Sliders: Legends of the Vortex
A Sci-Fi Channel Original Movie Premier
By Melvin L. Davis Jr.
Disclaimer: Sliders is a production of St. Clare Entertainment in association with Universal Television. No
Infringement intended on any part. Should they ever come upon this humble little archive, I hope
They will take all of this as the flattery it truly is. Beyond the aspects associated with Sliders, the
Stories contained within this archive are copy-written by their respective authors as noted in each
Story.
Summary: This story introduces four new characters in the Sliders Universe. Each had something he or she is running from or had something to prove. These new characters will join the main Sliders team during this story.
Chapter 1: Dawn of a new era
As night fell on the city of San Francisco, a lone traveler walked the streets. He kept looking over his shoulder as he hauled a heavy bag over the other shoulder. His name was Simon Darwin, and soon his life will change forever. Way above the legal I.Q. level and having super-human abilities, Simon was a wanted fugitive. He had been running from the law ever since he was born. Now, Simon wants to find a purpose to his life. While he was walking, suddenly a woman appeared in front of him, wearing some kind of cloak. "Simon Darwin, destiny has chosen you and three others to go on an important mission," she said and with that touched Simon on the forehead. He then knew things that he had never known before. "The knowledge that I have given you will help with your mission," she said. Then a purple vortex appeared and she walked into it. The vortex then disappeared. Simon wondered about the lady but had a feeling that he could trust her.
When Simon got to his home at an old warehouse, he went to his laboratory and started to work. With the knowledge the lady gave him, Simon was building some kind of machine. He checked every detail, every part, every wire and circuit to see if it worked right. When he turned it on, a blue-yellow vortex appeared. "I wonder where it goes," he asked himself. After turning it off, Simon then constructed a timer remote device, which had a computer and disk drive for some small CD like disks he invented. The timer can open vortexes and store information. Then Simon built a portable version of the machine to take with him. He activated the machine with the timer, the vortex appeared and Simon jumped in.
The vortex opened in a war zone. Simon landed on a bunch of dead bodies. He checked the timer and it reads three hours and forty-five minutes. Then the lady in the cloak appeared, saying, "Simon, one of the persons who will accompany you on your mission is on this earth. She is very young and is in grave danger. Her name is Whitney Brown. You must hurry because time is short. Find her." Then Simon's super-enhanced hearing caught the scream of a young girl. With top superhuman speed, Simon ran toward the direction of the cry.
Meanwhile, on another earth, while all of that was happening, four brave explorers were running for their lives. Calling themselves the "Sliders", the group had traveled throughout the multi-universe for the past four years. The roster had changed during the last year with the tragic death of a fellow slider and the disappearance of another. Quinn Mallory and Rembrandt Brown, the only founding members of the Sliders left on the team, are accompanied by two "rookies": Maggie Beckett and Quinn's brother, Colin Mallory. Right now, the Sliders are running from a new enemy: The War Hogs. The War Hogs are interested in sliding and they want Quinn to give them that power, and they don't take "no" for an answer. "How much time do we have left, Q-Ball," Rembrandt said to Quinn as he was dodging the laser bolts flying past him. "Fifteen seconds," said Quinn as he looks at the timer. "This is just another slide from hell, is it!" yells Maggie as one of the War Hog warriors was about to jump her. She ducked and when the warrior got up, Maggie gave him an uppercut in the jaw. She got his laser crossbow and shoots it at another warrior who was about to drive his broad sword into Colin. "I'll be glad to get away from them", said Colin as he got up from the ground. Quinn then activates the timer and a blue-green vortex appeared. " Let's get out of here!" said Rembrandt as he jumped into the vortex. Colin then went in next. Maggie kept fighting the laser crossbow at the War Hogs. "I'll cover you!" she said to Quinn. Quinn then grabs Maggie and jumped into the vortex with her.
Meanwhile, Simon was running at super speeds, carrying a ten-year old African-American girl in his arms. After saving her from a gang of thugs, Simon was worried about getting her to safety. The girl's name was Whitney Brown. She had been alone ever since her parents died. Life had been hard for her and she does what she had to do to survive. Now all she was worried about is who was this "guardian angel" who saved her. "Hey, where are we going," Whitney asked Simon. "Someplace far away from here," answers Simon. "By the way, my name is Simon Darwin." He whipped out the timer and saw that there were only twenty seconds left on it. The thugs were after them and coming closer. "Five, four, three, two, one," counted Simon as he activated the timer and the vortex appeared. Hanging on to Whitney, he jumped into the vortex and it closed behind them. While flying through the wormhole, Whitney was so amazed that she forgot about all her troubles on her earth. In fact, she was somehow glad to get away from that place.
