Season 5 Episode #1
Unusual supects.

In 1989, a SWAT team storms a darkened warehouse, its floors dotted with pools of blood. There the officers encounter a naked, paranoid Mulder lying on the ground. Suddenly, the three Lone Gunmen-Langly, Frohike and Byers-spring from a hiding place and make an unsuccessful bid for freedom. Byers is questioned by Detective Munch, who explains that despite evidence of a bloody shoot-out, and the involvement of a (now delusional) FBI agent, he has few clues about what actually transpired. Byers recounts the events that led up to the warehouse shoot-out.

As the story unfolds, Byers attends a computer show at a convention center. There he meets a strikingly beautiful woman, "Holly," who claims her psychotic ex-boyfriend kidnapped her daughter. "Holly" gives Byers an Internet address, claiming it is her only hope in locating her child. Byers hacks his way onto government computer, where he types in the name of "Holly's" daughter, Susanne Modeski. The computer opens an encrypted file. Frohike, who mans a nearby booth, agrees to decipher the document.

When "Holly" notices Mulder walking the convention floor, she identifies him as her ex-boyfriend. Frohike and Byers approach Mulder, only to learn he is an FBI Agent. When "Holly" disappears, Frohike and Byers ask Langly to hack onto the FBI mainframe computer, hoping he can find information on Mulder. Langly successfully cracks the mainframe, and learns that "Holly" is actually Susanne Modeski, who is wanted in connection with the bombing of an FBI lab that left four people dead.

Modeski locates the threesome inside Byers' motel room. She claims the information contained in her file is fabricated. She admits the story about her daughter was a lie... one she made up in a desperate attempt to have the encrypted file deciphered. She tells the men that the government is plotting an experiment in which the American public will be exposed to a paranoia-inducing gas-one she unwittingly helped develop.

The encrypted file reveals the address of the warehouse where the paranoia-inducing gas is stored. It also reveals that a surveillance device was attached to Modeski's tooth by her dentist. Using pliers, Modeski extracts a molar containing a tiny transmitter. Byers, Modeski and the others break inside the warehouse. There they discover asthma inhalers containing the gas. Mulder steps forward and announces that everyone is under arrest. Moments later, government officials enter the warehouse and instruct Modeski to follow them. When Mulder orders the men to identify themselves, they open fire, inadvertently striking the asthma inhalers. The liquid rains onto Mulder, triggering a psychotic episode. Modeski shoots the unidentified men and escapes. X steps forward and prepares to kill the threesome execution-style. When X lowers the weapon, Byers realizes he only intended to intimidate them.

When Byers' finishes his story, Munch dismisses it as fiction. Later, the Lone Gunmen are released from jail when Mulder verifies what transpired. Afterward, the threesome locate Susanne at a newspaper office. She laments that no one believes her story. Moments later, government men usher Modeski away.

Season 5 Episode #2
Redux.

In flashback, twenty-four hours before Agent Scully told an FBI assembly that her partner was dead (see previous season's cliffhanger)... Mulder receives a tip from Kritschgau that their conversations have been monitored. Mulder looks upward--and notices a small pinhole in the ceiling of his apartment. He races upstairs, where he encounters Scott Ostelhoff, in the apartment directly above his own, igniting flash paper. A struggle ensues, during which a shot rings out.

Mulder tells Scully he killed Ostelhoff. He also informs her that the flash paper Ostelhoff attempted to destroy contained a record of seventeen phone calls placed to the PBX operator at the Bureau. The agents conclude their own agency is behind the cover-up... and that they have been pawns in a conspiratorial game since the very beginning. Mulder suggests they create their own lie in hopes of uncovering the truth.

Shortly thereafter, Scully travels to Mulder's apartment and identifies Ostelhoff's faceless body (the result of the shotgun blast) as that of her partner. Later, during a meeting with Blevins and Skinner, she is instructed to appear before a joint FBI panel. Afterward, Scully traces the phone number listed on Ostelhoff's flash paper to an FBI branch extension that includes Skinner. This leads Scully to conclude that Skinner may be a mole. Meanwhile, the Cigarette-Smoking Man tells the Syndicate he questions reports of Mulder's demise.

