THE MECHANICAL MENACE

I'm sure that all fans of Lost In Space will immediately realize that this AU is based on the second-season episode entitled "The Mechanical Men." But in this universe, Smith was not captured by the mini-Robots, and no one knew of their existence, let alone that they had caused all but the first explosion of the Jupiter II equipment.

            "Dr. Smith, why did you risk coming back here now?!" Will seemed fairly frantic.

            "But why shouldn't I?" He was genuinely bewildered.

            "Dad and Don are out there looking for you right now, and I've never seen them angrier!"

            "What?! Just because I had that little mishap while trying to create a new fuel formula for the benefit of all??!"

            Will was baffled. "But what about those other explosions??"

            "What other explosions??? William, you're not making any sense!"

            "Are you going to deny using your exact same formula to blow up the weather station and the forcefield generator?!"

            "The very idea! I didn't blow up anything else! And I didn't blow up anything on purpose!"

            "I want to believe you, but, who else could have done it?!"

            "I'm sure I have no idea!"

            "Dr. Smith, even if I try to believe you, Dad and Don won't!"

            Anxiety was entering Smith's expression.

            Will continued, "You admit causing the first explosion, Dad and Don got mad at you, you left in a huff, and the formula was the same in the other explosions!" He ticked off each point on his fingers as he enumerated them all.

            Smith's heart visibly sank. "They won't believe me, will they??"

            "No, the evidence is too overwhelming, and you've lied too many times in the past!"

            "Oh dear!! What do you think they'll do???"

            Will was shaking his head. "I don't even want to think about it!"

            "Oh no!!! Do you mean to say that this is it??! That they'll actually truly get rough with me like they've always threatened??!"

            "I'd say there's a real good chance!"

            "Oh, Will, what am I going to do???!"

            "Hide, I'd say!"

            "Where?! Inside the ship, or out there somewhere??"

            Now Will was shaking his head in near hopelessness. "Neither is a safe bet in the long run!"

            "Well, maybe we're wrong; maybe they won't really beat me!"

            Will regarded him dubiously. "You really want to count on that???"

            "Perhaps I should just surrender, and throw myself on their mercy," Smith suggested despondently.

            "They wouldn't have any right now! Dr. Smith, I think you'd better stay out of their way and give them time to simmer down first!"

            "Too late!" Penny cried suddenly from where she stood lookout. "They're back!"

            "Now you'll have to hide in the ship!" Will insisted. "Come on, Dr. Smith!"

            The two fled down the ladder, while Penny stayed above to greet the men and hopefully slow them down as much as possible.

            Now below, in a hoarse whisper, Will hissed, "No! Not in your own quarters; that's the first place they'll look! Go in my quarters! Climb up into the closet!"

            "Climb???" Smith echoed dubiously. But he obediently scurried into Will's quarters, just as Robinson and West were descending in the elevator.

            "Uhhhh, hi!" Will feigned being pleased to see the men.

            "Has Smith come back yet?" demanded Robinson.

            Caught off guard, Will hadn't expected such a direct question. He had never wanted to lie to his father, or even to West, but he fumbled for something to say. "Uhhhh, Dad, Don, what if he's innocent? What if he didn't do any of those other explosions?"

            "You're kidding, right?" demanded West.

            "So he came back, uh?" asked Robinson. "You've obviously talked to him."

            "Dad, I know it sounds unlikely, but I believe him. I don't think he did it. I know he lies a lot, but he doesn't lie all the time!"

            "Where is he, son?" Robinson demanded kindly but firmly.

            "Ummmm," Will stalled to give Smith more time to hide.

            Overly eagerly, insistently, West gripped Will's upper arm. "Now where is he?!!"

            "Ow!!" Will exclaimed in shock at the power and pressure of the grip.

            "Don! Take it easy!" John frowned.

            "Sorry." But West's apology was to Robinson, not to Will.

            "Son. I don't want Don to be rough with you, but I do want you to tell us, and now."

            "I, ummm...."

            "I'll search Smith's quarters," offered West. He went into that room.

            "I'm waiting, William."

            Will shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "What if he really didn't do it???"

            Robinson's expression grew increasingly stern. "Am I going to have to get rough with you??"

            Will knew what that meant. He swallowed hard, and answered, "No, sir" in a small voice.

            West returned to report that Smith was not in there.

            On a hunch, Robinson suggested, "Let's try Will's quarters."

            At Will's panicky return look, West smiled slightly. "Yes, let's."

            "No!" Will blurted, and automatically blocked their path.

            Robinson sighed. "I'm running out of patience, Will. Get out of our way, or Don won't be the only one who'll make you wish you had."

            Will gulped and moved out of their way. The two men entered Will's quarters, and Will meekly followed.

