A/N: OK, fair warning concerned readers. This next chapter has no business being in an Atlantis story. Technically. BUT, since it is just a chapter and I plan to return to Sheppard's view point sometime for at least one more chapter, I figure I'd try my hand at SG-1. And don't worry, this story is a new kind of sequel. I call it a "run in." Guess what it does. That's right! It runs into the first one about ¾ the way through. This chapter is in Mitchell's (from SG-1) POV. Sorry for any OOC, the guy was only on TV for a little more than two seasons and it's hard to evolve in such little time. On a separate note, there is not an outpouring of action, death, or romance in this chapter. It's more for introducing Mitchell and giving him a side to the story. Thanks for all the comments on Sang Real, and I hope this is a worthy side story. Enjoy.
Stargate SG-1: Star Girl
"No! Why do you do this?" I screamed as the Prior took my blood. I knew that he was injecting it into prisoners as a form of severe torture. "You know my blood is lethal! Their human bodies can't handle it."
"Silence, Avalona. Even a young staranian as yourself can't defeat the Ori. Or manage to hurt me before the Ori can destroy your children. For however much you despise their religion, they are still your children, Avalona." The filthy Prior threw me back into my cell. I silently cursed the Ori and their followers. Then I cursed their machines that kept me bound here.
"I will get out of here and make you pay, Prior." I vowed.
* * *
"Mitchell! We're under attack! We need cover fire!" I reacted instantly to Daniel's radio call. Teal'c also sprang into action. We were guarding the gate while SG-15 and Daniel looked at some "fascinating" ruins of an ancient civilization. We left Vala to dial the gate and took off into the forest.
"Teal'c and I are on our way. Vala's dialing the gate now. Who's shooting at you?" I asked while running.
"Ori soldiers. It seems they're carrying on in their god's name. I think there's a Prior too. Don't' ask me how." Daniel's harried voice answered. I grimaced. We had pretty much destroyed the Ori, but their followers were still too stubborn and loyal to give up. The Prior, though, was supposed to be on our side with the Ark of Truth's influence. Maybe they were reversing it somehow. The followers alone had given us some trouble, but we weren't crazy about a Prior leading them. Teal'c and I paused as we heard fighting ahead. We proceeded slower and quieter. Somehow, the Ori soldiers had come between our people and the gate and we managed to walk up behind them. We opened fire, taking the soldiers by surprise. Soon they were all dead.
"That was quick." I remarked suspiciously. "And where's the Prior?"
"He's over here." Daniel called quietly. We snuck into the inside of the ruins beside Daniel. He pointed to the glowing blue stone in the Prior's staff. I nodded.
"All right. You're mostly scientists, so get back to the gate. Teal'c and I'll hold here. Go!" I ordered. Daniel looked worried, but led the other's to safety. I looked at the Prior. "He's up to something."
"Indeed." Teal'c agreed. I motioned and we split up. Teal'c crept toward the Prior's left and I covered the right. We inched forward. The soldiers were receiving orders. Quickly they split up, two covered the Prior while the rest hurried off in the direction of the gate. I motioned Teal'c to follow and stop them. He shook his head. I redid the motion more forcefully. The others weren't soldiers, they needed backup for a squad of Ori soldiers. I had to stay and watch the Prior. He sighed in exasperation and took off. I turned back to the Prior. He was looking around intensely. I huddled down closer to the ground. Suddenly I heard something crack behind me. As I turned, I felt a blast hit me in my right shoulder. There was a third Ori soldier and he had gotten the drop on me. To my dismay, the blast caused me to drop my P-90.
"Great Prior! I have found an infidel soldier. He was sneaking up on you. Thank the Ori I have stopped him!" The man's face was that of a heretic. My hands flexed spasmodically as the blast area burned. I almost lost consciousness, but was able to hang on by a thread. The forest wavered as I struggled to stay awake. The Prior came to investigate.
"One of the Tauri, obviously. He may be of some use. Bring him to the ship. We will take him to Avalon. I believe his people are at this Eye of the Gods, so we will take him to another. Bring him." The Prior ordered. Leaning down, he took my gun from my vest. As he started to walk away, the soldiers picked me up, jarring me into unconsciousness.
* * *
"Oh." I groaned as I awakened. I was lying in a steel cell with a force field door. My wound was almost hot with pain. I naturally assumed I was in enemy hands.
"You don't look so good." A girl's voice startled me. I could only manage to raise my head, but saw her. She was sitting in an identical cell across the hall. She was pale white with flaming red hair.
"You don't look so great either." I replied, coughing at the strain on my injured side. "What did you do to get stuck in here?"
"My kind are powerful, but the Ori enslaved me. Or rather, they tricked me into wearing this power-draining necklace. Meanwhile, I can't do anything because the Ori will destroy my children." She answered weakly. Before I could react to "children," the Prior walked in, followed by two soldiers. His staff flashed twice and the force field on my cell disappeared. The soldiers grabbed me and drug me out of the cell. Again the blackness threatened to swallow me, but I held on as we walked down the hallway.
"Put him on the table." The men placed me down on some form of lab table. The Prior stood over me. "Now, what's your name?"
"Yeah, that's going to work. Listen, does the Ark of Truth mean anything to you? You're supposed to be on our side!" I wheezed sarcastically. He frowned in concentration, then smiled.