Mulder uses Ostelhoff's identification card to infiltrate DARPA, a secret research facility. There he encounters Kritschgau, who explains that the card will give him access to the entire building. Kritschgau then claims the hoax Mulder has been drawn into dates back to the days just after World War II, a time when generals were desperate to continue fueling the nation's economy via a military build-up. In 1947, Kritschgau states, the government began using the Roswell incident as a cover story to distract the American public from the truth-and a top secret program involving DNA. He laments he went along with the lie... until his own son was exposed to bioweapons during the Gulf War. Shortly thereafter, Kritschgau is led away by sentries. Mulder manages to escape detection and make his way deeper into the research complex. He discovers a room containing dozens of alien bodies, identical to the one he discovered at the ice cave-giving credence to Kritschgau's story.

Dr. Vitagliano finishes his examination of the ice core samples given to him by Scully. The cells contained within, he concludes, are the beginnings of a new life form. Scully decides to perform a test that will compare the strange organism to her own DNA. Before she does so, she encounters Skinner, who reveals how a pathology report concluded the body found in Mulder's apartment is not her partner. Later, the DNA test between the samples proves a match. Scully concludes her cancer resulted from being deliberately exposed to the organism.

As Mulder continues his journey through the facility, he discovers a warehouse--a "repository for all the alien-related odds and ends that the Cigarette-Smoking Man has taken from Mulder over the years." There he discovers a gigantic index system, which contains cards for Scully, Kritschgau, and a blank card for Kritschgau, Jr. He also discovers a metallic vial--which could contain a cure for Scully's illness.

Scully appears before the FBI panel and announces she will expose the "mechanism of deception" that drew her partner, and herself, into the government's lies. She then informs the panel that her partner died the previous night of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. As she begins to present scientific evidence that will support her claim, she is suddenly taken ill. Meanwhile, the Cigarette-Smoking Man, working in the shadows, arranges Mulder's escape from the research complex. The Lone Gunmen analyze the contents of the vial... and conclude it contains only deionized water. To Be Continued...

Season 5 Episode #3
Redux 2.

A frantic Mulder enters a hospital in search of Scully, who had suddenly collapsed during the FBI hearing (see previous episode). He finds her unconscious body lying in a bed, her breathing aided by a ventilator. Skinner explains that Scully went into shock and is close to death. When Mulder refuses to cooperate with Skinner, he is escorted to the main FBI building, where he is questioned by Section Chief Scott Blevins and a Senior Agent. But Mulder fails to cooperate with the inquiry and leaves the room.

The Cigarette-Smoking Man meets with the Elder and fellow Syndicate member Quiet Willy. The Elder chastises the Cigarette-Smoking Man for allowing Mulder to escape from the research facility, leaving their project vulnerable to exposure. But the Cigarette-Smoking Man counters that Mulder is much more valuable alive, and plots to assure his loyalty. When the Cigarette-Smoking Man leaves the meeting, the Elder tells Quiet Willy he can "proceed." Scully regains consciousness. She tells Mulder that Skinner is the mole operating from within the Bureau. But Mulder counters that Skinner is withholding Ostelhoff's forensics information, casting doubt on the theory. Their conversation is interrupted by Mrs. Scully and Dana's brother, Bill Jr. Bill blames Mulder-and his cause-for his sister's condition. Shortly thereafter, the Cigarette-Smoking Man approaches Mulder. He informs him that the metallic vial contains a tiny microchip that will cure Scully's illness. Later, Bill Jr. voices grave concern about the chip. But Scully tells Dr. Zuckerman she is willing to give it a try. Meanwhile, Kritschgau testifies before the FBI's investigative panel. He denies knowing the identity of Ostelhoff's killer, states that his own son died earlier that day, and reveals that part of his remuneration is funded by a Congressional lobbying firm called Roush.

In an effort to cement Mulder's trust, the Cigarette-Smoking Man arranges a meeting between Mulder and his sister, Samantha. She reveals that, some time after her abduction, she was taken to a hotel room and told that the Cigarette-Smoking Man is her father. Mulder tells Samantha that their mother is still alive... and that she was lied to by the Cigarette-Smoking Man. Her head spinning with confused emotions, Samantha makes her way back to the Cigarette-Smoking Man's car and disappears into the night. Later, the Cigarette-Smoking Man tells Mulder that Kritschgau deceived him with a host of "beautiful lies." He asks Mulder to quit the Bureau and work for him, but Mulder refuses.