The vortex opened and Simon and Whitney flew out. Simon turned in mid-air so he could cushion Whitney from the fall. When they got up from the ground, Simon opened the bag he was carrying with him and pulled out the portal machine he built. He also pulled out a laptop computer and attached it to the machine. Whitney looked around and found herself in a whole different world. "There is something strange about this place," Whitney said to herself. What she saw was a lot of blimps over the city. The cars on the street were strange. They had electrical outlets on them. The strangest part around this place was the people. Men, women, and children had very long hair and most of it was tied into a big knot. Then suddenly the lady in the cloak appeared in front of Whitney, scaring her. "Simon, your other two companions are on the next two worlds. They are Roberto Carlos and Jessica Maser. When you find them, you must look for Quinn Mallory and the Sliders," she said to Simon. And with that she disappeared.
Elsewhere, on an entirely different earth, a blue-green vortex appeared and Rembrandt flew out. He fell flat on his back. Colin came out next and landed on Rembrandt. "Get off me, man," said Remmy to Colin. They both got out of the way when Quinn and Maggie flew out of the vortex. They both landed on their feet. "Well, it's about time you four got here," said a voice from somewhere. The Sliders looked around and saw a woman in a purple cloak. Maggie, reacting like the marine she was, saw the lady as a threat and aims the laser crossbow at her. The weapon suddenly flew out of Maggie's hands by itself and exploded in mid-air. "Margaret, you should really practice controlling yourself," the lady told Maggie. The lady then went over toward Quinn. "And that was not the last you will be seeing of the War hogs. They won't stop until they get what they want from you," she said, "But that's not why I am here." "Then why are you here, lady," asked Rembrandt. "I need you for an important mission" the lady answered, "On this mission, you will have four new members added to your little group." Maggie looked at her angrily and said, "Listen, we don't have time for some sick joke, so you just go away." The lady gave Maggie a sharp share and then suddenly Maggie was hovering ten feet off the ground. "After all the things you have seen during your adventures as a slider, I assume that you know that anything and everything is possible. And I am deadly serious and not just 'a sick joke'", said the lady. "Okay, okay, okay, we are listening to you," Quinn said to the lady, "Just put her down, please." The lady looked at all the sliders, then Maggie slowly landed on the ground. "Even pit bulls have some control," the lady said to Maggie.
Chapter 2: The Quest Begins
Roberto Carlos, a Latin-American man whose life had been pulling off cons, was trying to do the right thing and trying to survive. In prison most of his life for a crime he didn't commit, Roberto had mastered the art of getting out of tight situations. He also mastered knife throwing. Now he had made too many enemies to stay around. If there's a chance he can get out, he'll take it. He never thought he would be traveling from universe to universe. When Simon and Whitney found him, a crooked cop he helped put in jail was hunting him. "I'll believe it when I see it," Roberto said when Simon told him about inter-dimensional traveling to parallel earths. Street gangs were shooting at Simon, Whitney, and Roberto in East LA. "So, when do we get out of here?" ask Roberto. Looking at the timer, Simon said, "In about ten seconds." "I thought I left this on my world," said Whitney. Simon clicked on the timer and the vortex appeared. "What is that?" asks Roberto pointing at the vortex. "Your ticket out of here," answers Whitney. Simon then pushed Roberto into the vortex. Then, he and Whitney jumped into the vortex.
All that Jessica Maser wanted was to help people. Now her life was ruined because she fell in love with the wrong guy. Everywhere she went reminded her of what he had done to her. He had ruined her medical career and had tried to rape her. Defending herself, Jessica killed him. Now all she wanted to do was to start over and try once again to help people. On her way out of Los Angeles, Jessica's car broke down. "That's just my luck," she said to herself. Then suddenly a woman in a cloak appeared and walked up to her. "Your luck is about to change, Jessica," she said to her. "Who are you and what in the world are you talking about?" asks Jessica to the lady. "My name is Anira, and I am here to tell you that destiny has chosen you to go on an important mission. Then suddenly, a vortex appeared and two men and a little girl flew out of it. "And these are your companions," said Anira. Roberto got up and walked toward Jessica. "Hello, my name is Roberto Carlos and these are my associates, Simon Darwin and Whitney Brown," said Roberto. "What is that?" asked Jessica referring to the vortex.
Meanwhile, Quinn and the sliders were at the Chandler Hotel discussing about what Anira told them " If you ask me, I think we should just forget about all the mess we just heard and get some sleep," said Maggie. "But what if she is right? Crystals that have the power to take you anywhere you want in the multi-universe," said Colin. "I'll believe it when I see it," says Rembrandt, "The lady said that I got a daughter." Quinn looked at the timer and said, "Well anyway, we got a week and some change on this world and Anira said that those new sliders are going to be here tomorrow, so let's wait and see." The Sliders all went to bed. Then suddenly, at four o'clock in the morning, a vortex appeared in the suite where the Sliders were sleeping. Roberto first came out and landed on Maggie and waked her up. She introduces Roberto to the receiving end of her fist and he was knocked onto a table, breaking it in two. Jessica came out next and was backslapped by Maggie. Jessica then slapped Maggie herself and they both got into a fight. Simon and Whitney came together and saw what was going on. That woke up Rembrandt, Colin, and Quinn.