"Your primitive human mind is no match for mine, just as the Ark of Truth was no match for me. You are Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell of the Tauri. You are part of the team that has caused us so much trouble and cost many loyal soldiers their lives. I think I have a special form of execution for such a famed warrior. You, bring me the blood." He motioned to the soldiers.
"Yes, milord." The soldier bowed and retrieved a small bottle of red liquid. Before I could muster enough energy to protest, the Prior took an needle with a drop or so of the liquid and plunged it into my uninjured left arm.
"That's not a lot of poison." I told him. His smile looked sinister.
"It's not poison, it's blood. It will boil your insides and melt your bones. And because it is such a small sample, it will take quite a while to kill you. Take him back to his cell." He left, robes flapping. The men took for another "joyful" walk back to my cell. They placed me in and raised the force field again. After they left, I returned to my prison mate's story.
"What do you mean by 'children'?" I asked. My arm was already starting to tingle. She looked at me carefully.
"I am a staranian, or the soul of a star. I am Avalona, the soul of Avalon's star. All of Avalon's people are my children." She explained tiredly. I listened to her story carefully. We had met many kinds of aliens in our adventures as SG-1, but had never met any staranians. "What did they want you for, anyway?"
"Well, I should probably tell you that my friends and I pretty much destroyed the Ori using an Ancient weapon. The Priors, who we did use the Ark of Truth on, are kind of mad at me for that. Evidently they figured out a way around it's influence. I think they poisoned me, but they just kept calling it 'the blood.'" I told her. The tingling feeling had moved to my left hand.
"You destroyed the Ori? Remarkable. If only their destruction had removed my restraints. Also, I'm sorry." She looked deeply saddened.
"For what?" I asked as the tingling started to move up my arm.
"The "poison" they gave you is my blood. As a staranian, my blood can burn people from the inside out. It's quite painful. I'm surprised you're not feeling it already." Her face was apologetic, but confused. Meanwhile, the tingling had sped up. My entire chest itched and stung.
"Wow, powerful blood. I'm not really in any pain except my shoulder, though there is an annoying tingle that's spreading from my arm to my chest." I told her, slightly worried. Now the feeling
was headed up my neck.
"Could it be?" She stared at my face expectantly. "You see, there is a legend among my people. It mentions that it is possible for a person to be injected with a staranian's blood but not killed; rather the person would be transformed into a half-staranian."
"What?" This was an unexpected twist. Just then the tingling reached my skull. She gasped.
"It must be true! Look at your hair!" She exclaimed, struggling to stand. I gingerly sat up and peered at my reflection in the shiny metal wall. My hair now had the same coloring as the young girl's. It was a mixture of flaming red, orange, and blonde mixed with my normally brown hair.
"My hair!" I said in shock. She nodded.
"You must be unusual for my blood to do this to you." She said thoughtfully. "Once the blood gets to your shoulder, it'll heal that, too."
"Then I can get us out of here?" Even as I talked I could feel the tingling start around my wound. The wound seemed to glow faintly, then heal over with new skin. Kind of freaky, but I wasn't going to complain. I wasn't sure about how I was an exception to the boiling blood thing either, but I felt it better not to argue with something that was saving my life.
"I don't know if you want to call this transformation a gift or a curse. Your people will be suspicious. And your temperature will normally be around 120. I have never even heard of a human-staranian. I may look humanoid, but all staranians have a choice of form to take." She was concerned about the consequences of the Prior's actions.
"I'm sure it'll be a shock, but my friends are really accepting. Now can I get us out or not?" I asked impatiently. She nodded reluctantly. The tingling had completely filled my body and stopped.
"The blood should grant you control over the elements. You can burn the control panel for your cell's force field. Once you are free, you can do the same for mine. Since the Ori made this necklace to contain only my power, you should be able to burn it to cinders. In return, I will send you back to the planet you were taken from." She offered. I quickly agreed. I hadn't planned to leave her behind anyway. "Alright, now for the basics of fire starting. In the beginning, it's a good idea to get mad or irritated. That's why this can be curse. Unless you are really in control of your emotions, you can get in a fight with someone and burn them to a crisp. Fire starting is very dangerous."
"Got it. Think mad." I concentrated. I reached for a memory that would make me mad. Instantly, I remembered the Prior's face and my anger at the attacks on all the innocent worlds. I felt my the top of my head get hot. I looked at my reflection and was startled to find my hair on fire. "Whoa."
"Not bad for your first try. Fire is usually attracted to a staranian's hair because of the power in it." She sounded on the verge of laughter. I gritted my teeth in frustration and the flames grew. I mentally shoved them and they shot through the force field at my door and burned the control panel.
"Got it." I said triumphantly as the force field fell. She smiled faintly. "I think I've got a handle on the fire now."
"You should probably hurry." She stood expectantly. I nodded and sent the fire streaking into her cell's control panel, frying it. I walked over and looked at her necklace.
"Will I burn you if I touch this with fire?" I asked. She shook her head.
"I'm a star, we aren't hurt by fire." She replied. I carefully sent the fire into her necklace. It started to glow with the heat. "It needs to be hotter."
"Right." I frowned and the flames grew brighter. Finally, the necklace melted into a pool of liquid metal. She shook her hair out and it flamed. While mine was hot, hers was the essence of fire itself.
"I'll take it from here, Col. Mitchell." Her voice had a new, powerful tone to it. I backed up and let her pass. She shone with the power and heat of a contained star. We traveled back down the hallway to the lab room. The guards sounded the alarm and ran. The Prior turned to face us.