While watching a televised Congressional hearing on biotechnology, the Elder notices Skinner lingering in the audience. He instructs a subordinate to "fix" the problem. Blevins informs Mulder that a ballistics test matched the bullet from Ostelhoff's body to Mulder's service revolver. Blevins also claims that Skinner has been working inside the Bureau with a secret agenda. Mulder refuses to believe the story... and refuses to finger Skinner as a mole during his testimony before the FBI panel (even though such testimony would exonerate himself from wrongdoing).

Mulder takes his place before the FBI panel. Simultaneously, Quiet Willy, rifle in hand, positions himself inside a parking garage opposite the Cigarette-Smoking Man's apartment. Before answering questions regarding his culpability in Ostelhoff's death, Mulder announces the name of the mole who has acted from within FBI: Section Chief Scott Blevins. At almost the same moment, Quiet Willy opens fire, shooting the Cigarette-Smoking Man. Blevins makes his way back to his office. There he encounters the Senior Agent, gun in hand. A shot rings out, and Blevins falls to the ground. The Senior Agent then places the weapon in Blevins' own hand. Shortly thereafter, Skinner tells Mulder that the Cigarette-Smoking Man is dead. Though no body was recovered, the massive loss of blood found inside the apartment leaves no other conclusion. During their conversation, Mulder tells Skinner he guessed as to Blevins' identity as a mole. Skinner confirms that Blevins had been working for a biotechnology company called Roush for four years. Mulder then informs Skinner that Scully's cancer has gone into remission.

Season 5 Episode #4
Detour.

In a remote section of North Florida, two surveyors, Michael Sloan and Marty Fox, encounter a strange creature with glowing red eyes. Sloan is suddenly yanked downward, disappearing beneath the dense brush. Shortly thereafter, Marty is also attacked. While hunting for possum, twelve-year-old Louis Asekoff and his father discover Marty's abandoned surveyor's transit. Sensing something isn't quite right, the Father sends Louis home with the dog. As the boy runs home, two shotgun blasts echo through the forrest.

Meanwhile, Mulder and Scully ride with agents Michael Kinsley and Carla Stonecypher on a highway stretching through rural Florida. Their destination: an FBI creative team seminar, in which participants are required to use their imagination to perform constructive problem solving exercises (a gathering which Mulder views as a waste of time). The agents' journey comes to a sudden halt when state troopers set up a roadblock on the highway. His spirits lifted by the unexpected diversion, Mulder suddenly exits the vehicle for some detective work. Search and Rescue leader Michele Fazekas tells Mulder that several people are missing, and that a set of tracks found at the scene could not be identified as man nor animal. His interest piqued, Mulder arranges for he and Scully to lodge at a nearby motel... saving himself the torment of attending the teamwork seminar. That night, something sneaks into the Asekoff residence. A terrified Louis tells authorities he was chased by an invisible creature with glowing red eyes. Though the story is dismissed as the product of a young boy's imagination, Mulder discovers a set of tracks inside the house. Mulder tells Fazekas the creature must be found before it can do more harm. Aided by Jeff Glaser, a "tech head" who possesses an infrared tracking device, Fazekas, Mulder and Scully set out in search of the predator. During the journey, Mulder theorizes that the creature is attacking humans in response to encroaching development.

The infrared device detects two creatures in the dense brush, each moving in opposite directions. The group splits up and a chase ensues. Suddenly, Fazekas is yanked downward, and disappears beneath the undergrowth. Mulder realizes that the creatures deliberately separated the group into two units, allowing for easier access to the leader (Fazekas). As the threesome embark on a rescue mission, Mulder recounts an X-File from the early 1950s in which a town in West Virginia was terrorized by primitive-looking men with piercing red eyes. The creatures were dubbed "moth men" by local residents.

Mulder, Scully and Glaser accidentally stray from the marked trail. Their journey is interrupted when the mysterious creatures make another appearance. Guided by directions from Glaser and the infrared device, Mulder ventures deep into the brush. Suddenly, a creature springs from its hiding place. Mulder opens fire, but the creature disappears from view. Shortly thereafter, Glaser separates from the group and he, too, disappears.

