A TANGLED WEB PART 5: HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?
By Charlie Nelson
AuThOr'S NoTeS
There are a lot of characters here. I will have a list of them at the end of the chapter. You can also look them up on the Internet Movie Datebase or Google them.
Also when I had originally posted this, Brainiac had not been introduced to 'Smallville' yet. In my story, when Lex Luthor from Smallville was assimilated to the Borg, he was made speaker for the Borg with the name Brainiac just like when Picard was turned into a Borg drone he was called Locutus. Just thought I should clarify.
Chapter 10
THE ROSEMONT CONVENTION CENTER
As far as the Doctor was concerned, everything continued to spiral out of control.
True, some of the Borg had survived the attack of Galen, the so-called techno-mage, who had broken apart the Collective mind; but they had also come down the stairs to the main level in a group of almost twenty and asked to parley. To add to the situation, Guinan was insisting that they attack the Borg even though their opponents were not being hostile at the moment and had them outnumbered in bodies as well as superior weaponry.
The Doctor did a quick calculation of their defenses. Clark Kent, their greatest asset, was still recovering from his recent ordeal and was still having trouble standing. Some of their newfound allies from Starfleet and the space station Babylon 5 had energy weapons to fight with, and others had bladed weapons, but a good number were only armed with their wits, such as they were at the moment.
"What is it that you want?" the Doctor inquired, under the scornful glare of Guinan.
A short drone stepped forward. In life, the thirty-ish black man newly arrived from New York had been one of the new security guards at the convention center and had the misfortune of becoming one of the first to have been absorbed into the Collective. Now, Arnold Drummond was just a mouthpiece for a splinter of the Borg Collective that had invaded this alternate reality. "Grand Negus Dverl of Borg wishes a stay of hostilities. Your group may leave this facility unharmed, except the one you call Galen and his ward." He pointed to the robed man kneeling over his nanite-infected apprentice. "As well as the Kryptonian, the Doctor, and the robot canine. They must stay."
Clark, the Kryptonian in question, looked up at the borgified man on the steps. In his weakened state he could do no more than glare in defiance. It was Galen that next addressed the Borg unit. He angrily stood up from attending his female charge even as the wires that had been connected to her body quickly disengaged and retracted into an amulet he held in his right hand. "And what, pray tell," he asked, moving to a clear area in the center of the lobby, "will you do if we do not choose to accept this generous offer of yours?"
The drone's red laser eye flashed as it traced over Galen's form, which fluttered briefly. The drone then focused his eye over the area that Galen had just vacated. The red laser eyes of the other drones on the stairs followed the gaze of the first drone, tracing the area in a quick motion, dissolving the illusion of the mage standing there to reveal Galen still at Dureena Nafeel's side, concentrating of the wires that penetrated her body. "You are not in a position to refuse," the drone responded coldly.
Galen, now that his true position had been revealed, made a gesture toward the drones on the staircase, only to be stunned by a jolt from one of them. Even as he tottered over, his form fell protectively over that of his apprentice, Dureena.
The group froze. They had no chance in an attack on the large number of drones before them, yet the Borg's offer to leave and sacrifice their friends just seemed too horrible to accept. The Doctor heard Admiral Paris mutter something about a 'Kobayashi Maru', but the time-lord didn't have time to ask to what he was referring. "I would like to represent my group and talk with Grand Nagus Dverl personally," the time-lord said with his hat in his hands.
"You are talking to the Grand Nagus Dverl," answered the short drone that stood in front of the other drones. "We are all connected. As you speak to any drone, you speak to all."
"But not physically," pointed out the Doctor. The others in his group looked at him nervously. Would he pull off a miracle or just get them all killed? "I prefer to communicate direct…"
At that moment, a new group of drones appeared at the top of the stairs and began firing down at the drones belonging to Grand Nagus Dverl. "Clark! Get them to cover! I'll hold them off for a few moments!"
