No, but he'd like to...I won't let him," Adam said. "And how do you stop him?" Morris asked. Adam smiled and reached across the table. He looked up at Morris' face, and then gently grasped the detective's hand as he closed his eyes. Morris went through that now familiar transformation; he blinked twice and stared at Adam. Morris' hard visage softened. "I don't even know why you're here, this was all a mistake," He said. Morris reached for the report and crumpled up the sheets of paper. "Go home, you both have school tomorrow." Adam smiled and rose from his chair as Morris stood. They walked to the door and Morris put a hand on Adam's shoulder. "I'm sure you'll take good care of Butch...he doesn't know about you, does he?" Adam smiled and shook his head, and now Morris smiled. "If he bothers you again just call me, we'll scare him together." Morris looked back at Puckett. "Are you going to stay here all night?" He asked, and Puckett jumped to his feet to follow. The Vernon's were waiting outside in the hall and Morris walked over as Adam hugged his mother. "He's a good boy, this was all a mistake," He said. "Thank you, Adam." And with that Morris made his exit. "Cut," Alan yelled. The next scene would be shot in the parking lot behind the studio after dark some evening, Puckett and Adam in the back seat as the Vernon's gave him a lift back to the school to retrieve his car. Tomorrow they would shoot the aftermath of the museum incident. Puckett's phone call from the office of the school board, he was in hot water. The audience would hear the phone call from both sides as Puckett got chewed out. What they wouldn't know was that the voice they would hear belonged to Alan Dawkins. Mark thought it would be fun if Alan got a shot in the show, and it would all be a bit of fun. Brandon was all smiles when the shooting was over. He'd recited less than two dozen lines, but like most character actors his image had said a whole lot more in the scenes. Mark sat with him in the break room and autographed a couple of photos for his granddaughters. Triton's photographer had already taken a few shots of them together as characters in the scenes. Brandon would be added to the galley in the lobby. "We left it open ended with that character, I'm sure you noticed. I'm not sure when, but I'd love to bring you back on the show," Mark said. Brandon smiled. "I'd love to come back. You guys have a smooth operation, no wonder this show works so well. I wouldn't mind being a part of this again." "I'll be sure we write you in again," Mark said. Brandon chuckled. "Alan said you were the creative genius for most of this, I thought he was kidding. You have a great future in this business, Mark...just grow into it gently." Brandon got up to leave and Mark hugged him. "Thanks for all your help, stay in touch," Mark said. And then Brandon left. Mark sat back down and Brian joined him. "That was great chemistry," Brian said. "Yeah, I felt it too," Mark said. "He's got that gruff cop thing down to a science, but I'd love to see him play other roles. I suppose he's type cast now, I wonder if that will happen to me?" Brian shook his head. "No...you won't be an alien in everything you do. There will be bigger and better roles for you as you grow up." Mark grinned and looked down at the ring on his finger. "I already have a lifetime role, and it suits me just fine." Brian smiled. "Yeah, you already make a great romantic leading man." Mark giggled. "Then lead me home and I'll practice my part."