While discussing the encounter with Scully, Mulder is suddenly yanked downward. When he resurfaces, like a jack-in-the-box, Scully opens fire, shooting into the bushes nearby. Mulder goes into shock, and Scully does her best to keep him warm as darkness falls. The following morning, as Scully searches for food, she suddenly drops from view. Mulder rushes to her aid†and realizes she fell into a small cave. Inside the chamber, Scully discovers Fazekas and Louis' father, barely breathing and strapped to thick poles. When Scully realizes one of the creatures is nearby, Mulder tosses her his gun. A few moments later, when the second creature approaches, he jumps from his vantage point and lands next to Scully in the cave. One of the creatures rushes the agents. Scully opens fire, striking the predator. The agents move forward for a closer look†and realize their attacker is a man who lived like an animal. Kinsley and Stonecypher arrive and call for help. Mulder notices the words "Ad Noctum," or "into darkness," carved into one of the poles. He points out that Spanish conquistadors carved warnings on posts in the same manner... then notes that Ponce De Leon sought the Fountain of Youth in the area 450 years earlier. He concludes that the predators perceived humans as a threat to their territory, and acted accordingly. Stonecypher notes the creatures would pursue anyone who had entered the woods. Fearing the worst, Mulder suddenly rushes to Scully's motel room. He finds his partner safe and sound, and the pair leave the area. Staring out from beneath Scully's bed, however, is a pair of glowing red eyes.

Season 5 Episode #5
Christmas Carol.

Scully and her mother travel to Bill Jr.'s house--located at a U.S. naval station in San Diego--several days before the Christmas holiday. There they are greeted by Bill Jr. and his pregnant wife, Tara, who is expected their first child. Not long after her arrival, Scully answers the telephone. On the other end of the line is a woman who sounds exactly like Scully's deceased sister, Melissa. The voice tells Scully, "she needs your help." Unnerved, Scully has the FBI trace the call which, it turns out, was made from the Sim residence. Scully discovers the home is the scene of a criminal investigation. Detective Kresge allows her access to the bathroom, where a dead blonde woman, Mrs. Robert Sim, reclines in a tub full of bloody water, the apparent victim of a suicide. Later, Scully observes the victim's husband, Marshall, and three-year-old Emily Sim. Scully stares at the girl, intrigued by her face. Detective Kresge tells Scully that phone records do indeed indicate that an incoming call was made from the Sim residence to Bill Jr.'s house. But at the same time, there is no record of an outgoing call. Records also indicate the phone had been off the hook for three hours.

Scully tells her mother she's very happy for Bill and Tara... then admits that, as a result of her abduction, she cannot conceive a child of her own. Later that night, Scully experiences a dream in which a young Bill Jr. kills her pet rabbit. During the same dream, she encounters little Emily Sim. Scully is awoken by another call from the mysterious woman. The voice tells Scully to "go to her." The call is again traced to the Sim residence, where Marshall assures Scully that no one used the telephone. From Scully's viewpoint at the front door, she observes two dark-suited men sitting at the kitchen table. The next day, Scully requests--and is given access to--all evidence in the Roberta Sim case. She also phones the FBI and requests the case file on her sister, Melissa. Noting several discrepancies in the file, Scully performs an autopsy on Roberta's body. She discovers a complete absence of medicine tablets inside her stomach. She does, however, notice a puncture wound on the heal of her foot. A search of the Sim house turns up a hypodermic needle in the trash. Marshall claims Emily suffers from anemia and requires daily injections.

Scully tells her mother that a PCR test, which has a sixty-percent accuracy rate, suggests that Emily and Melissa's DNA match (a more comprehensive test will be available in several days). This, and the undeniable physical resemblance between the pair, leads Scully to conclude that Emily is Melissa's daughter. She reminds her mother about a period in 1994 when Melissa's whereabout were unknown... and speculates that she could have given Emily up for adoption. Later, Scully experiences another dream, during which Mrs. Scully gives her the crucifix she wears around her neck. When Scully awakens, Detective Kresge informs her about large bank deposits made by Marshall over the previous eighteen months. The money came from a pharmaceutical company called Prangen Industries. Scully and Kresge interview Dr. Ernest Calderon, who works for the company. He explains that Emily was participating in a clinical trial. When Roberta tried to pull her daughter from the program, the company agreed to send her money as a gesture of good will. Calderon also reveals he prescribed Marshall sumatriptan injections after he complained of migraines. Later, Marshall is arrested for his wife's murder. As a result, Emily is placed in the care of Social Services. Before Emily is driven away, Scully places her gold cross around the girl's neck.