Clark, although dazed, looked around for the source of the voice he recognized as belonging to his friend, Lex Luthor. "Lex?" he looked up, confused. In the midst of the commotion, Thomas Magnum pushed past Lana and grabbed Clark's arm. On Clark's other side, Chloe was doing the same, pulling the barely cognizant young man toward the far hall and the hope of safety.
As the drones on the stairs turned their focus on those assaulting from behind, the Starfleet group began a frontal attack of phaser fire. Everyone was diving for whatever cover they could reach. Tom Paris managed to get himself and his father behind a nearby registration counter. Although the counters' materials would offer no real protection from a full-strength phaser blast, it did provide some shielding.
"Dad!" His father had been busy trying to adjust the energy frequency to his phaser rifle when Tom had spotted a drone aiming at him. With no regard for his own safety, Tom tackled his father out of the way.
Admiral Owen Paris sputtered as he got his wind back and rolled over with a groan. "What do you think you are…"
Tom was already firing on the drones on the stairs. "Just say you owe me one. Now let's see who can bring down the most drones."
The Admiral grinned in spite of himself. Maybe this is what he and Tom needed all along - some bonding time. On his knees and peering over the counter, he lifted his weapon and let out a war whoop like none he'd made since his academy days and began firing.
In the meantime, Lennier managed to get Bester to his feet and was hurriedly following Magnum's example by getting the wounded to safety. As he turned to leave, the Psi Corps man's form bumped into Kenny, who was also trying to distance himself from the Borg battle on the stairs. The diminutive Immortal tumbled to the ground as he tried to maintain his grip on both his machete and the robotic unit, K-9. Kenny scrambled to scoop up K-9 under his left arm, then quickly glanced for his weapon. He started to lunge for the weapon when he noticed someone step down from the staircase just beside his blade.
The drone that had once been the security guard Arnold Drummond looked down at the permanently young boy and the technologically advanced device under his arm. "You are the Immortal Kenny," spoke the mouthpiece of Grand Nagus Dverl. "You shall be a useful asset to the Collective. You will be assimilated."
Kenny recoiled in horror that this creature seemed to know about him. How this was, he hadn't a clue. Feeling cornered, the nearly thousand-year-old boy contemplated his chances of turning tail and running or even charging forward like Duncan would have done, trying to retrieve his machete and attack the short drone. Fortunately, a third option presented itself.
Appearing as a blur, Ezekiel Stone charged past him and tackled the security guard turned Borg drone. Stone landed two quick rabbit punches in the drone's face before quickly picking the short drone up and throwing him bodily into the next two drones coming down the stairs thus knocking them into a heap. The resurrected ex-police man then made to leave and ended up having to grab and pull with him a wide-eyed, gaping-mouthed Kenny with him.
Ezekiel had only got ten feet away when he felt a sharp burn in his back. Someone cried out in alarm and then everything went black.
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The first thing Ezekiel noticed was that waves of pain were no longer shooting down his back. The next was a light. Somehow, the light didn't hurt his eyes despite its intense brightness.
He heard an angry voice far away. But it was the soothing voice nearby to which he responded. "What… What happened?"
The man before him wore a brown leather jacket and blue jeans. His smile was warm and friendly. It took Ezekiel a moment to place him. "You're… Jonathan, right? You said… You said you were an angel."
Jonathan nodded and gave Ezekiel a moment to take in his environment.
In the distance, where it seemed to not be as bright, Ezekiel could see the Devil raving madly and shouting threats toward him and the angel, but seemed unable or unwilling to approach the light shining around them. Ezekiel turned to his protecting angel and asked, "Am I dead?"
"Yes," nodded Jonathan. "But not for long."
Ezekiel was confused. "I don't understand. Why am I here if I can't stay here?"
"To give you a glimpse of what could be yours forever." The angel gestured at the radiance around them. "Words cannot describe the true glory of Heaven, but here… here you can catch a glimpse."
"But why?"
"Because you still need to complete your mission."
"My mission?" Ezekiel was confused before understanding dawned on him. "Wait! First, you say I'm dead again. Then you tell me I have to complete my mission for the Devil before I can get into Heaven? That can't be right," he exclaimed, thoroughly perplexed.