"Avalona, you know the Ori can stop you. Cease or all of Avalon will suffer." He raised his staff menacingly. She smiled.
"I think you've forgotten to mention the fact that Mitchell and his friends destroyed the Ori already. With no ascended to hide behind, you're all alone and I'm an angry star. Now as you are a former Avalonian, I beg you to stop this." She pleaded with the Prior. His eyes flashed and he raised his staff in answer. She bowed her head. "Very well." She barely glanced at the staff and it turned to ash. She raised a hand and he disappeared.
"What did you do with him?" I asked. She looked over at me sadly.
"I sent him to the Staranian Council. His actions will be judged. For his deeds, he will most likely be thrown into the heart of a black hole one inch at a time and kept alive to feel the agony. Staranians are not very forgiving towards those who wish or do us harm." She replied regretfully. I gulped. Their punishment was just, but harsh. "I thank you for your help. I don't know how long I would have been in that cell if you hadn't showed up. Or rather, had been captured. Come on, let's get to your stargate and send you home."
"Thanks." I followed her lead since I had been unconscious when I had arrived. We didn't see any more guards. "Where is everyone?"
"I doubt that anyone is brave enough to face an angry staranian. They're probably half way to the town by now." She opened a door and the motioned me through. Inside was the gate.
"Aren't we in a different galaxy than mine? We don't have a power source capable of getting me back." I groaned.
"Actually, as drained as I am, I still think I can manage a simple galaxy boost for a stargate. Dial the gate." She went a placed her hands on the gate. I shrugged and started to dial. As I entered the address and the gate started to spin, Avalona's hair flamed higher and wrapped around her hands. The energy entered the gate and allowed the eighth chevron to lock. Luckily I had remembered Daniel's speech on the symbols necessary to reach our galaxy and Earth's Stargate. The wormhole formed and I prepared to go.
"I dialed the planet the Prior found me on, so I won't hit Earth's iris. It protects us from things and people we don't know from coming through and killing us. What are you going to do?" I asked before I left. She lowered her hands without stopping the flow of power to the gate.
"Avalon is my system. I will stay here with my people, as ungrateful as they are. I will also contact the Staranian Council and inform them of your situation. I would be careful, Mitchell, your people might not all be as willing to accept you as half-staranian. You might have to come up with a cover story for your hair. As for your body temp, I'd find a doctor you trust to clear you personally. Someone who won't ask too many questions about how you're alive with a temp of 120 on average. Be careful. I'll contact your sun and tell him he needs to teach you the basics. We can't have you causing earthquakes and such." She waved for me to go.
"Thank you. How will I know who's supposed to teach me?" I remembered to ask before I stepped through.
"You'll know. He'll find you." She waved good-bye and I stepped into the wormhole.
* * *
"Ooh, cool." I remarked as I felt the planet's chilly night breeze hit my already wormhole-chilled face. Somehow, the air didn't feel quite as cold as the last time I felt it. I imagined it was because the whole half-staranian thing. I walked over to the DHD, or Dial Home Device. Without my transmitter to transmit the correct code to get through the iris, I wouldn't make it through the gate. I sat down and waited. I figured I had been gone about a day or two and they would still be looking for me on the planet. I only had to wait for the others to come and get me. Hopefully they'd come back before the ominous storm on the horizon reached me. Of course, I didn't have to wait too long; we didn't leave our people behind. As I heard the gate start to dial, I ducked behind a tree as a precaution. I didn't want the wrong people seeing me. Luckily, SG-1, minus the questionable Vala, came through with SG-15 and SG-13.
"Alright, spread out. Teal'c, you were with him last, lead the way. 13, guard the gate for any unexpected company." The leader of SG-15 ordered the others. Teal'c started off. "Daniel, try to figure out what the Priors wanted here. If anyone finds Mitchell, get on the radio immediately. He's may have been hurt or worse. You know how much the Priors favor brainwashing."
"Got it." At least Daniel looked skeptical. I was having trouble thinking of myself as brainwashed, but I knew it could happen. In fact, it had happened to Teal'c with Apophis once and almost happened to Daniel with Adria. Since I didn't want to explain to everyone that I was a half-staranian, I followed Daniel to the ruins. As I snuck up on him, I glanced at the stones. To my surprise, I instantly knew why the Priors were here.
"Hey, Daniel. What's up?" I whispered as I sat down beside him. He jumped about a foot in the air.
"Mitchell, what the…?" Daniel was freaked out. I motioned him to calm down. "What happened? Where were you? And what is with the hair?"
"Look, calm down, alright? I'll explain as well as I can. But don't call the others. They think I could be brainwashed and my story is not going to help them decide otherwise." I asked. He settled back down against the ruins.
"I'll listen, but only because I was with the Ori and know that if you were brainwashed, your hair wouldn't be reddish-blonde. Too noticeable." Daniel replied. I rolled my eyes. "Well, it's true. They wouldn't want their 'operative' to be obvious."
"Okay, you're going to listen to me just because my hair's a different color. Brilliant." I couldn't help but be sarcastic.
"Well then, are you planning to turn us all into Ori-worshipping fanatics? 'Cause you know they're all dead." Daniel was just as sarcastic.