It was six o'clock in the morning when the sliders broke up the fight between Jessica and Maggie. Roberto was nursing his jaw and Whitney was looking at Rembrandt in a strange way. "Hey girl, you look like you seen a ghost," said Rembrandt. Then Whitney passed out. "That's because you are a dead ringer of her father, amigo," answered Roberto. "Who the hell are you people?" barked Maggie to the newcomers. "Let me introduce me and my companions," said Simon to the sliders, "I am Simon Darwin and this is Jessica Maser, Roberto Carlos, and the little girl on the floor is Whitney Brown." "WHITNEY BROWN?" asked Rembrandt surprisingly. "Yes, she is the daughter of one of your doubles," answers Simon. Quinn studied the machine that Simon built. "How did you build this?" he asked. "On my earth, very high intelligence is illegal. The government fears that if your IQ is too high, you will have the power to take over the world," said Simon, "I figure it out when Anira gave me the information." Roberto got up and went to the bathroom. Jessica went in her bags to find her first-aid kit.
The group then went to get some breakfast. Quinn studied the timer Simon had built. Roberto had an ice pack on his jaw. Jessica looked around and saw that Los Angeles was different than the one she had left. Simon took out a notepad and started to write in it. "Well, this turn out to be one hell of a morning," Roberto said, "I didn't sign on to be punched by a woman." "What's the matter?" Maggie asked, " Couldn't take it like a man?" Roberto then mumbled something in Spanish and went in to the diner. Jessica rubbed her temples. Colin went over next to her. "What's the matter?" he asked. "Nothing," she said, "Just a headache." The Sliders sat down at a table and looked over the breakfast menus. Whitney sat next to Rembrandt. Quinn sat next to Maggie and studied Simon's timer. A waitress went over to the table and started to take orders. "I'll just have some coffee and pancakes," Jessica told the waitress. She was glad she got all her money out of the bank. "I want the bacon, eggs, and cheese special," Rembrandt told the waitress. Whitney was still looking at the menu. "I want the Texas Omelet special" said Roberto to the waitress. "I'll try the Texas Omelet, too," said Maggie to the waitress. Roberto gave Maggie a sharp look and she smiled at him. " I would like to have the ham, bacon, mushroom, and Swiss Cheese omelet special," Whitney said to the waitress. "Same thing she's having," said Simon, while still writing in his notebook. "Me, too," said Quinn and Colin at the same time. The waitress wrote all the orders down and went in to the kitchen. Jessica started to give Roberto, Simon, and Whitney each two one hundred-dollar bills. Maggie grabbed her wrist just as she was about to give Whitney her two hundred dollars. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Maggie asked. "I'm just giving some emergency money to her," answered Jessica. Maggie took Whitney's two hundred dollars and gave it to Rembrandt. "You have no business giving that much money to a little girl," said Maggie, "Besides, I think her "father" should keep it." Rembrandt got a dumb look on his face and both he and Whitney looked at each other. "Well, I'm not giving you my money," Roberto told Maggie as he slipped his money into his pocket. The waitress came back with breakfast and passed them out on to the table.
After breakfast, the Sliders went back to the hotel. Colin spotted a glowing red marble on the floor. He picked it up and put it in his pocket. Maggie started to look through Jessica's luggage. Jessica spotted her and said, "What the hell do you think you're doing?" "Seeing if you have been holding out on us," Maggie told her. She found a gun and a box of bullets in one of Jessica's suitcases. Maggie put the gun and the bullets on a table. Roberto looked on the floor and saw a glowing green marble. He picked it up, looked at it, and put it in his pocket. Quinn and Simon worked on a computer program to track vortexes and mapped the earths they had explored in the multi-universe. "My theory is that each parallel earth has a sub-group of earths," said Simon. Rembrandt went out to get some ice. When he opened the icebox, Rembrandt saw a blue glowing marble. He picked it up, looked at it and putted it in his pocket. Maggie was still looking in Jessica's luggage. She found a laptop computer, some travel checks, a cellular phone, a pager, and some books.
Roberto, Rembrandt, Maggie, and Jessica went to the lobby of the Chandler Hotel, discussing the adventure the Sliders have in different dimensions. "And I'll thought my life was hell," said Jessica, "I'll glad I wasn't with you when you were on that snake earth." Roberto borrowed one of Simon's notepads and started writing in it.