"You made a deal with the Devil to get out of Hell in exchange for sending the damned souls of those that had escaped back to the Fiery Pit." A look of sympathy filled Jonathan's eyes. "God does not want these evil souls loose on the world any more than you do. They had a very good reason for being in Hell in the first place. And their time there has only made them more malevolent than ever, and they spread pain and hate to everyone around them."
"But what about me?" demanded Ezekiel. "I wasn't an evil person! I didn't rape and torture people! Why did someone like me have to be in Hell?"
"You chose your own way, not God's way. You hunted down your wife's rapist and forced a lethal overdose on him. You murdered him."
"It was justice! The court systems wouldn't do anything! It had to be done! It was justice!"
"Man's justice, not God's." Jonathan sighed. "Still, you have another chance in going back. As you go about your mission to return the damned souls to Hell, you should reflect more on the ways of God, instead of the ways of man. Learn the meaning of repentance by God's definition, not man's."
Ezekiel wanted to be sullen, but the light of God touched his heart and uplifted him even though he still did not understand. "So now what?"
"For now, you help out where you can until the Borg situation is under control. After that, I'll meet up with you in San Francisco."
"San Francisco?"
"It's where you'll find one of your lost souls."
"And you'll be there?"
The angel nodded. "I told you that I would help you out."
Stone took that in for a moment. "So… what about right now?"
"Now you go back and get on your feet. I think your friends have dragged you far enough."
"But…" The light faded before Zeke could find time to ask any more questions.
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Ezekiel came around to his being dragged by his legs very fast across a tiled floor. "Hey! Hey! What do you think you are doing?" he called out, his hands grasping around in surprise.
Broots let go of the man's legs and let out a startled yelp. "See," Kenny said, standing near Stone's reclining body, "I told you he wasn't dead."
"Could have fooled me," Broots gasped, leaning against a wall. Kenny had grabbed Broots and insisted he help drag Stone to safety. Looking Stone over, he said it was pointless in hauling him out since he was dead. Kenny had had been persistent, however. And with the boy pointing a machete at him, Broots had dragged the ex-cop out by his feet.
"You all right," Kenny asked.
"Yeah," Stone said, sitting up. He tried reaching around to where he had been shot, but it was just beyond his reach. "I've died before, but this time it was definitely more enlightening."
Broots looked down the hall where he could see little of the fighting and some flashes of lights. "I really think we should keep going. This is not the safest place to have a conversation." He paused in thought. "Did you say that you died before?"
Before anyone could do anything, Remington Steele hurried down the hall towards them with a body over his shoulder. He stepped past Broots and tossed the man over his shoulder down roughly onto a nearby bench.
"Hey, you could hurt him throwing him around like that!" Broots went to look down at the limp man with a burn mark on his chest. "Is he dead?" he asked, not wanting to believe what his senses were telling him.
Remington gasped for breath. "Yes. Very dead. Hope he stays that way," he said sarcastically.
The dead man in question gasped deeply as he inhaled, twitching into an upright position. Broots, not used to resurrections, fell backwards and landed on his butt where he stared at the man that had just revived from being dead.
Connor looked around warily, his eyes settling on Remington and then Kenny. "What happened?"
"It's really quite elementary, really. You got shot. I dragged you out of there. I would think that was obvious," snapped Remington. The night's adventure and late hour was starting to wear on him at this point.
"And before I revived, you let him get near me? You know his reputation." Connor said accusingly, pointing at Kenny. "Where's my sword?"
"Hey, I was here first!" pointed out Kenny. "You're the ones intruding on my space." It felt good to stand up for himself, but he didn't like the fact that Connor had heard about him. Connor could be a very dangerous man if he chose to be. He was the one that had trained Duncan after all.
"I said, 'Where's my sword?'" Connor MacLeod repeated, in an even sterner tone.
"Hey, I think we have enough going on here that we shouldn't be fighting with each other," Ezekiel said. "I think that at least for tonight we should all be on each other's side."