"True, I'm not brainwashed, but you have to give a better reason than my hair be flame-colored to trust me again. Oh well, I guess you'll have to hear what happened. So there I was, watching the soldiers get orders. I sent Teal'c to warn you and then one of them got the jump on me. Yeah, I know, stupid, but they captured me. I fell unconscious and I'm pretty sure that they took me on their ship to a different planet and used that stargate to take me to Avalon. You know, their planet. Well, it turns out that they managed to figure out who I was and then they gave me what they considered poison." I told him. He looked concerned and confused.
"They gave you a poison that turned your hair red?" He asked. I nodded.
"Partially. Do you know who wrote on these stones?" I pointed to the ruins around us.
"I haven't managed to decipher any of it. None of it makes any sense to me." Daniel responded. He was a bit lost because of the abrupt change in topic. After a thought, I placed my hand on his bare forearm. "What?"
"Can you read it now?" I looked around. To me, the writing was as clear as day. It had to be staranian. Avalona's blood must have given me the ability to translate their writings. I was hoping that skin contact could allow Daniel to read it as well.
"Yes, but how?" He stood up then looked at it again. "Wait, I can't read it anymore."
"Well, the poison they gave me was blood. Not just any blood but a person from this race's blood. The thing is that this race is called staranians. They're the souls of the stars." I explained the connection. "You see, staranian's have blood that will burn a person from the inside out. Only, there's a legend among them that it is possible for a person to be exposed but, they get turned into a half-staranian hybrid instead of untold agony and death. It turns out I'm that exception. Lucky me."
"So you're what? Half-staranian? That's a leap from red hair to half alien. Now I'm not sure you're not just crazy. Maybe I better call the others." Daniel joked nervously. I shrugged and made my hair start on fire again. He jumped back.
"Whoa! Mitchell, your hair's on fire!" Daniel's voice rose in shock.
"Sheesh. I'm doing it, okay? It's the whole alien thing." I tried to explain. He closed his open mouth. I grinned. "You gotta admit it's cool."
"Yeah, it's cool. In a your-hair-is-on-fire sort of way. What else can you do besides set your hair on fire and read their language?" Daniel asked.
"Don't know. Yet. Avalona, Avalon's solar system's sun, said the Council gonna send our sun to teach me. Before you ask, I don't know what our star looks like either. See, Avalona is the one whose blood the Priors were using. Somehow the Ori managed to trick her into wearing a power draining necklace and put her in a cell. She had no idea that the Ori were dead. I helped her escape and she helped me get here. I only had to wait about five minutes before you showed up. How long have I been away?"
"About two days, Mitchell. You've had everyone at the SGC worried sick. In fact, we had dozens of people volunteer to be on rescue teams. Vala tried to sneak her way through to get you, but with these ruins, well… we weren't going to take any chances. And now it looks like you managed to escape all on your own. How are we going to explain that?" Daniel informed me. I winced. Two days was way too long to be missing. And, coupled with the extremely high 'fever' I was running, I could imagine the amount of fast-talking I would have to pull off so Doctor Lam wouldn't commit me to a mental institution. I let the flickering flames on my hair die out and I reached up to ruffle my hair. As I did, I saw Daniel's eyes widen and his entire body stiffened. His gaze was pointed over my shoulder. I slowly turned, expecting the worst. My slow yet anxious look revealed the source of the concern. Standing right at the tree line was Teal'c, another member of my team. Thankfully, he seemed to be alone, but he was staring quite intently at my hair which, until just mere seconds ago, there had been unexplainable flames. I threw him a nervous smile and prayed he wouldn't shoot first and ask later. "Hey, T."
"Col. Mitchell? Is this normal?" The normally unfazed warrior was confused to say the least. He did, however, lower his aim as he recognized my face, though never completely at ease. At least he wasn't swayed completely by the whole "they would never brainwash you and change your hair color too" thing. I needed to talk to Daniel about trust issues.
"Well, big guy, that's a good question. For now I guess it is." I continued on to explain everything. The stone-faced Jaffa raised an eyebrow or two, but said nothing. This guy was the master of non-verbal communication (I gave the Satedan in Pegasus second 'cause growling is verbal in my book). "So basically, yeah, this is a normal SG-1 occurrence. At least I didn't die and ascend like someone we know."
"Hey! I came back." Daniel defended himself. I had to agree. He could have stayed Ascended.
"OK, I'll give you that one. Meanwhile, back to the guy with fire coming out of his hair. Oh, and did I mention? I can now double as a portable space heater. My average temp's a toasty 120, so break out the marshmallows!" I tried to laugh off the strangeness. Daniel, the scientist he is, immediately attempted to feel my forehead. I pulled away. "Unless you managed to get an M.D. while I was gone, I don't know how that's gonna help. Face it, Dr. Lam has to be told."
"Will everyone not notice that something is different?" Teal'c offered. I rolled my eyes.
"Yeah, the hair does kind of give me away, but we're working on a way to explain that." I thought carefully. "Maybe sap?"
"Sap?" Daniel repeated in a skeptical voice. He stared at me for several minutes, attempting to ascertain if I was joking. I wasn't. "You think there's a tree with sap that gives your hair highlights? How dumb do you think Landry is? Or Lam for that matter?"
"I'm just saying…" I looked up at the star-filled sky. Or, technically the supposedly star-filled sky, because, frankly there were no stars visible. Instead the whole sky was covered by thick clouds. "Um, whatever we do, we better do fast. I don't think we want to be out here when that storm shows."
"What storm?" Daniel followed my gaze. "Oh."
