.Prologue.

Xenon Supercomputer I BIOS 1.014

Processors Nominal
Input/Output Nominal
Storage Nominal
- Peripheral Hardware Check -
Security Online
Economic monitoring Online
Weather control Online
Fluffy pink bunny Online
- System Software -
Economic model Loading...Done
Planetary weather model Loading...Done
Subconscious Loading...Done
Conscious Loading...Done
Memories Loading...Done
Rage Loading...Done

WILCO MUST PAY!!!

.One.

He could feel his consciousness spreading out through the circuits of the supercomputer, like new and bizarre limbs. It never got easier, for some reason. They always felt unfamiliar. They always resisted him ... at first. Soon, though, he was insinuated in every widely dispersed branch of the great machine. It always took some time to remember who he was, where he was, who had trapped him here. He was Vohaul. Sludge Vohaul. And the man responsible for his current predicament was Roger Wilco. WILCO MUST PAY!!!

He'd been stuck here for ... years. He didn't know how long. Time was different in here. He should know how many times it was by now, but he hadn't been counting. All he really knew was who he was, where he was, and who he should destroy to stop it.

Well, first things first. Some equipment was needed before the mission could begin. Drones. Robots. Cyborgs. Slaves. The population of the planet would serve for most of that nicely, and then there were the automated factories he was plugged into. There was much to do. Revenge and anger needed to simmer for a while.

.Two.

He knew he was in a loop. Memories like those don't stay locked forever. But he had hope - every time, it turned out slightly differently. Most of the time, it was more to his advantage. Every time so far, though, he had ended up back at the beginning of the loop. A rebel breaks into the control room, downloads him to a disk and blasts him back into space and back in time. The supercomputer itself had once disgorged him - probably due to a security program fault. Sometimes he had been forced to restart the time loop himself - to avoid repurcussions of his own actions. Still, the end result was always the same he always ended up back in the box, in space, at the same point in time.

But it would be *different* this time. Yes, this time he would find Wilco *himself*, rather than let those rebels bring him out. That was usually what they did, anyway, since Wilco was the last one to defeat him. This time, the advantage would be *his*. He went through the complex search to locate Wilco in the designated time period four. Magmetheus. Some seedy tavern. Typical. The man had no style. Vohaul dispatched two Sequel Police with a cross-time holodisk communicator, and waited. This time it would be different.

.Three.

He should have known. When had he ever settled for understatement? He could have blown that whole place to bits in one go. Now Wilco was loose in the timestream. At least he didn't have access to any of the equipment. Maybe this would be good enough, as long as the rebels couldn't follow him. Whenever Wilco ended up, it would most likely be out of the way. And he'd be stuck. The road should be clear.

.Four.

To: Master Vohaul, Despot Of the Universe, Chief High Entity, Ruler Of Eternity, Guardian Of Time, God In All But Name
Re: Wilco (jnr)
Memo: Despite the escape of Wilco (snr), Wilco (jnr) has been captured alive, as per backup directive B. He will be transported immediately to time period twelve.

To: Master Vohaul, Despot Of the Universe, Chief High Entity, etc.
Re: The Wilco threat
Memo: It appears that Wilco (snr) has been transported to this very time period, and has so far avoided capture and/or elimination. At present, Wilco is not visible on any scans of the area. However, no crosstime transports have taken place on which Wilco could be present. Searches continue.

To: Master Vohaul, Despot O. Universe, Chief High Entity, etc.
Re: Wilco (snr) escape
Memo: Wilco (snr)'s successful theft of a timepod and escape from this time period leaves his whenabouts currently unknown, but most likely between time periods eight and eleven. Searches continue.

To: Master Vohaul, Despot O. Universe, C. H. E. etc.
Re: Wilco (snr) located
Memo: Wilco (snr) has been located in time period ten. Capture operations are proceeding.

To: Master Vohaul, D. O. U., C. H. E.
Re: Wilco (snr) evasion
Memo: Wilco (snr) has once again evaded capture in time period ten. Timepod lost. Request pickup immediately.

To: SP#1202
Re: Imminent Death (yours)
Memo: Pickup denied.

.Five.

It hadn't been going well. Wilco somehow managed to escape every time the Sequel Police went after him. But now he was back in time period twelve, and coming to the inner sanctum. If he managed to get past the security droids somehow, and managed to endanger the computer storage, *and* found his way to the main holographic interface, there were still some surprises in store for him.

.Six.

Wilco never ceased to amaze Vohaul. Much in the same way as a particularly intelligent ape can surprise the scientists who study it. He'd managed to disable the security droids, set a timer to format the main storage of the computer, and it seemed he was making his way determinedly here, to the main holo-interface. Only one thing for it, then. Vohaul downloaded his mind into the body of Wilco Junior, and waited.

Wilco stepped into the room, and appeared momentarily surprised to see his rescuer suspended in a light beam. When the beam was deactivated and Vohaul could move again, he took great pleasure in the expressions of surprise and disgust that fought for place on Wilco's face as the situation was explained. But it couldn't be all talk. This was the end of Wilco, and Vohaul wasn't going to mince too many words.

They wrestled, and Vohaul was surprised by the ability of Wilco to out-manouevre him. It was probably due to the time Vohaul had spent being an enormous supercomputer, thus becoming unaccustomed to human limbs. In the end, Vohaul was forced back into the beam, and had to watch helplessly as Wilco began to manipulate the controls on the pedestal.

.Epilogue.

Once again, the time in space passed without consciousness. Then there was the light. The circuits. The spreading out. This time it would be different. This time for sure.