Connor glowered, but was willing to admit the man was probably right. The Gathering may be starting its call for all Immortals to come together for the final battle, but there had once been a church on the land on which the convention center stands and so was still considered holy ground. Thus, no Immortal would dare behead another Immortal on it. This being the case, Kenny would not have taken his head – at least not here. That much Connor was sure of.
"Yeah," agreed Broots. "But what I want to know is how you two were able to … Aaaaiiiii!" Broots dived behind Connor.
Connor, weaponless, still took a defensive stance. Coming down the corridor, the opposite end from where the staircase battle was being fought, five drones headed their way. They all started backing away until the drones just stopped for no reason. The lead drone continued forward.
Remington prepared to rush the drone when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Connor.
The Scottish Immortal was looking at the drone still coming at them but with no weapons raised. "It's Dawson."
Remington glanced at the drone again, this time trying to see past the additional Borg paraphernalia. It was indeed Joe Dawson walking around on two good Borg legs. "Good Lord! I thought he was waiting outside for us!"
"I guess curiosity got the better of him. And the Borg did, too."
Joe, the drone in question, stopped ten feet from them. "I bring you greetings from Brainiac, who you know as Lex Luthor. The Borg collective has been shattered. Lex Luthor controls a remnant of that collective and is called Brainiac." The drone paused to let that sink in for a second before continuing. "We are here to help you; not to assimilate you."
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Methos slowly shut the door behind him and looked down the dimly lit corridor of the sub-basement. A glimpse of a figure in white turned down the far corner leaving the five-thousand-year-old Immortal the choice of whether or not to follow. "Andrew." Calling out was reflex, but he didn't actually expect Andrew to stop for him. The angel of death would lead him into to the place Methos needed to be. The situation would be dire, as it was the other times the angel had led him, and the outcome would be uncertain until the last.
"Why can't I know normal people?" Methos complained as he hurried down the hall.
A tingling sensation throughout his entire being stopped him in his tracks. Methos flexed his grip on the sword handle. Not knowing the area, he waited for the Immortal he sensed to come to him.
A figure turned into the corridor at the end of the hall and slowly started coming towards him. The outline of the figure was easily identifiable as that of a drone, the red laser shining out from where the right eye should be helped to confirm that assessment. But it wasn't until the drone stepped near one of the service lights that Methos stepped back in horror.
Underneath all the metal parts, tubes, and pasty complexion was the face of Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod. Perpetual Boy Scout and do-gooder, he was also the only friend Methos had allowed himself to have in centuries.
"Duncan?" he asked. "Can you talk? It's me, Adam. It's Methos."
The drone stopped in front of him. Methos took it as a good sign and continued to talk to the Duncan drone.
"I ran into a friend of yours by the name of Remington Steele. Once we heard you were here, we came running. Connor's here looking for you, too." Still the drone of his friend was silent yet seemed to be listening. As if taking in everything. "Can't you talk at all? Just say something. I'll even pay my tab at Joe's place if you'd just say something!"
Duncan's face twitched briefly, before speaking. "This drone is the property of Grand Nagus Dverl. As you will soon be, too."
Methos dived to the side and smashed through a side door as the Duncan drone swung its weapon appendage toward him. He could smell burnt ozone and the hairs on the back of his neck charred but he didn't slow down. He almost tripped over a row of stacked chairs, but easily leaped over them, betraying his more athletic side that he rarely let others see.
"Your Immortal body will help ensure the Galactic Conglomerate I shall build in this universe," the drone continued, speaking for the absent Grand Nagus of the Borg. "All wealth and technology shall belong to the Borg, and I, of course, am the Borg."
A stream of plasma fire was sent out striking a far door that Methos had been heading toward. Methos considered using some rugs nearby to beat out the flames but that would just leave him exposed. Trapped with nowhere to go, he turned to face the only Immortal he had ever really trusted. He readied his sword but doubted that he'd get an opportunity to use it.
"You will be assimilated," Dverl said with Duncan's voice. "Resistance is fut –"
Without warning, two figures tackled the drone from behind and bore him to the concrete floor.