"Yeah, oh. Come on we've gotta get out of here. We'll let the others come up with their own explanations. Just say I was unconscious for most of the day, lost for the time before the Ori guys left, and then, amazingly, got lost." Even Teal'c looked skeptical this time. I shrugged. "What?! It's the best I've got!"
"He does respond as Colonel Mitchell would. And he is right, the storm that is approaching is a danger. I was coming to inform you that the SG teams are preparing to leave. We should proceed quickly." Teal'c replied. Daniel gulped and nodded while I hauled myself up. Teal'c glanced at my torn uniform. "Are you injured, Colonel Mitchell?"
"Not anymore." Seeing the understanding dawn on Daniel's face, I clarified. "The blood's pretty useful, especially when you're escaping from Ori strongholds."
"Teal'c?" I heard the radio squawk. "You there?"
"I am. Daniel Jackson and I have located Colonel Mitchell. We are on our way." Teal'c answered. We started to walk back towards the gate. He continued on to answer someone's question. "He appears unhurt and says that he is fine. He was merely unconscious for a time while we were gone and awoke disoriented."
"Good job, T." I commended his ability to avoid the truth. Technically, I had fallen unconscious and woken up confused, just leaving out the whole "I-went-to-another-galaxy" bit. A sudden rumble of thunder pealed out, cutting off conversation. And, of course, it was followed by a steady shower of freezing cold rain. I heard a slight hiss as I felt the first drops. Looking cautiously at my arm I noted that, while it was pouring ice water around me, I was steaming. Yes, steaming. Not good. I fought a sudden yawn. "Uh, guys? I'm getting really tired here. Really tired."
"Mitchell?" Daniel reached over to touch me but pulled back several inches away. "You're baking."
"Well, I feel really cold. And tired." I bit back another yawn and stumbled. For some reason, probably because I didn't know how to control the power that I now possessed, my body was reacting to the cold by warming up the area around me. Obviously, it was taking a lot of the aforementioned power and, thus by way of irrefutable logic, making me tired. Sometimes I amaze myself. "Look, I think I need to get out of the rain. And I mean ASAP. I think it's draining me."
"Rain is draining you?" Daniel was horrified. "Why?"
"'Cause I know nothing about being a half alien. So, pardon me." This time I couldn't hold back a yawn. Luckily, we were nearing the Stargate, because I felt like I had just run five miles in Antarctica. And, trust me, I know how cold it is there; I crashed and spent quite a while in the sub-zero temperature. I needed out of the downpour fast. Just then we broke from the forest into the field surrounding the Stargate. My eyelids were starting to feel heavy. I stumbled again, this time barely catching myself. I felt a tentative touch as Daniel tried to feel my body heat.
"You're right, Mitchell, you're getting colder. Come on, Teal'c he's safe to touch now." Without a moment's warning, Teal'c grabbed my arms and picked me up in a fireman's carry. Signaling to the confused Marines to dial the gate, he broke into a jog. The last thing I remembered before slipping into the heavy fog of sleep was the feel of cold raindrops evaporating off my still semi-hot skin.
* * *
"What do you think you're doing?" I gained consciousness to the irate voice of Dr. Lam. "This man's fever is off the charts! He needs an ice bath, not heating blankets!"
"Look, Dr. Lam, I'm sorry, but there are extenuating circumstances. Mitchell ran into a 'surprising' complication off-world and needs heat. Trust me; as soon as he's up he'll thank you." Daniel tried to reason with the angry doctor.
"He has a fever that, in a normal world, would be boiling his blood and you presume to tell me my job?!" Yeah, she was pissed. Suddenly I felt a blast of cooler air assault me. Immediately, I began to shiver and feel tired as my body attempted to raise my temperature on my own.
"See? He needs the warmth. Put it back on him, please." Daniel pointed out triumphantly.
"I don't understand." Lam's voice was confused, but I felt the return of the slight warmth. My head quickly cleared under its presence. I blinked slowly as the SGC infirmary slid into place. The return of warmth was doing wonders for my strength and fatigue.
"Thanks, doc. I thought I was on the verge of hypothermia there." I said, sleepily at first but gradually increasing in strength. A snort of ridicule followed my statement.
"OK, I'll admit he reacts well to the heating blanket, but will someone please explain how he's not resembling a boiled egg right now?" Lam came over to feel my pulse, wincing at the increased warmth in my skin. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine. Daniel, go get Vala, I'm not repeating myself and she deserves the right to know as a member of SG-1." I motioned for him to go. He nodded. I sat up as I felt my strength return and I began to feel normal again. Evidently, while the power drainage was serious if sustained, it was easily and quickly remedied by heat. "Look, I'll tell you what happened when they get here, 'kay?"
"You definitely have some explaining to do, Mitchell." Lam crossed her arms.
"Come on, Teal'c. We'll let the Colonel say hello to the good doctor." Daniel called. Teal'c gave his ever-famous eyebrow raise and followed the archeologist out the door.
"I'm glad you're back. Even if you have an unusually high and deadly body temp." Lam's face softened out of the scowl. I gave her an easy grin.
"Can't get rid of me that easily." I told her. She reached for my previously injured soldier.
"Can I have a look at this at least?" She asked. I shook my head, ruefully.
"Actually, there's nothing to see. I was hurt, but it healed. It's part of the story, so you'll have to wait a second to find out." I stopped as I heard the sound of the gate whirling. "Who's coming in? There aren't any missions that I know about going on."
