by Anne
Disclaimer: The characters of Adam Newman, Megabyte Damon, Kevin Wilson, Ami Jackson, Jade Weston, General William Damon, Colonel Masters, Millie Damon and Caroline Damon belong to Roger Damon Price, Thames Television and Nickelodeon. So do any other names or events linked to the Tomorrow People TV series.
Max Evans, Liz Parker, Maria DeLuca, Michael Guerin, Isabel Evans, Alex Whitman, Kyle Valenti, Sheriff Jim Valenti and Milton belong to Melinda Metz, Jason Katims and WB. All other concepts and events linked to Roswell also belong to them.
The characters of Joe Dawson and James Horton (who appear in name only) belong to Panzer/David, Rysher/Gaumont Television. So do the concepts of immortality, the Watchers and the Hunters.
The characters of Geoff Anderson, Gil Hawkins, Jim Beckett and Simon Trent belong to me and should not be used without permission.
As Beckett ushered Adam down the long hallway, the Australian tried again to contact Megabyte. He hoped that as he had his back to the man, Beckett wouldn't be able to notice the telepathy. Adam could sense that Megabyte was nearby, but couldn't raise a reply. Megabyte was definitely unconscious. Drugged, judging from the conversation he had overheard earlier.
Adam was careful not to drop his mental shields too far. He didn't want the other Tomorrow People in the same situation that he, Megabyte and whoever this Max was, were in. He had felt Ami try to initiate contact with him a number of times since leaving the UFO Centre but had managed to block her.
Beckett opened the door to what looked like some sort of office and shoved Adam, not too gently, through. A man was sitting at the desk, talking on the phone. His back was to Adam, and the Tomorrow Person could only just hear what was being said.
"Yes, I've sent the information a short time ago, Trent. It should be in your inbox now. Yes, I've received what you sent me as well. As far as I can tell our problems don't look as dissimilar as I first thought. I can see our arrangement is going to work out very satisfactory for both of us." The man paused for a moment before continuing. "Yes, I'm sure we can keep to the same arrangement I enjoyed with your predecessor. Remember if you need any help dealing with the man responsible for his death, you know where to come."
The man spun round in his chair, a cruel smile lighting up his mouth, as he noticed Adam. "Trent, my delivery has arrived. I will contact you after I have tested the next phrase. Goodbye."
Adam felt the colour drain from his face as he recognised the man sitting at the desk. It was a man he had hoped none of the Tomorrow People would ever see again.
"Well, Adam, we meet again. How many years has it been? Seven?" He's trying to gauge my reaction to seeing him again, the Australian realised, knowing full well that he wasn't hiding his shock as well as he should have been able to.
"Not long enough, obviously."
"Now Adam, is that a very nice way to greet an old friend? I suggest for your own good, and the good of your friends, that you try and keep things civil. It's never a good idea to upset someone who has the power of life and death over you."
Adam bit his lip, and tried to control himself before replying. "Where's Megabyte?" he demanded. "What do you want with Max? As I told one of your men, he's not a Tomorrow Person. You've got no reason to hold him. Let him go."
Masters laughed, sending a shiver down Adam's spine. "I see you haven't changed young man," he said. "I seem to remember you saying the same thing about your friend, Megabyte, when we first met. Let him go he's not one of us, you said. And what happens? The brat holds a gun on me, and then teleports his father away before I can have the satisfaction of killing him. No, I haven't forgotten what happened last time we met. In fact I've been looking forward to meeting both of you again for some time."
Adam sat down in the chair Beckett pushed him into, and tried to compose himself. He was feeling scared, both for himself, and for the other Tomorrow People. He wondered if he dared to contact Ami and the others, but then thought against it. Better not to take the chance. At the moment he'd concentrate on finding where Megabyte and Max were being held. Hopefully Megabyte wouldn't be feeling the effect of the drugs for too much longer, and then they could teleport out of here, taking Max with them.
"Okay," he said slowly. "Obviously you don't want to believe me about Max, but it's true. He's not a Tomorrow Person. What are you planning to do with us, anyway?"
"Let's just call it an experiment, one that I have been working on for sometime. You're very privileged, you and your friends, you know." Masters paused for a moment. "How many of you teleporters are there now, by the way? Beckett here reported a young blond girl teleporting at the UFO centre. I'd like to also give my regards to Lisa, and that young British boy. Wasn't his name Kevin?"
