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/Davis, 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.
"Do you think they're going to be okay in there?" Maria asked Liz for about the tenth time. "I don't see why we had to stay out here while everyone else is risking their lives."
"Someone had to stay behind to call for help if something goes wrong, Maria. Think about it. Ami and Jade can teleport, and Isabel has her powers."
"Yeah but what about Alex? He can't just disappear into thin air if they get caught."
"Ami promised that she would look after him, remember? Besides I think they need to use his computer skills if they want to find out exactly what this Masters guy is up to."
"Liz, have you thought about what exactly we are going to say if we do have to call in the cavalry?"
Liz shook her head. She was really, really hoping it wouldn't come to that. She brushed her long dark hair back off her face as she remembered what Isabel had told them about Max and the others. "Max, you've got to be okay," she whispered to herself. Maybe if she told herself that often enough he would be. After all she didn't dare explore the alternative, at least not yet, hopefully not ever.
Megabyte felt the room spin, as Brooke-Smythe removed the silencer band. He sat down on the cot behind him for a moment, trying to get his bearings.
"Megabyte, are you okay?" He could hear the concern in his dad's voice as he spoke.
"Yeah fine, Dad. Must be some sort of side effect from this band thing." The room stopped spinning and Megabyte stood up again, trying to ignore the look Brooke-Smythe was giving him. The guy thinks of us as some kind of scientific guinea-pigs he realised, not as actual people. He looked over to where his father, Adam and Max were standing and then again at Masters. Even though he could now teleport there was no way he'd be fast enough to get all three of them out. Besides he didn't think he could teleport three people in one go anyway.
"Thinking clearly now?" asked Masters. "To run the test properly I've decided it's preferable if you have your powers returned to you…at least for the moment."
Now his powers were back on line Megabyte could feel the revulsion the man was feeling towards him and his friends. Yeah, like I really needed to feel that, he thought. Maybe I should try and contact the others? And bring them into all this? Not one of your brighter ideas. Megabyte deliberately raised his mental shields so that none of his fellow Tomorrow People would be able to contact him. Sorry, guys. I'm doing the right thing here…I hope.
"I'll take it from your lack of response that the answer is yes then, shall I?" Masters motioned to Beckett, who placed something in Megabyte's hand.
Megabyte looked down and shivered. What the hell was Masters up to now? What was he trying to pull giving him a gun? Masters knew that he wouldn't be able to use it. Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap! Megabyte tried to ignore the cold feeling of fear that was spreading through him as he remembered the man's earlier words. 'Can you kill or can you not, that is the question.'
"So, as well as being crazy, you've got a death wish?" Megabyte pointed the gun at Masters, trying to ignore the fact that his hand was shaking. Acting had never been one of his strong points but it was the only thing he could think of to do. Would Masters buy that he would be able to shoot him? What would happen if the creep called his bluff?
"What are you waiting for Megabyte? You either shoot me or you don't? I don't have all day to sit around while you think about it. Come on, pull the trigger."
"Okay, you asked for it." Megabyte pointed the gun squarely at Masters, trying not to remember the last time he'd done this. Even though his shields were quite strong, the redhead could still feel the hate coming from the man. He felt an image of himself, much younger, pointing a gun at Masters brush past his mind. Obviously he wasn't the only one who remembered the incident from seven years ago. For him to pick up Masters' surface thoughts like that, there must be a hell of a lot of hate and raw emotion behind them.
Megabyte tried to pull the trigger.
He tried to pull the trigger.
Tried to pull the trigger.
He lowered the gun
"Always a downside to having special powers," he muttered. "Why is there always a downside?" Megabyte caught Adam's eye. The Australian knew more than anyone else in the room what he was going through. Yeah, okay he knew that they were the future of mankind and all that, and that the fact they couldn't kill was a good thing. At times like this though, he had his doubts. How were they going to survive when they couldn't defend themselves?
"Okay, Masters, you win. I can't kill you. Happy now?" Megabyte dropped the gun onto the floor by his feet and waited to see what would happen next.
"On the contrary, all this proves is that you are either being obstinate and not co- operating or showing yourself as the coward you probably are."
Megabyte stared at Masters. This guy was nutzoid. What was it going to take to get through to him? Surely he must realise that if Tomorrow People could kill, he'd be well and truly dead by now? He tried to ignore the comment about being a coward. Masters was obviously just trying to provoke him. Trying? Well it was working. If it wasn't for the Tomorrow People can't kill thing…No, make that can't kill problem…Masters would be one dead nutzoid. Megabyte struggled to keep his self control and not say anything that would aggravate the guy further.
"Hey what are you doing?" Megabyte noticed Beckett and one of his goons move in and restrain his father and Adam, bringing them over closer to Masters.
"Well what happens next is entirely up to you Megabyte," explained Masters. "I've decided to…up the ante a bit…I think the term is." He raised his own revolver and pointed it firstly at Damon and then at Adam.
No! The guy couldn't be serious. "I can't kill you!" Megabyte felt like screaming his answer. "Don't you understand. I can't. Don't you think I would if I could? You…psycho."
"Pick up the gun, Megabyte." Masters' voice was calm, but it did nothing to decrease the turmoil and panic Megabyte felt going through his own mind.
"He's telling the truth, Masters," Adam tried to reason with their captor. "Tomorrow People can't kill."
Masters ignored him and continued on. "Pick up the gun, Megabyte," he repeated his last statement. "It's simple, really. You shoot me or I'll kill your father and your friend." He pointed to first Damon and then Adam. "Oh and I wouldn't take too long either." He glanced at his watch. "Now, who do you think should die first? Tick tock, tick tock….Pick up the gun, or I'll shoot them now!"
Megabyte bent over and picked up the gun lying at his feet. He could feel the anger rising up within him and was surprised that there was room in his mind for it, with the degree of panic that was setting in.
"Oh yes, one more thing before I forget. If you teleport yourself to safety and show yourself for the coward I know you are, I'll shoot them both anyway. Come on, make your decision. I'm waiting…"
Ami leaned over Alex's shoulder as he settled himself down in front of the computer in Masters' office. She glanced over her shoulder, frowning as she did so.
"What's wrong, Ami? Is there someone coming?" Alex punched commands into the keyboard, watching the results come up on the small screen as he spoke.
"Don't think so. I thought I heard Megabyte…but it's gone now. Must have been my imagination. I've tried contacting him and can't get a reply. Besides if those headbands things work as Max told Isabel they did, it couldn't have been him." Ami frowned, trying to fight the growing feeling of panic that was rising up within her. Why was she feeling like this? She was about to telepath to Jade to ask her if she was feeling the same way when a comment from Alex brought her back to the reason they were there with a bang.
"Masters has been sending information about the Tomorrow People to some guy called Simon Trent," Alex observed. "Do you know who he is?"
Ami shook her head. "Never heard the name before." She handed him one of the blank CDs that they had found in a drawer in the office minutes before. "Copy all the information onto this and we'll look at it later once we get the guys to safety."
Alex started to read some of the information out loud as the computer began to transfer the data. "He mentions a couple of other names. Have you heard of James Horton or Joe Dawson?"
Ami started to shake her head again, but stopped as she heard a noise behind them.
"I'd be surprised if you had." A young man, maybe ten years older than either Ami or Alex, with bleached blond hair, was pointing a gun at them. "Move away from the computer please, nice and slowly."
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