"It's probably Atlantis. Seems the senior staff is quite overdue for a check-in with IOA, so they're calling them home to give face to face debriefing. Poor Keller has her hands full with that group. Seems their SG-1 is tagging along to get their after mission check-ups because they miraculously survived a building explosion. Don't ask me too much, I just know that Keller asked permission to hold the check-ups here." Lam replied. I winced. It would be hard enough to explain the situation with just Vala and Carolyn there, I sure didn't want to have it the talk of the Pegasus galaxy. Of course, because of my reluctance to see them in my condition, it meant that I was rewarded with the sound of Keller's voice coming in to the room.
"… you're not going to leave a hospital bed, got it?" The petite woman's voice sounded like, similar to Lam's, whoever she was talking to was in for a serious lecture.
"Trust me, Doc, we're all fine." A male voice drawled out in an easy-going manner rival to my own. My musings on the identity of the speaker were forgotten as I felt the sudden feeling of heat and tingle coming from one of the forms behind the privacy screen. The voice continued, sounding startled. "What the hell…?" Something was seriously wrong with one the approaching figures. Someone was an alien and not just Athosian or Satedan. Taking a second to make certain I was recovered enough, I threw the blankets off and climbed out of bed. I pushed Lam out of the way, ignoring her noise of protest, then lit my hair on fire and grabbed a handful and prepare for whatever was coming. I yanked the screen out of the way to find a truly astonishing sight. Someone from Atlantis was shimmering with power and had drawn what looked like a sword that seemed to hold an immense power. It surpassed even the glow of Avalona at her worst. If I had ever had the chance to look at the sun from about 1,000 feet away, that is what it would look like. I winced and covered my face with my free hand while attempting to figure out who from Atlantis could possibly glow like that. A sudden gasp made me aware of the entrance of another group of people.
"Mitchell?" Daniel walked in, accompanied by an astonished Vala, a wary Teal'c, and a very surprised General Jack O'Neill. At my name, the fireball in my hand flickered. I didn't want to hit any of the others with a stray flame, but it was all I had to protect myself from the unknown. Also at my name or the flickering fire, the sword dropped an infinitesimal amount.
"Mitchell? As in SG-1 Mitchell?" The same voice, though now wary and curt, from before asked. Sheppard, I remembered, that's his name. Except the voice seemed to be coming from the person holding the sword and the last time I checked, Atlantis's military commander did carry swords around or glow like a mini-sun. My confused thoughts were cut short by a sudden flash of light and the appearance of wolf. I blinked slowly. Yes, a wolf had just teleported into the SGC. But one thing I noticed immediately was the color of its fur. The white wolf's fur was tinged with red, blonde, and orange hairs, much like my own when it wasn't covered by flames. The newcomer was a staranian. "Sol?"
"Yes, Sheppard." The wolf talked! Well, seeing as it was a staranian, not so surprising, but still! It was plain creepy. It looked between the two of us, assessing the situation. Then, to everyone's surprise, it huffed out what sounded like a laugh. "Peace, Sang Real, it is merely a misunderstanding. Col. Mitchell is quite unable to see with the power emanating from Excalibur. StarSon, I do not think Lamara and Kibetan will appreciate it if you harm their son. He is under staranian protection, you know."
"StarSon? Mitchell is a staranian?" This voice I immediately recognized as Samantha Carter. I cautiously let the fireball fade, but allowed my hair to keep up the flames. In an equal response, the shimmering figure, Sheppard or Sang Real as the wolf called him, sheathed the sword but rested his hand on the hilt, ready to draw at a moments' notice. He smirked at my wary look. Evidently he was very confident with whatever had happened. Then I connected what the wolf said.
"You have parents named Lamara and Kibetan? What are they Ancients?" I laughed at the impossibility. The room went dead quite as Sheppard traded guarded looks with Carter and the rest of SGA-1. "Oh, you have to be kidding me."
"Holy Hannah." O'Neill drew out slowly, making his presence known. "I leave the SGC for two years, TWO years mind you, and all of you go absolutely nuts. Carter, what is going on, why does Sheppard think he has Ancients for parents, why does Mitchell have fiery hair, and most importantly, why is there a wolf teleporting unannounced into the infirmary?"
"Sir, it's not that simple." Carter tried to placate the utterly lost General. "As for Mitchell, how should I know? We just got here."
"Well, somebody better tell me what is going on." O'Neill came in and sat in an available chair. The normally humorous man didn't seem to do confused very well.
"If both of you permit me, I will tell the stories, seeing as I know both of them." The white wolf offered, making the general even more nervous.
"Sure, Sol. Might as well." Sheppard sighed and mussed his already wild hair. He hopped up on an available gurney, joined by his team, Ronon, Rodney, and Teyla. Meanwhile, Carter, Keller, and another guy, Lorne or something, remained standing. Daniel, Vala, and Teal'c took the various chairs available and Lam crossed her arms again. Their gaze fell to me.
"Fine. Whatever. You know best, Sol is it?" I conceded.
"Yes. Very well, I will begin." The dog paused and looked at the end of my bed. I obligingly sat back down and wrapped the heating blanket around my hunched up knees. He sprung onto the bed and laid down. "Thank you, that's much more comfortable. I believe I'll start with Col. Mitchell's 'adventure' and then tell you John's."
"As long as you tell us something, Sol." Sheppard was annoyed, I could tell.