" I haven't seen Lisa for quite a few years," replied Adam honestly. After her mother had been kidnapped and threatened by Masters, Lisa had severed all contact with the other Tomorrow People. She had blamed herself for what had almost happened to her mother and was scared that next time she might not be so lucky. Adam had gone to her home to talk to her a few months later and found both Lisa and her mother gone. The neighbours had no idea where they were, but thought it might be somewhere overseas. All attempts made to find her had come up with nothing, and she ignored all telepathic communications as well. After a few months, Adam, Megabyte and Kevin had decided to respect her wishes and gave up trying. Kevin, in particular had been very upset by Lisa's decision, as he had really connected with the older girl.
"What about the others?" asked Masters. "Who was that blond girl? I don't remember seeing her before."
Adam sat back in his chair, saying nothing. There was no way he was going to betray his friends. Mentioning Lisa had been different altogether, if the Tomorrow People couldn't find her, he doubted that Masters would have any more luck. Wherever Lisa was, at least she was safe, which was more than he could say for himself at the moment.
Masters glared at Adam, "Still the determined one, I see. We'll discuss the rest of the teleporters later, when you've had time to realise the futility of your silence." He walked around the side of his desk so that he was staring straight into Adam's eyes, as he spoke.
Masters glanced at his watch. "We'd better fit the devices while there's still enough sedative in their system to stop them teleporting. Tell Doctor Brooke-Smythe to meet us in the laboratory." The last statement was directed at Beckett who nodded and headed out the door.
"What devices?" asked Adam, not sure he really wanted to hear the answer. Part of him wanted to teleport away right now, the other part needed to find Megabyte and Max first. Besides Adam couldn't just leave Megabyte and Max in Masters' hands. He couldn't just look after his own welfare, put himself first. As a Tomorrow Person he really didn't have that option.
Masters chuckled. "You'll find out soon enough…"
Kevin paused as he heard Ami's voice in his mind. [So General Damon thinks Millie's accident wasn't an accident?] he asked telepathically.
[It gets worse,] continued Ami. [He also has a theory that whoever has Adam and Megabyte took Max because they though he was Adam. Apparently a report came into WorldEx about a boy healing someone by placing his hand on her.]
[Max healed someone using some sort of psychic power?] asked Jade. [That would explain the vibes Megabyte and I got when we first met him.]
Isabel and Michael looked at each other, and Michael laid a warning hand on Jade's shoulder. "Who are you talking to?" he demanded. " Did you say General Damon? I thought you said you people are peaceful. What are you doing confiding in the military?" He stepped back and raised his hand, acting almost as though it was some kind of weapon.
[Talk to you later, Ami] said Kevin. [I think we've got a problem here. Come to Roswell when you've finished talking to the General.]
[Is everything okay, Kevin?] Ami wondered what he meant by a problem.
[Yeah, don't worry. Just got to explain a few more things, I think.] Kevin reassured her.
[I'll be with you shortly. I just want to say hello to Millie, and pop in to pick up Megabyte's cellphone from Jade's Mum. General Damon wants me to take it in case he wants to contact us.]
[ I forgot about Mum,] remembered Jade. [Tell her I'm okay, and I'll talk to her later.] Jade knew what would happen if she popped home to see her mum now. There was no way that Penny Weston would let her come back to Roswell. She was pleased it was Ami going to pick up the phone and not her.
Michael interrupted again. "Are you people listening to a word I'm saying?" he asked, starting to lose patience.
"Hold it a minute, Michael. It sounds as though they might have some more information about Max." Isabel sounded as though she was prepared to listen to what Kevin had to say, which was more than Jade could say for Michael. She decided she liked Isabel. Michael she wasn't too sure of still. He seemed to think the whole world was out to get him for some strange reason. Jade shrugged. That was his problem, not hers. As long as he was prepared to help them get Megabyte and Adam back, he could be as strange as he liked.
"Thanks, Isabel." Kevin paused before continuing, almost as though he wasn't sure of the right words to use. "Michael, you're not like us, are you? I mean you seem to be able to hear some of our conversation, but I get the impression you can't hear all of it. A bit like a one sided phone call." His question took Jade completely by surprise. What on earth was Kevin talking about?
