Disclaimer-- Action Man ain't mine. He belongs to Hasbro and Mainframe. I'm just playing with them, no money is being made. This short rated G by the Motion Picture Association of America, and is set between Brandon's "rescue" and the revelation of Dr. X.

Just Because You're Paranoid...


They say I'm paranoid. It's become a running joke among us, that I'm always jumping at shadows and seeing connections where none exist. I laugh at it just like the others do. Which is probably the best indicator that I'm not really paranoid. Paranoid people can't laugh at themselves.

I'm beginning to wonder, though. When you see things that nobody else is seeing, you begin to doubt yourself. And I certainly have a lot of reasons to doubt myself.

I never much liked or trusted Brandon Caine, that was no secret. Then again, I've never much liked or trusted anybody, with three notable exceptions. Alex understood that, just like he's understood everything else. And after everything that happened with Dr. X and several attempts on Alex's life, I felt pretty justified in jumping down his throat today. Alex saw it differently.

So for the first time in probably five years, I'm on really bad terms with Alex Mann, my best and oldest friend. On it's own, that's bad enough, but it also means that I can't talk this out with Alex. Fidget would have been out of the question anyway, and Grinder... well, some things you just can't do. And stewing in my own thoughts has never helped me see a situation more clearly.

I still don't trust Brandon Caine. That's all there is to it. But this runs a lot deeper than my general conviction that the majority of the human race would stab you as soon as look at you. He's... off, somehow. His words, his actions, everything is just a hair wrong. Just enough to make me wonder, not enough to prove I'm not seeing things.

The thing is, there are so many reasons that I might just be reading into this. There is, of course, my well-established paranoid streak. Asking someone who's been burned as often as I have to trust a guy who's PROVEN untrustworthy is just an impossibility. Alex accepts this, which is why we haven't drifted even further apart, I guess.

Then again, maybe I'm just jealous. I mentioned that Alex was my best friend, my oldest friend. He's the reason I got through high school with my sanity even close to intact. Seeing him spend so much time and effort on Brandon... I admit, it's not a particularly flattering explanation, but it's one I have to consider.

Or maybe it's because Brandon reminds me of the guys who made my life miserable in high school. They were big men in the school hierarchy, the popular guys, the ones who were at the top. Or at least they would have been, if it weren't for Alex. Even in high school, he was the best.

And then again... maybe I’m right. Dr. X is supposed to be a genius, and probably  a pretty good actor. Did Alex really stop that download in time? Just who came out of that cavern, anyway?

I don't trust Brandon. That's the bottom line, one I can't change, no matter how hard I try. And I can’t tell anyone about my suspcions, because for once, no one’s listening. I guess I’m just going to have to wait and see... and hope that the answer doesn’t end up destroying Alex completely.