"It's like trying to tackle a Buick!" complained Mark Gordon. The rugged ex-cop struggled over the much stronger form of the drone. He hit the drone on the back of its head with his fist only to draw it back bleeding and in pain. "Metal's all over him," he complained.
Methos didn't bother to ask why he had been followed but charged in to try hold down Duncan. He had the drone's good arm pinned when he noticed that two needle sharp tubules extended from his knuckles. Without a word, Methos redoubled his efforts to keep that arm under control, because if that arm came loose for even a second, the ancient Immortal knew that Duncan would skewer all three of them in rapid succession.
"Move your leg, lad," Scotty said, as he was trying to reach underneath the pinned drone. Methos, not having been a 'lad' in a long time, realized the man he had been introduced to as Commander Montgomery Scott must have a very good reason for getting into such a vulnerable position.
"Almost got it!" shouted the Starfleet legend.
"Hurry!" Mark shouted. "This is worse than holding down a tweaking drug addict!"
Methos looked down at his sword lying near where they wrestled with Duncan. Why hadn't he used it? It was the perfect opportunity.
The answer was simple. Because it was still Duncan, he chided himself.
"There!" cried Scotty. MacLeod's body spasmed once and became still. Before Methos could ask what the man had done, Scotty cried out in pain. "Get him off me!"
Gordon and Methos hurriedly pushed Duncan's body aside as to get it off Scotty's trapped arm. "Almost fractured something there," he complained the old Starfleet officer.
"What did you do to him?" asked Methos.
"Well, since he was part machine, I just turned him off." He gently felt his arm in different places feeling for possible breaks. "An engineering friend of mine by the name of Geordi mentioned the basics of how to do it."
"You killed him!" Mark accused.
"I doubt it," Methos answered.
"No, see. He's dead." The former policeman checked the drone's vitals. Finding none, he looked back at Scotty with grim eyes. "We could have taken him without killing him."
Scotty was flabbergasted. "My intentions were merely to disconnect the drone from the rest of the Collective. I wasn't about to kill him since it was evidently a friend of Adam's."
"Look," Adam/Methos said, trying to think of how to get these men away before Duncan revived from his death. Then he would have to circle back after ditching his two saviors and get Duncan's body on a trolly or something similar so he can sneak him out. "What's done is done and…" He felt an all too familiar tingling of the quickening.
The drone of Duncan MacLeod gasped deeply, causing Mark to jump away and bump into a row of stacked chairs which fell over like very loud dominoes.
"Oh great," muttered Methos. He always hated it when someone revived in front of normal people. It always brought up too many questions.
"Hey!" exclaimed Mark Gordon. "He must be an Immortal like Kenny."
"How do you know about that?" Methos exclaimed in surprise while his mind also tried to think of who Kenny might be. He knew about four Immortals with the name Kenny. Astronomically, two were stuck as boys due to early first deaths. A year ago Methos had given the one he met in a strange city called South Park a mercy killing since he heard a particularly nasty Immortal was heading that way. The boy Immortals friends had come upon them after the Quickening and had pelted Methos with rock-stuffed snowballs until he had been able to jump into a freezing river and ride a large ice shard away, only to come upon some nasty rapids and then a waterfall. Freezing and drowning several times, he was finally dragged out of the river by two brothers who were traveling the country. Sam and Dean Winchester were not the friendliest of individuals, and had asked him several offset questions before bringing him to a town where Methos could use some of his cash to rent a car and get some new clothes. His thoughts threatened to continue with this line of thought when Methos was brought back to his current circumstance by a startling statement.
"Would you believe an angel told me?" the gruff former-cop answered sheepishly.
Scotty looked confused but Methos merely sighed. "His name wasn't Andrew by any chance?"
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Lee Stetson hurried down the halls while keeping Helen Tasker at his side and the rest of his group trailing behind him, some helping those wounded during the fight against the Borg or the helicopter crash on the roof, others helped Tess lead Murtaugh and two of the black ops who had been infected with the nanites.