            Will saw then that Smith was under his bed, not in his closet as he had advised. From where Will stood, he could barely make out the tip of the older man's boot from beneath the bed. He quickly shifted his eyes in another direction, hoping that the two men hadn't followed his gaze. He pleaded, "Please don't hurt him!"

            Robinson's gaze on his son grew even more intense. "If I were you, I'd worry less about whether we hurt him, and more about whether we hurt you. At this point, my grip on your arm wouldn't be any gentler than Don's was. Or I might just turn you over my knee."

            At that instant, West saw Smith's boot just as Will had. "Okay, Buster! Come out of there!" West bent and hauled Smith out from under the bed.

            Smith screamed in fright.

            West knelt beside him, and drew back his fist.

            The instant that Smith saw West's fist, he frantically covered his face with his hands and screamed distortedly through them.

            "Hands down!" West ordered.

            A muffled, "No, please, I beg of you!!!" was Smith's only response.

            "At least listen to him!" Will tried to insist.

            Robinson had had enough. As threatened, he gripped Will's upper arm just as ungently as West had done with Will's other arm.

            "Ow!!!" Will cried.

            West sank his fist into Smith's midsection, causing Smith to bend double, and his hands automatically fled his face to cradle his hurting tummy. Whereupon, with a grin, West punched his preferred target, eliciting another scream as blood fountained from the older man's nose.

            Will cried out, "No, please, he didn't do it! Please stop!!"

            "That's it!" Robinson barked. "Will! Out! Or I'll take you over my knee this instant!"

            Morosely, Will fled the room.

            Robinson bent down on the other side of Smith, and announced, "My turn!" So saying, he rammed his fist into Smith's eye-socket, bringing a shriek from Smith and a smile from West.

            Just then, Judy hurried into the room. "Dad! Don! There are a bunch of little miniatures of our Robot outside! They demand to see our leaders! They caused the explosions before, and they just caused another one, to let us know they mean business!"

            Robinson and West exchanged a long look of consternation. Both rose from either side of Smith. From outside of Will's quarters, Will gave them a tragic sidelong look, but wisely kept his mouth shut. Smith moaned in pain, but was ignored. Robinson and West left without a word, and followed Judy up top to confront the new threat.

            Hours later, Maureen announced that it was time for dinner.

            Breaking a silence that he'd kept since the incident, Will said quietly, "I'm not hungry, Mom. And Dr. Smith's too hurt to come, and not hungry, either."

            Robinson and West regarded Will unsympathetically. The latter said, "He's not that hurt!"

            The former demanded, "What are you trying to pull, Will??!"

            Will looked uneasy, and stammered, "I'm not trying to pull anything, sir. I'm really not hungry. And with all possible respect, Dr. Smith really is in pain, sir. Actually..., I am, too."

            Robinson's jaw tightened as he stared momentarily at his son, but he made no reply. West also sent Will a tense, resentful look, but also kept silent. The boy turned away and went into his room.

            After dinner, the two men visited Will in his quarters.

            Robinson and West regarded Will solemnly. The former said, "All right, so we were wrong about Smith. Have you ever been wrong about anything, Will?"

            Will nodded, acknowledging his point. "Everyone has a right to be wrong once in a while," he answered softly.

            "I'm glad that you see that."

            "I just wish that you could wait until you're sure, before you punish."

            West spoke up, "But Will, we didn't really hurt you. We may have each given you a minor 'ouch,' but we really didn't hurt you."

            Wordlessly, Will pulled his shirt off over his head, and revealed two badly-bruised upper arms. Robinson and West stared for several beats.

            "Come here, son."

            Will shifted in discomfort, and then said slowly, "I want to obey you, sir. But...I'm...a little...frightened. What're you going to do???" He was eyeing West as much as Robinson.

            "We're not going to hurt you, son."

            Will went to them. Robinson enfolded him gently in his arms, and then tenderly touched the two bruised places with clear regret. West reached out and did the same, on the arm that he had hurt.

            "I'm sorry," West said softly. This time, his apology was for Will.

            After holding and soothing him for a while, Robinson caressed Will's cheek affectionately. "You're a little frightened?" he teased good-naturedly. "Are you sure?"

            West picked up on his meaning. "Are you sure, only a little??"

            Will smiled in restored good humor. "Well. Maybe a bit more than a little!"

            The three chuckled together.

            Then, Will reluctantly admitted, "Okay, I confess. When you threatened to put me over your knee, I was terribly afraid!"

            "I could tell," Robinson said gently.

            "Dad? When am I going to be too old for that???"

            Robinson and West exchanged secretive grins. And then Robinson declared, "Well, let's put it this way: Judy is too old for that...but Penny isn't." He raised his brows meaningfully.

            "Oh no." Will sagged.

            Robinson and West shared a hearty laugh.