Chapter 11.

SUNNYDALE HIGH SCHOOL

OCT. 31, 1997 (7:20 P.M./PST)

Darth Vader was unhesitant in his reply.

"The Tomorrow People? Never heard of you! Are you some Jedi splinter faction like the Matukai and the Zeison Sha?"

Adam shook his head: "No. We represent the next step in human evolution on this planet. We do not hail from the Old Republic... anymore than you do."

"What?!"

Adam took a deep breath before clarifying.

"You are neither Darth Vader nor Anakin Skywalker. Just as your downed opponent is neither Count Dooku nor Count Dracula."

"Actually," said Megabyte, telepathically to Kevin Wilson: "He looks a lot like our old sparring partner, Sam Reese."

"Quiet!" Kevin telepathed back: "Don't distract him."

Vader could not help looking quizzically at this trio of newcomers.

"Are you mad, youngling?"

Adam shook his head: "And, with all due respect, I repeat; you are _not_ Darth Vader! Your real name is Lawrence Wellington Blaisdell. Though, only your middle name is your birth-name. Your biological parents are refugees from Galaxy NGC-891. Better known to them as the 'Twelve Lost Colonies of Kobol.' And, you were born while en route to this planet!"

"Unfortunately, you and several other youngsters were orphaned by a Cylon ambush at what is now called the Battle of Barnard's Star. As a result, during the first year of the Galacticans' arrival on Earth, the Quorum of Twelve, aided by S.H.A.D.O., arranged for the adoption of those orphans by carefully selected couples in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. Jim and Agnes Blaisdell, among them."

Vader's only response after a tense moment of silence was to slowly shake his head.

"You _are_ mad!"

Fenestra was naturally nonplussed by the sight of a shrunken Will Robinson in the palm of her right hand. Even so, she quickly regathered herself and sent a telepathic message to her right.

"Jeannie! Help us, please!"

The lovely blonde djinn did not hesitate in the slightest. One "boink" later, Will was once again normal size. His left hand firmly grasping Fenestra's right. This, in turn, led to the Elder Being called Iblis being encased...

...in a block of ice!

"Yes!" Will exulted: "Now, quick, Jeannie. Blink him to the North or South Pole before the ice starts to..."

Before he could even utter the first syllable of the word "melt," however, a spider web of cracks began to appear on the block of ice. Spreading up and down it with incredible rapidity. Seconds later, that ice exploded into thousands of chips,

With but the merest shrug of his shoulders, Iblis had freed himself!

"You insignificant brat! Now, I'll do what I should have done from the beginning."

Whereupon, both his hands clenched themselves into fists, followed by a bluish-white glow enveloping them... and electrical-sounding crackles emanating from them.

"You know better than that, Lord Iblis."

The new voice was decidedly female. And, it came from Jeannie's right. More accurately; it came from one of three girls to Jeannie's right. A petite redhead holding the hands of two slightly taller black girls!

"Hello, everybody," said the former: "I'm Jade. These are my friends, Lisa and Ami. And, we're Tomorrow People."

tbc

shortest mini-glossary, yet.

Sam Reese: 20th-century alias used by the evil Egyptian Immortal Ramses. Portrayed on THE TOMORROW PEOPLE (as you might have already guessed) by Christopher Lee.

Wellington: one of the orphan "Super Scouts" from Glen Larson's GALACTICA 1980.