Marshall Sim confesses to the murder. But Scully finds it odd that witnesses had provided him an alibi. She and Kresge drive to the jail, where they find his body hanging from a makeshift noose. Later, Scully tells her brother that the death was made to look like a suicide. Susan Chambliss, a social worker, tells Scully that her application to adopt Emily was rejected. Scully states that the time has come for her to place her personal life ahead of her career. Cambliss promises a review of Scully's final application. On Christmas morning, Scully receives a delivery from an FBI courier. The final DNA test results reveal that Scully is Emily's mother.

Season 5 Episode #6
Post-Modern Prometheus

In a rural Indiana neighborhood, Shaineh Berkowitz watches a daytime talk show on television. So entranced is she by the interview, that she fails to notice someone covering the home with termite tenting. A dark figure enters the kitchen and drops a white cake into a skillet, triggering a chemical reaction that produces a gaseous white cloud. Sensing a presence in the house, Shaineh investigates. Suddenly, a horribly disfigured, Frankenstein-like face emerges from the misty darkness. Shaineh gasps in horror.

Later, as the agents drive through the Indiana farmland, Scully reads aloud a letter addressed to Mulder. In it, Shaineh describes how, eighteen-years earlier, a presence entered her smoke-filled bedroom as, strangely, the voice of singer Cher filled the air. Three days later she woke up pregnant with her son, Izzy. Shaineh explains that she saw Mulder on the Jerry Springer show, and hopes he will investigate her case. The agents do, indeed, drive to Shaineh's home. There they discover a comic book bearing the exact likeness of the creature Shaineh claims attacked her. Shaineh explains the monster is called The Great Mutato, a creation of Izzy's fertile imagination. Izzy claims he, and many others in the community, have seen the creature--who apparently has a penchant for peanut butter sandwiches. Izzy and his friends lead the detectives to a wooded area, and using sandwiches for bait, lure the creature from its hiding place. The group gives chase, but the creature disappears into the darkness. Mulder then encounters an Old Man, who claims the real monster is his own son, renowned scientist Dr. Francis Pollidori. The agents visit Pollidori, who describes his experiments in genetic manipulation. He displays a photo of a fruit fly head... with legs growing out of its mouth. Later, Pollidori bids good-bye his wife, Elizabeth, as he embarks on a trip out of town. Moments later, termite tenting falls past Elizabeth's window.

When the agents stop by a country diner in downtown Bloomington, they are feted with heaping plates of food. It turns out that the entire town believes Jerry Springer will do a story on the creature... the result of a newspaper article in which Mulder is quoted as verifying the monster's existence. The agents realize Izzy secretly tape recorded their conversations.

As the agents drive along a country road, Mulder spots Pollidori's tented house. The pair race inside, where they discover Elizabeth's unconscious body. Shortly thereafter, the agents also lose consciousness. The Old Man, Professor Pollidori's father, steps from the smoke, a gas mask covering his face. When the agents regain consciousness, Elizabeth describes her attacker as a hideously deformed man with two mouths.

The Old Man brings the Creature a peanut butter sandwich as it watches the movie Mask, starring Cher, on television. Pollidori confronts his father, and in a rage, strangles him. A mob of townspeople forms around the local post office as a mail clerk proclaims he's found the monster. He pulls someone wearing a rubber Mutato mask from the back room, then yanks off the mask, exposing Izzy. The postal worker then displays a box he intercepted, which is filled with identical masks.