Maria dug her elbow into Liz, and dived straight into the conversation. She looked very annoyed, to say the least. Obviously she'd had plenty of dealings with Michael and his rather tactful ways before. Or maybe her look was due to the fact she wasn't prepared to sit and listen to Kevin try and explain things? Jade wasn't really sure. All she knew was as she waited for the blonde girl to speak; she was starting to feel annoyed herself. All this talk wasn't exactly helping Megabyte and the others was it? At least it seemed as though someone else here was beginning to feel the same way she was.
"Okay, we could spend all day here working out the difference between you Future People and aliens, but I get the impression Max, Megabyte and Adam would like us to rescue them sooner rather than later"
Jade nearly choked on her hot chocolate. This wasn't exactly what she had been expecting Maria to come out with. She put her cup down and waited to see what else was coming because it certainly didn't sound as though the girl was finished, not by a long way. In fact she sounded as though she was only getting started.
"Isn't that right, Liz? Alex? Also could you guys stop using telepathy or whatever as it's really rude for us mere humans who can't hear any of it." Maria stood there glaring at both Michael and Kevin, trying to pretend she couldn't see the filthy looks her friend was giving her.
"Aliens? Yeah right." Jade tried to keep the amazement out of her voice. "Where are the green glowing eyes and the dark glasses?" She remembered what Adam and Megabyte had told her about their experience at Cheyenne Mountain and blushed. "Oh, okay a different kind of alien then…" Jade decided to get straight to the point. "Michael, are you an alien? Is that what Maria's trying to say?" It would certainly be an explanation as to why he seemed to be able to overhear their telepathic conversation.
"Gee thanks, Maria," said Michael, with a sarcastic tone that would have made Megabyte proud. "Feed them the whole alien story why don't you? Don't you think we've got enough problems without you putting that nonsense into their heads?"
"So are you an alien,Michael?" Kevin repeated Jade's question.
"If you want to believe that I'm some kind of alien, that's your problem, not mine."
"You must admit, Maria has got a point," said Liz. She sounded worried. Maybe she was as concerned about Max as Jade herself was about Megabyte…and Adam. "About the sooner rather than later thing I mean. I think the guys need our help now. The more time we waste talking, the more things could be happening to them."
Jade opened her mouth to add something to the conversation when she felt a sharp pain in her arm. Judging from what she was picking up from Kevin, so had he.
"What's wrong?" Michael sounded concerned.
"I felt a prick in my arm, like a needle," explained Jade. "Kevin?"
The British boy nodded. "So did I. Must be Adam or Megabyte. Maybe we should try and contact them again. Do you feel up to a mind-merge?"
Jade nodded. She still felt a bit shaky physically after her exposure to the taser weapon, but it hadn't seemed to have affected her telepathic abilities at all.
Kevin turned to Isabel and Michael, an idea forming. "Hey I know you guys have some psychic ability, maybe if you joined in the mind-merge, we might stand a better chance of reaching them."
"I don't have any psychic powers, and I'm not alien, I've already told you that," snapped Michael.
Jade gave Kevin a questioning look, wondering why he asked Isabel to join the mind-merge with them. After all Michael was the only alien here wasn't he? Did he think the girl had psychic powers, was that it? She noticed no one else in the room seemed to have noticed his slip, and made a mental note to ask him about it later.
Isabel nodded. "Look Michael, what harm can it do? I'm not sure I can help but I'll join in the link as well if that's okay with you. After all Max is my brother."
Michael looked hesitant. He still doesn't trust us, Jade realised. Mind you, if the situation were reversed would you? Maybe that whole alien story was true even though he had denied it emphatically? After all he seemed to be reacting to the idea of General Damon being involved as though he had certainly something to hide. As Michael turned away from Kevin his gaze met Maria's.
"Come on Michael, this is Max's life we're talking about here. Somewhere along the line you've got to learn to trust someone. I'm sure if the situation were reversed, Max would do it for you." As Maria spoke, Michael's intentions seemed to visibly waver.
Michael thought for a moment and then seemed to reconsider, though it was obvious he was still reluctant by the tone in his voice. "Okay," he said. "I'm in. I'm warning you though, the first sign of something screwy and I'm out of here. Fast."
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