Grissom hurried up to Lee, trying to catch his breath as he kept pace. "Where do you think he's leading us?" Gil asked, regarding the drone they were following. He had been fascinated to find a group of people cybernetically connected into a hive-like mind, but he really wanted to leave all this sci-fi analogy of what happens when people mess with things that they shouldn't and go back to studying the hive instincts of actual insects and not aliens.
"Away from that horrible encounter on the roof. For now, that is good enough for me." Helen had just been given a quick update and was not at all thrilled with the close encounter she had had with, as she put it, 'cyber-geek E.T.s that want to turn me into some kind of futuristic Frankenstein monster version of myself'.
"He said," Lee replied, pointing to the drone leading them, "that he was going to try to lead us to another group of people trying to survive in here, and then, hopefully, get us all out of here."
Grissom thought about that for a second. In their run from the Borg, most everyone seemed to be coming together to form a united front. Still, it was possible that some people could have been cut off and had to form their own resistance group. "What floor is this other group on?"
"Main floor. By the main entryway," interjected the drone leading them.
Grissom felt his guard come up. He found it hard to suddenly accept drones as allies after spending most of the night trying to fight for his very life against them. Even so, something sparked recognition. "Do I know him?" Grissom said quietly, as he leaned closer to Stetson.
"This unit is in the form of Detective Jim Ellison," responded the drone, stopping and turning to address the trio. "And he has exceptionally sharp hearing, I might add."
Gil didn't know what to say so instead he stared at the composite of man and machine before him. After only a moment, he could recognize the features of Det. Ellison, one of the first to stand up to – and also to fall to – the Borg in their opening attack.
Seeing that a change of subject might be good, Helen asked Grissom a question. "Is everything going all right back there? I thought you volunteered to bring up the rear with Hawk and Sydney."
Grissom tore his eyes away from the drone, which enabled him to speak again. "Um, yes. I noticed something that our technological friend might be able to explain. As we were passing by some of the barely functioning drones, our Borg guards would take the time to inject the disabled cyborgs with whatever it is that they use to turn us into them. Then after a minute or two, the disabled drone unit would get to its feet and head back the way we came."
Lee regarded the drone. Stetson could not deny that the Borg had the best poker face he had ever seen. "Care to explain?"
"As we walk." The drone turned his back to them and continued on down the hall. Stetson, Tasker and Grissom had no choice but to follow.
"Well? Explain already," Helen insisted as she hurried up next to the drone.
"I had been using the 'injections'," the drone simplified, "to allow myself to make temporary use of the disabled drones."
"Why only temporary use?" the female secret agent asked.
The drone smiled. "You remind me of this reporter that worked on the local high school paper where I come from. Very inquisitive. She's here, too."
"Why only temporary use?" Her voice hardened; she meant business. Her husband, Harry, had spent a weekend taking her to some of the seedier metropolitan area for her to practice that tone on various annoying clerks and rude people. It had turned out to be a very effective weekend. They had made it into a second honeymoon of sorts. They had also been fortunate to find a great café which they would visit whenever they were in the area for the best Italian food this side of Italy. Now, however, she might as well have been trying to use her verbal tone on a corpse. Sighing, she changed tactics. "If we are to be allies, then you should be able to tell us about what you are doing, right?"
"I can think of a hundred argument against that line of reasoning, Mrs. Tasker," began the drone. "But I will explain it to you."
"We're listening," Lee said from just behind them.
"I was injecting damaged drones to make them partially functional in order to help my forces appear stronger than they really are. These newly 'recruited' drones, however, cannot be saved. As it is, I can barely keep them walking in a straight line. I can have them positioned strategically to fire at anything that moves toward them, though."
"You said, 'was'. You used the past tense," Gil pointed out. "Did you just stop injecting the damaged drones we're passing by?" To add to his point, he had to step over a barely twitching drone lying in the way.
"They aren't really necessary for my plans anymore at this point. The last few were just to cover our path so that Dverl's troops can't attack our rear while I get you all out of here."
Lee glanced between Gil and Helen. Both seemed bothered by Lex/Ellison's treatment of the Humans turned drones. "How long will they last?"