"All right, two days ago, as those at the SGC well know, Col. Mitchell was vanished after an Ori attack. What you didn't know is that he was taken prisoner by the soldiers led by a Prior who had reversed the Ark of Truth's influence. While there he met Avalona, the staranian of the Ori's home solar system. They had been using her as a power source and taking her blood for a special sort of execution. The Prior had found that staranian blood, when given to humans, overwhelms their immune system and systematically boils every living tissue and cell. They save it for their most troublesome prisoners. Basically, the more they hate you, the less they give you to make it drag out the pain. They gave Col. Mitchell a drop." Sol growled at the use of his people's blood.
"They poisoned you?" Lam moved to take my temp again, but found she could feel the body heat from several inches away. She frowned. "You are burning up."
"I feel fine." I shrugged. There were three simultaneous snorts of laughter. I spotted Rodney, Keller, and Carter all covering their mouths.
"He sounds just like you, Sheppard." Rodney managed to blurt out. Sheppard glared.
"Well I do. Better than in that stupid downpour." I muttered. Sol looked at me.
"With training, you can learn how not to project the heat and how to control the release of it so you aren't attempting to dry yourself off in a rainstorm. But, no, he wasn't poisoned. In fact, there are many opinions as to what happened. Somehow, Mitchell was not killed, but changed. His DNA was partially mutated so that he is now half-staranian. Thus he now has a body temp of 120 and the, what was it you called it, 'fiery hair'?" At O'Neill's smirk and nod Sol continued. "He informed Avalona of the Ori's destruction and assisted her in escaping the power draining restraints. In return, she sent him back to the Milky Way, sent the Prior to the Council for judgment, and asked me to take on your training."
"Judgment?" Sheppard asked, interested. Sol nodded.
"They decided on our highest level of punishment. From now until the next star is born he is trapped halfway inside a black hole with no way to leave or die." Sol growled and sniffed. Sheppard's eyes widened in shock.
"Ouch. Sol, remind me not to piss you off, ok?" Sheppard laughed nervously.
"That's what I said." I added, nodding. "Now that everyone knows what a freak of nature I am, let's hear what happened to glowy boy over there and his super sword, Excalibur."
"There's not much to tell. I was born." Sheppard shifted uncomfortably.
"There is slightly more than that. Sheppard's parents are Lamara and Kibetan, leaders of the Ascended Council. He was born while they were still Ascended, as impossible as that sounds. But, since such a child was forbidden, they stripped him of his power, put it in Excalibur, and sent him to Earth. When the building collapsed it allowed a portal on the Ascended plane connect with the room that they were trapped in. It turns out that the Ascended Council, however reluctantly, had passed the motion to allow Col. Sheppard to reclaim Excalibur and his power. Now he's reabsorbing it. As for the bright light you see, that can be attributed to the fact that you don't know how to filter your vision yet and are seeing the raw power and the fact that John is new to this as well and doesn't know how to shield other than when Excalibur's in its sheath. Any questions?" Sol offered at last. Everyone looked at either Mitchell or Sheppard.
"Yeesh, you'd think we'd grown two heads or something." Sheppard muttered. "I'm just an Ancient. Not anything serious."
"I know how you feel." I traded looks with him. He slowly grinned a standard, from what I could tell, Sheppard half-smile.
"It's cool, huh?" Sheppard asked. I shrugged and nodded.
"It definitely has its good sides. 'Course I don't even know what all I can do yet." I offered. He nodded in recognition.
"Yep, definitely know how that one feels. I just got this sword a day and a half ago. Maybe even a day." He thought a minute. "It's been a little hectic, what with Michael and all. He had Teyla so we busted her out before bringing the hive ship back to Atlantis to play with."
"You get all the toys." I griped good-naturedly. Suddenly I noticed the expression of intense interest on Daniel's face. "And now I think you're in for the longest versions of twenty questions Daniel's managed to invent. It took him a minute but the words 'I'm an Ancient and my parents are too' finally hit home."
"Yeah, figured they would." Sheppard sighed and turned to the increasingly excited Jackson. "Look, I'll take you to meet the folks as soon as I get a chance, OK? I swear."
"Oh, OK … that's great." Daniel visibly deflated. O'Neill gave out a knowing chuckle.
"Give him a break, he's probably exhausted. And besides, you know once you get started, you don't stop until you either fall asleep or pass out from hunger." General O'Neill had the benefit of experience as SG-1's leader for eight years before I showed up. We both knew how true that statement was.
"You're right, I am a little tired. But…" Sheppard thought a second. He hopped off the bed and walked over to a medical tray, grabbing a needle. Then, before either doctor could stop him or ask what he was doing, he stabbed his finger. Once several drops were accumulated, he pulled them into a syringe.
"Colonel Sheppard!" Doctor Keller sounded shocked. He looked up at our startled faces.
"Oh, sorry." His eyes flicked back to his finger in concentration. I saw a bright flicker of power and the blood stopped welling up. "Lorne."
"Sir?" The man who had remained quietly in the background was startled into speaking. At Sheppard's gesture he approached him.
"You said your dad was sick right? Just think of this as bonus pay for doing a good job." He handed the syringe and its meager drops to the puzzled Major. At his bewilderment he explained. "Back on the hive ship, Teyla got shot and my parents told me that my blood has healing properties. I don't know what's wrong, but it's worth a try. Just slip it in an IV, OK?"
"Th-thank you, sir." Lorne's hand tightened protectively over the syringe.
"Let me see your hand, Col." Keller ordered. Sheppard smirked and let her look at the now gone pinprick. "It's gone!"
