by Anne
Disclaimer: The characters of Daniel Jackson, Jack O’Neill, Sam Carter, Teal’c, General Hammond, Janet Frasier, Apophis and anybody else you recognise from the SGC do not belong to me. Neither does the concept of the Stargate, SGC, and the Goa’uld and any thing else related to the series Stargate SG1. They belong to Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Products.
The characters of Methos (a.k.a. Adam Pierson), Joe Dawson, Connor MacLeod and Duncan MacLeod belong to Panzer/Davis, Rysher/Gaumont Television. So do the concepts of Immortality, the Game and the Watchers.
Likewise the characters of Adam Newman, Megabyte Damon, General William Damon, Ami Jackson, Jade Weston, Kevin Wilson or any names or events linked to the Tomorrow People TV series do not belong to me either. They are the property of Roger Damon Price, Thames/Tetra and ITV Television.
Megabyte opened his eyes and looked around. He appeared to be in a storeroom of some kind judging by the rows and rows of grey shelving. It looked like the grey decor spread to shelving as well. He shook his head, trying to clear the cotton wool feeling from it. He had a pounding headache; it felt all too similar to the one he had experienced in the infirmary earlier. He tried to put his hands to his head and found that they were tied securely behind him. Tied with thick rope by the feel of it, he surmised.
Great, he thought to himself. He concentrated, thinking that he would loosen his bonds with telekinesis. To his surprise nothing happened. He closed his eyes ready to teleport when a voice interrupted him.
“I would not waste my time, if I were you. Your powers are gone, all of them.”
“Daniel? Hey, what’s going on? This isn’t very funny you know. I thought you were supposed to be on our side, one of the good guys.” Megabyte didn’t like the look that Daniel was giving him. It was a look of pure hate. Whatever the archaeologist’s problem was it certainly seemed to involve the Tomorrow People.
“You mean you have not concluded the obvious yet? For the so-called next stage of human evolution, you and your companion are not very bright. Jackson is here, but he is not exactly in control at the moment, I am.”
It suddenly dawned on Megabyte what the man was talking about. That explained a lot, an awful lot. “Ramiis…”
“Bright boy. I am surprised you telepaths did not work out that something was different about Jackson. Mind you, his so called friends did not notice anything either.”
Megabyte realised he was in a lot of trouble. This Ramiis had a real vendetta against Tomorrow People. He had to find some way to warn Adam. Maybe he could find some way to loosen Ramiis’ control over Daniel. He noticed Ramiis had his head in his hands and wondered if Daniel trying to break free was the cause of all the headaches that the archaeologist seemed to be suffering from since he returned through the Stargate.
“Daniel, listen to me. I know you’re in there somewhere. You’ve got to try and break free. Use your will power, fight him!”
Daniel/Ramiis let out a cry of pain. He looked up at Megabyte. He spoke slowly as though each word was an effort.
“I’m trying but it’s so hard. He’s very strong. I’m not sure how much longer I can stay in control. You have to stop him or he will destroy….”
“Come on Daniel, you can do it.” Megabyte wished he had his powers, he felt so helpless without them. He was sure he and Adam together could help the man to break free.
He gasped. Ramiis/Daniel had slapped him across the face, hard. He could taste blood in his mouth. Obviously Ramiis was back in control again.
“Nice try, telepath.” The man almost spat the word out. “Jackson is not going to able to break free so easily with the power source so close.”
“You mean the stone?”
“You really do not know, do you? Have you not ever heard of barlumin?”
Megabyte shook his head. Maybe if he kept Ramiis talking he could find out something that would help him, and Daniel, to escape. One thing he’d learnt in all his years of watching B grade movies is that the bad guys always like to show off. Hopefully he could use it to his advantage. He knew this wasn’t a movie, it was real life, but in the situation he was in, he was running out of options, fast.
Ramiis laughed. “I thought all telepaths in the galaxy had heard of it. Barlumin is deadly to your kind. It negates your powers, leaves you in a weakened state, and with long exposure, can kill. One of the components of the Medusa Stone is barlumin, that is why it affects you.”
Great, thought Megabyte. Kryptonite for telepaths, just what we need. “So that’s why my powers are gone. He looked around and noticed the box sitting on one of the shelves nearby. The lid was closed. That explained why he was conscious.
“Adam?” Too late he realised he’d thought out loud. He didn’t want to give Ramiis any ideas. He had plenty of those without helping him out with any more.
“Do not worry about the other telepath. He is all right, for now. A short burst of barlumin only affects those at close range. He probably felt a momentary weakness, nothing more.”
Megabyte breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Adam still had his powers they stood a chance against this madman. “ So this barlumin is the power source that is enabling you to control Daniel as well?”
Ramiis shook his head. “Barlumin only works against telepaths. The box, however, that is something different, again.” He paused, looking at Megabyte suspiciously. “You are trying to find something you can use against me, are you not, boy? Well, do not bother. I would spend my energy trying to stay alive if I were you. At the moment your life expectancy is not looking too healthy.”
Ramiis pulled the Tomorrow Person to his feet, seemly enjoying the way the boy gasped when he did so.
Megabyte was still feeling a bit unsteady, after the exposure to the stone, but he was determined not to show it. He wondered if there was any chance of making a run for it. Maybe not, he thought to himself as he noticed the sword in the man’s hand and then felt the cold metal pressing against his throat. Now I know how Daniel felt when Methos dragged him through the Stargate.
“Where are we going?” he asked. The only reply he got was Ramiis shoving him roughly towards the door of the storeroom. Obviously the man was not in the mood for further conversation. Megabyte got the impression he had pushed his luck in that department as far as he should, anyway. It seemed as though Ramiis wanted him primarily to use as a hostage, for the moment, or as bait for Methos and Adam.
His thoughts drifted to his father. Damon would probably be worried about him by now, especially if Adam had received the mental picture of the body, and his last telepathic cry for help before he had passed out. Reports of him being held at sword point by a madman weren’t exactly going to ease his state of mind. Often he thought that Damon had had to do just as much adjusting to his son being a Tomorrow Person as he had himself.
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