Records indicate that the residue from the white cakes is a substance used to anesthetize herds of animals. Its use is monitored by the FDA, leading the agents back to the Old Man's farm. When the agents arrive at the scene, a diligent newspaper girl, who had been recording notes about the case, describes how she witnessed the creature burying the Old Man. Shortly thereafter, an angry mob makes its way towards the farm. The agents realize Pollidori killed his father. They befriend the frightened Mutato and attempt to escape, but they are spotted by the mob and retreat into a cellar. Pollidori and the townspeople burst into the basement. There, Pollidori claims the Creature was brought to life by his father. The Creature claims he never harmed another soul. He explains how, 25 years earlier, the Old Man realized his son was conducting secret experiments--of which he (Mutato) was an unfortunate product. The Old Man grew to love the Creature, and then set out to create it a mate. As the Creature continues his tale, the agents, putting together two and two, look around the cellar at the townspeople... one of whom resembles a horse, another a Billy goat and so on. The mob concludes Mutato is not a monster after all. A police cruiser transport Pollidori from the scene. The agents take the Creature into custody, but instead of transporting him to jail, they head for a Memphis nightclub, where Cher sings to Mutato, her biggest fan.

Season 5 Episode #7
Emily

As seen in Episode 5X05, Scully has learned she is the biological mother of three-year-old Emily Sim. Scully experiences a nightmare in which she discovers her gold cross lying on the ground as a sandstorm rages around her. Slowly, she, too, transforms into sand and dissolves into nothingness.

Mulder travels to the San Diego County Children's Center, where Scully is keeping an eye on Emily. Scully tells Mulder she needs him to be a witness on her behalf at a child custody hearing. Mulder informs his partner that Frohike accessed the California Social Services Adoption database. It turns out that Emily's mother of record is one Anna Fugazzi (a slang term for "fake"). He warns Scully that the men behind the conspiracy will do anything it takes to protect Emily-including jeopardizing Scully's custody of the girl. During the custody hearing, Mulder introduces a file documenting Scully's disappearance years earlier. He submits that Emily Sim was conceived through a scientific experiment. Despite this, he insists that Scully is nonetheless Emily's mother.

Scully receives another mysterious telephone call. A trace reveals its origin to be the County Children's Center. When the agents arrive at the scene, they discover a thick, fibrous cyst on the back of Emily's neck. As a doctor removes a biopsy sample from the cyst, it suddenly oozes green bubbling fluid. The doctor is overcome by the fumes and treated at the hospital. Afterward, Dr. Calderon refuses to transfer Emily's medical records to the Children's Center. An enraged Mulder physically assaults Calderon and warns that unless he produces the records, he can expect more of the same. Afterward, Calderon approaches the two dark-suited men at the Dimsdale Convalescent home. The men realize Mulder tailed Calderon to the building. They kill Calderon using an alien gimlet, then assume his form. One of the "Dr. Calderons" travels to the Children's Center and injects Emily with a greenish fluid. A surprised Scully chases "Calderon" through the hospital. But by the time she catches up to him, the alien has morphed into the form of a stranger. Mulder and Scully speak by phone. Mulder suspects the fluid injected into Emily will not cause her harm, as the conspirators want her alive... for reasons unknown.

Mulder makes his way inside the Dimsdale Retirement Home. There he discovers evidence that the elderly women residents-including Anna Fugazzi-were all given hormone injections. Frohike uncovers evidence that the elderly women all gave birth only a few years earlier.

Emily continues undergoing therapy and medical tests of all kinds, but her condition only deteriorates further. At one point she is placed inside a pressurized chamber. Suddenly, a snake-like creature stirs beneath her skin. Scully orders an end to the test. Mulder discovers cylinders containing live human embryos floating in a greenish fluid. He grabs three ampules of the greenish fluid and makes his way into a hallway. Detective Kresge suddenly steps forward, placing a gun to Mulder's head. Kresge removes the ampules from Mulder's hand. Suddenly, one of the "Calderons" appears at the end of the hallway. Mulder retrieves one of the ampules and runs off, warning Kresge not to fire on the advancing "Calderon." A confused Kresge shoots nonetheless, and is then overcome by noxious fumes. The alien "Calderon" then morphs into Kresge's form and makes his getaway.

Emily slips into a coma and dies. At the funeral, Scully tells Mulder there is still evidence of what the men did to Emily. But when she lifts the casket lid, she discovers several small sandbags inside (one has spilled its contents onto the bottom of the coffin). Scully retrieves her gold crucifix, the one she gave to Emily, from the sand.