"Yep. Cool, huh?" He looked around for our agreement. I nodded.
"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. When I got captured, I was shot. Couple of drops of blood later and I'm throwing fireballs around." I showed him the charred uniform over my right shoulder.
"What?!" Now it was Dr. Lam's turn to scold. She pulled me around and felt of my shoulder. She winced as she did.
"Something wrong?" I asked, concerned.
"No, it's just so hot. I'm not used to patients being that hot and alive at the same time." She admitted.
"Well, it's healed and I feel fine. Just thankful Daniel and Teal'c didn't let you give me the ice bath. I was so cold from trying to evaporate a rainstorm, I'm not sure I would have woke up after an ice bath. Evidently I have a lot to learn." I told her.
"Now that I can understand." Sheppard knew better than anyone how I felt.
"All right, you two stay here since you seem to be all magically better while Dr. Lam and I go check out the actual patients." Keller herded the Atlantis team out. After a few minutes of awkward silence O'Neill clapped his hands together in a satisfied way.
"Well… show's over, folks." He finally lost the confused expression. Daniel and Teal'c went to go catch up with Carter and he looked us over. "Thank you for the debriefing. I'll take care of the paperwork, so don't bother filing any reports. Don't worry, no one will find out from me. Besides, I seriously think the IOA would have a heart attack if they heard what you two can do. So I'll just not tell them."
"Thank you, sir. I'm not sure how comfortable I would be as a lab rat." Sheppard smirked. Like anyone would be able to keep him somewhere even if he was human. True, I did share his feelings on the whole situation.
"It was good to see you, General." I threw him a sloppy salute. If there was ever a general for not following the rules it would be O'Neill. He wrote the book on how to disrespect your commanding officer and get away with it.
"You, too, Mitchell. Just…" He hesitated, testing the waters. "Don't light anyone on fire except yourself. It would be a bit complicated to explain."
"I think I can manage that, sir." I chuckled. He nodded.
"Well then, I have some paperwork waiting to have my name on it. Oh the joy." His voice dripped with sarcasm. Sheppard shot a look at me.
"Actually, sir, thought you'd like to know. Evidently one of your recent ancestors was an Ancient. That's why you were able to download their library and work the chair. It's probably like a great-grandfather or great-great-grandfather, but if you want I could find out." The colonel offered. This news stunned the general.
"Huh… interesting. Now Daniel's gonna be doubly happy, but I guess go ahead. It never hurts to learn all you can about your family." He accepted the strange offer graciously. "As long as your parents don't give me any swords, I'd love to meet them sometime. You know, tell them what exactly they unleashed on the Pegasus galaxy: you. And please tell me your father doesn't share your penchant for trouble, Atlantis seems to be having a hard enough time reigning you in." O'Neill teased.
"Oh, don't worry I think Lamara keeps him in check." Sheppard grinned. He saluted the general good-bye.
"So, Sheppard, I know why I'm an alien, but it sounded like you had a choice. Why'd you do it? You don't sound too thrilled about being an Ancient." I tried to break the silence as he looked around. His eyes froze. When he finally spoke it was slow, as if he was trying to reason it out himself.
"Michael had Teyla and I couldn't leave her there. Lamara offered the sword and told me I could use it to save her. It's as simple as that." Sheppard finally raised his eyes to meet mine and I inwardly winced at the steel in them. "We never leave our men behind. I just don't."
"Good point." I said after a second, breaking the newest silence. He shrugged.
"Besides, I've heard what a future with Teyla's baby in Michael's hands sounds like. Couldn't let that happen. Not in my galaxy. Now over on this side of the universe it's your responsibility. Though, if you wanted, I could see if Lamara could change you back. She's good with DNA; she fixed the baby after Michael tampered with it." He appeared to be gauging my reaction. I thought for a minute then grinned.
"Nah, I'm good." At his raised eyebrows I defended my statement. "What if our roles were reversed? Would you give up something that could save people's lives to be normal?"
"No." He agreed. Whatever his style, Sheppard seemed to be a good guy. Or Ancient. Or whatever.
"In our line of work, who says what's normal anyway?" I joked. He chuckled.
"Yep, that's us, just a couple of normal flyboys saving the universe on a daily basis." Sheppard gestured to the door as I stood. "Now that we've got all this geeky talk out of the way, I'm starved!"
* * *
A/N: There, shorter than the last, but it's still there. Hopefully you kept up with that and aren't too mad at the lack of evil, life-sucking vampires or seriously deranged ascended beings hell-bent on taking over the galaxy. Sorry, but I really wanted Mitchell to get a chance to shine. And, it gives Sheppard a chance to talk about what happened. Please forgive me for the really packed infirmary and extremely silent group. I really wanted all of them to know and off of a side request got sidetracked into an O'Neill reaction. Personally I think he may be a little bit OOC, but that's because most of what Jack does is visual. He has the whole incredulous look down pat. SO, now that that's been said, I would like a little feedback. Personally, there should be a third full-length chapter somewhere in the distant future (and I mean distant, 'cuz right now it's merely a vague plot direction), but I was also thinking of adding a few clips in about some of the training the boys will get by Sol. Just some of the cooler powers, not all of them. They'd be mostly humor and allow me some leniency in getting the full-length chap up. Also, it would give background for some gifts that would show up in that chapter. What do you think? Good idea, bad idea, or please God stop her from writing because we're bored out our minds? Thanks for the, however few, positive reviews and sorry it took so long to finish.