"For most of them, not long at all. As a matter of fact," he stopped and turned to address them. "Everyone should brace themselves," Lex said, the words echoed through all the nearby drones under his control.
Lee wasn't sure what threat there was. Nothing seemed to be threatening them from either side of the hall. "What…"
An explosion rocked the building, nearly knocking most of them off their feet. As they steadied themselves, they could see a little bit of smoke and dust coming from the corridor they had just come down. Tess was trying to get someone to help her get Roger Murtaugh off the floor while A.J. and Rick Simon both tried to get to their feet. T.J. Hooker and a Hispanic ops man were helping another previously wounded ops man back up. Everyone else down the hall were similarly engaged. Surprisingly, no one panicked, and everybody who wasn't receiving help went to help someone. They all knew they were in this together.
Lee took charge. "Grissom, go check on the others! Hey, Brainiac! Or Lex! Or whatever you call yourself, what just happened?"
"Dverl just lost a number of his drones. He still has more than me, but he isn't going to be happy with what I just did so…"
"What did you do?" demanded Helen. "Blow up half the building?"
"Only about a ninth of it, actually," the drone replied casually.
Lee and Helen were outraged, but Helen recovered first. "And how many people did you kill with that explosion? How do you know that there weren't more people trapped down there hiding from the Borg?"
The intimidating drone regarded her for a second. "Mrs. Tasker, the sensors that are on this drones body, as well as the sensors on every drone's body, are able to detect where every Human is in this building at all times, and they have done that since they arrived here. There were no un-indoctrinated Humans where the explosion occurred. I give you my word."
"But," interjected Lee, "how were you able to entrap this other Borg leader if you can detect where each other are?"
The drone smiled, creeping Lee out. "Dverl and I have both taken up the strategy of masking our drones from the other's personalized radar. In other words, we have to actually go out and visually search for each other if we are going to fight."
"So you made him think you were somewhere that you weren't and then set up a bomb for him," Lee concluded.
A light came to Helen. "The damaged drones you could only use for a while. You put them in a large group because this Dverl guy would think you were gathering your forces around yourself. Dverl's boys moved in, experiencing less resistance than expected. So he would have assumed you were even weaker than he had originally believed and moved in for the kill only to have his forces blown up."
"That is a very good assessment of the facts, Mrs. Tasker. I see why you were so adept at the role of secret agent."
Rick Simon and his brother, A.J., walked past followed by one of Helen's ops men from the helicopter. Others, including a few of Lex's drones, began filing past.
"We really should talk about this later," stated the drone.
Helen and Lee started walking again, trying to hurriedly reach the beginning of the line. "No, we'll talk about this as we go," insisted Lee. "I've a feeling there is a lot more that you haven't told us yet."
Helen could have sworn that she heard the drone sigh as it followed. But that couldn't have been right, could it?
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OUTSIDE THE CONVENTION CENTER
A black jeep came to a quick stop in front of the wrecked side of the convention center startling some of the onlookers. Other vehicles were heading over as well, including two firetrucks that had arrived and an ambulance. Four people hurried out of the jeep and looked over the devastation.
Harry Tasker's calculated eye knew that no one could have survived such an explosion. 'Helen was not in there', he told himself. He would not have been able to function if he had thought otherwise. What he needed to do more than anything right now was to function so that he could find his wife if she needed help.
"To risky to venture in there," Jarod said, running his experienced eye over the wreckage. Small pieces of debris fell from higher up feeding the small fires below.
"I agree," MacGyver said, fiddling with the Jeep keys. "It's still settling. Anyone going in there from this point isn't likely to make it through."
Harry said nothing. Right amidst the wreckage was the helicopter that Helen had crashed onto the roof. That didn't mean she was currently in that disaster area. She could have been somewhere else-
"There sure are a lot of bodies. What was going on in there?" Miss Parker remarked loudly.
Jarod grabbed her arm and gave her a discreet squeeze. MacGyver spoke up to break the mood. "One of the men placed on this side of the building said he saw what looked like a laser show going on before the explosion."
