Yo, people!  It's me, of the infamous Story Fragment.  I posted a small
story a few weeks a go, but it got all screwy so I decided just to redo
it.  Hope you like this version.

All non-infringment stuff here.

'NETTED

   "I TOLD you he was the bad guy."
   Scully gave h great sigh as she and her partner exited the movie
theatre.  "I believe you now.  What I can't believe was that Sean Connery
was so... so..."
   "Bald?"  Mulder interjected helpfully.
   Scully glared at him.  "So stupid.  He totally ignored all the clues
that he had.  I'm sorry, Mulder, but Just Cause just isn't an FBI kind of
movie."
   Mulder shrugged.  "Maybe that's why I loved it so much."
   "See you tomorrow, Mulder,"  Scully replied as she got into her car. 
He waved and proceeded to head right back into the movie theatre. 
"Idiot,"  she muttered, and started the car.
   Once she was back home, Scully fixed herself a nice cup of tea, and
decided to cruise the Internet.  She signed on, and amused herself for 
about half an hour scrolling through the various newsgroups.  About nine
o'clock she decided she would peek into the "Sightings"  folder, just for
laughs.  Some of the alleged paranormal experiences were hilarious.
   One surfer's name, Firestarter, came up quite a bit.  Although he had
few pieces of extraterrestrial presence himself, he obviously enjoyed
discussing sightings with other surfers.  She smiled and joined their
arguments, asking various questions that would probably make them
reconsider the truth of their "experiences".

   Three days later, Mulder sat down at his computer and typed up his
password. During the past few days a surfer had taken to deflating his and
everyone elses' paranormal experiences.  The guy kept referring to the
fact that no one had ever proved the fact that there was life on other
planets, so how could they know what they were saying was true.  The
little turd called himself Skeptic, and Mulder believed him.  He wouldn't
believe in aliens if one squeezed his butt.
   Well, he was going to let this little craphead know that those who
believed got pissed if someone tried to punch holes in their theories.  He
returned a volley of verbal gunfire that Skeptic had slung at him,
enjoying the battle of wits that they were having.  It was like an
computerized Scully... and Mulder, he had admitted long ago, needed Scully
along just to keep him sane.

   :I really  have to get over this guy,: Scully thought sternly. 
Firestarter had just attacked her again, giving arguments that actually
made her pause.  This guy was much better at arguing than  Mulder could
ever be.  She wondered what Mulder would think of this guy.

   "Well good morning to you too,"  Mulder commented drily as his partner
came shuffling in.  "You know, Scully, your life would be a lot easier if
you just moved to Canada and lived with Eskimos.  You've certainly got the
dress code down pat."
   Scully gave Mulder The Look.  "For God's Sake, Mulder, it's twelve
degrees out.  I'm terribly sorry if my warmth offends you."
   "Apology accepted,"  Mulder replied without a blink.  "Here's something
I think you'll enjoy."
   The two spent the rest of the day going  over files.  Mulder was
enjoying his search immensly, but he noticed that Scully seemed distracted
often, staring into space when she was supposed to be reading up on a
file.  Mulder ignored it, but he decided to quit early.  They weren't
going to get much work done anyway if Scully was going to keep this up.

   With a guilty start Scully realized she had been thinking about the
Firestarter again.  He was so much like the guy she dreamed about. 
Except, of course, the fact that he was a parafreak.  Resolutley Scully
gathered some more files and dug in, but her heart just wasn't in it. 
When Mulder called early quits she was thrilled; she wanted to go home and
talk with Firestarter.

   Mulder drove home, his eyes on the road but his mind elsewhere. 
Skeptic, if intuition was to be believed, was an arrogant snotty kid like
he'd thougt but a young woman who liked driving men crazy.  That put a
slightly different shade on things.  He liked people, especially women,
who he could count on to drive him nuts.  That was probably why he was
such good friends with Scully.
   Skeptic had already come and gone by the time Mulder got home, but she
had twisted quite a few tails, including his, by brushing off an actual
voodoo cerimony as "a lot of chanting and some pretty fireworks."  Mulder
didn't know quite what to say, so he ignored it and simply chatted with a
few of the "regular believers".  If nothing else it was good fun, and no
one seemed to mind the Skeptic too much anymore; she was almost like their
resident party pooper.
   Over the next few weeks he became quite attracted to Skeptic, although
he knew the feeling was one way.  The Skeptic never posted a note without
some sort of insult to him, personally.  Very annoying.  But Skeptic was
so much like the friend he had never met.  He wished he could meet her.

   Scully came to the office, quite depressed.  Firestarter hadn't written
to her in severl days AND poor Mulder had broken his arm.  Again.  He had
her write on it, and was still hard at work, but he was bitterly
disappionted that he couldn't type and had to dictate anything he wanted
to get down on paper.
   "Why on earth don't you use your left hand?"  She asked, puzzled.
   "Because I tore a muscle in my palm, and the only hand I can use at all
is my right. Which is in a cast."  Mulder looked at her forlornly and
resignedhimself to reading the reports and keeping everying in his head
until he could write again.
   That night she finally got a post from Firestarter.  "Sorry I've been
gone so long, folks, but I just got a beautiful cast on my arm."  A cold
chill went down Scully's back as she continued to read.  "My other arm was
also badly damaged, due to an unfortunate run-in with a car." 
Determinedly Scully signed off and shut down her computer, deeply
disturbed.  Was it possible that Mulder WAS Firestarter?  Now that she
thought of it there were so many instances of unmistakable Mulderisms that
she couldn't believe she hadn't seen them before.  But what could she do?

   Mulder paced the office, ostensibly waiting for Scully but his mind
focused on another thing entirely.  It seemed that Skeptic was gone,
vanished from the face of the Internet.  It the Internet had a face, which
was something Mulder didn't really want to contemplate.
   So Skeptic was gone.  Mulder sighed, saddened by the loss.  He had
learned so many things from his friend, including the fact that she lived
in D.C.  Quite frustrating to find the computer love of your life was so
near and so unattainable.  Mulder sat down at his desk, trying to catch up
on some work, but he couldn't get his mind off Skeptic.  She and Scully
were so much alike, it was spooky...
   It hit him like a brick.  What if-- but it wasn't possible.  The
chances of Skeptic being Scully were almost nil...
   But it was a chance.  Mulder knew he had to find out.  Better that
Scully didn't know about this, though.  If she found out he wsa
Firestarter, he'd be in trouble.
   Scully chose that moment to waltz in, seemingly as preoccupied as he. 
She jumped when he tossed out a greeting, and seemed very nervous.  What
was wrong with her?
   "Hey, Scully, I was gonna E'mail you something, but I forgot your
screen name.  What is it again?"
   Scully blinked at him.  "Ah, my computer crashed last night, and I've
got to sigh on again.  But I think my screen name will be, um, DanaS. 
You'll be able to get that stuff to me tomorrow."
   Mulder nodded, but inside he was pleased.  She was so incredibly
obvious that he didn't have to consider it.  She was definitely Skeptic,
and all this time he had been convinced he was in love with her!   The
notion amused him, now that he thought about it.  Scully, his chosen love.
 What an idea.  Could be an X-File.

   And that't the latest edition of Elesch Babble.  Stay tuned, there's
more to come!        -Elesch