What if... (Spoilers)

they weren't dead?

The "X-Files" made it pretty clear the Lone Gunmen were dead and buried.

However, how many times was Mulder supposedly dead (they even buried him at one point if I remember right) and the Cigarette Smoking Man kept turning up right until the end after being shot, knocked down the stairs and all kinds of other unfortunate business.

So one does have to point out...the Gunmen were big into conspiracies.

Wouldn't it be ironic and cool if they were still alive due to some kind of massive cover-up, the kind they were regularly discussing on the "The X-Files" and their own show, that could play into the plot of the next "X-Files" movie?

Hey, weirder things have happened.

For some reason the virus didn't kill them or it was something else entirely. However, something happened that required the world to think they were dead, but they ended up going into hiding or some kind of protective custody.

It doesn't have to be the government doing it. It is not outside the realm of possibility that a big company/corporation with the right pull could relocate the three, maybe to do something for them in return for saving their lives.

My guess is that very few people would have seen the bodies due to some kind of decontamination process and if it was a closed casket funeral, whose to say there were any bodies at all?

The show left those points pretty vague, maybe just in case they wanted them to come back. I read a story that said the show's writers killed them off because they didn't want anybody else to do anything with them that would screw them up. However, since the show has run its course, I think the Gunmen could be brought back in a way keeping with their own stories and the overall mythology of the "X-Files" series.

I would imagine that the Gunmen would have to be split up so they wouldn't draw any attention to themselves.

I imagine Langly being forced to have his hair cut and having to wear contacts. I can see him managing a computer or electronics store in the middle of nowhere, complaining about everyone's lack of knowledge on anything computer related. I can see him still having trouble (after six years) responding to his new assumed name.

I can see Byers having to shave the beard and mustache. I picture him either managing a fast-food restaurant or being a tour guide in a museum. I just can't imagine him givin up the suits and ties. I just think those careers would keep with his personality. Imagine him having to deal regularly with part-time high schoolers (not too different than dealing with the other Gunmen) where he is constantly talking about living in a free country and that these kids needed to stand up or all of that would be taken away or imagine him giving a tour in a museum and he goes off-topic on the subject and starts spinning some conspiracy theory about something.

As for Frohike...the man is a force of nature and probably would have the toughest time adjusting to any kind of new identity so I figure he is the same guy...however he has been locked up in a looney bin somewhere or worst, an old folks home (I'm sorry, a "retirement community" for people with special needs). The joke is he really isn't old enough to be in a rest home (I think he is only 60.) Imagine it, Frohike starts spinning conspiracy theories or talking about some of the stuff he has seen and done...I would think most people would think he was nuts and take the appropriate steps...have him committed. I can see him trying to convince people his name really is Melvin Frohike or making escape attempts from wherever he is and so on. I also imagine he isn't allowed access to a computer. The comic possibilities are priceless.

How could they be brought back? I have no idea. Maybe someone finds out they aren't in the graves at Arlington and that sets the wheels in motion. Maybe someone finds out they are alive and targets them for death and it is up to Mulder to find them and "get the band back together." I don't know, but I think it is worth exploring.

However, in the "Jump the Shark" episode, the boys got to be heroes, saved a lot of people and died how they lived...in pursuit of the truth and going the distance to find it. Maybe that is just as good of an ending for the boys and their sacrifice shouldn't be messed with.

What do people think?