"There had been a fight," Jarod said, blankly. "Lasers for weapons."
"They have that kind of technology?" Harry asked in disbelief.
"That's what we've been trying to tell you!" shouted Miss Parker. "But you don't want to believe that the Borg has the capabilities that it has, so obviously it can't! That being the case, everything that they've managed to do so far must be a fabrication! We might as well go home and go to sleep in our nice, warm, safe beds!"
Jarod pulled Catherine Parker to the side and talked with her in rapid hushed tones. "Well," MacGyver tried to choose his words carefully. "You seem to be in charge. What do you think we should do now?"
"I have to get in there."
"You can't. At least not through there," Angus said, indicating the wreckage with the jeep keys.
"What is it?" Catherine asked Jarod. MacGyver and Tasker looked to see what they were talking about.
Flying in low above the various structures that filled the Seattle skyline came a very high-tech, sleek looking black helicopter that was surprisingly quiet. Harry's mind searched his memory. It was not of a design he had ever seen, but it was one that he had heard about.
"I think I know who might be flying that bird." Without taking his eyes of the metal flyer he tapped MacGyver on the shoulder. "Do you have a flashlight?"
"I believe I saw one in the Jeep," he answered, and quickly turned to go get the item requested for.
"I don't recognize that model. What kind of helicopter is that?" Jarod asked with a child-like enthusiasm.
"Top of the line and one of a kind. Called Airwolf," Harry said. MacGyver was back momentarily with the flashlight and handed it over. Harry glanced at it to make sure the beam was bright enough, then began flashing the chopper by turning the flashlight on and off in rapid secession.
Catherine was puzzled before turning to Jarod. "Morse Code?"
He nodded in affirmative. Both he and MacGyver seemed intent on the signal that Harry was sending leaving Miss Parker to wonder about the occupants of the aircraft.
"You want them to what…?" burst out MacGyver. "Are you insane?"
Before she could ask someone to explain that the black helicopter in question turned slightly to their right and fired a missile at the wall of the convention center.
"Are you insane?" shouted Catherine.
"If you are just going to repeat everyone else's questions you are just being redundant," was the only answer Harry gave as he intently watched the rubble fall around the new opening in the side of the building. This new hole was roughly man-sized, at ground level, and was almost fifty feet away from the area where part of the building had collapsed.
Harry handed the flashlight back to MacGyver. "Tell Airwolf thanks. I got it from here."
A stream of laser fire came from an area near the roof. Airwolf banked to the left to try get away from the sudden attack. The helicopter switched its weaponry to bullets and returned fire.
Harry cursed. He grabbed the flashlight back from MacGyver and hurriedly began blinking it at the fast flying helicopter. "We have to get them to stop firing! There are still people in there!"
"Harry," Angus MacGyver said. "They are too busy trying to stay alive to see your flashlight. Besides, their shots are incredibly precise."
"He's right," verified Jarod. "None of Airwolf's shots have missed even five feet away from where they are being attacked."
Harry looked around to confirm all this for himself. "Better tracking than I thought," he admitted. "Okay, change of plan. You two find a way to communicate with Airwolf and make sure it doesn't fire any more explosives at the building until I get out of there." He handed the flashlight over to Jarod, who nodded in agreement. "MacGyver, you're with me," he said and then turned to head into the building throw the new opening.
MacGyver just shrugged at Jared and Catherine before hurrying after Tasker.
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ROSEMONT CONVENTION CENTER
MAIN FLOOR - MAIN ENTRYWAY
With his head feeling as if it were quivering because of all the pain he was experiencing, Alfred Bester opened his eyes to see what all the loud noise was about. As he did, he was startled to see a body land hard on the tile floor just three feet in front of him. A man next to the barely cognizant Psi-Cop jumped alerting Bester to his presence as well.
His head throbbing reminded him of the Martian Flu that he had suffered through while a teenager. He had been sure then that death would have been preferable to the flu experience and now he was in agreement with his younger self. Sitting up slowly he could see that he was in an alcove under a large staircase where a battle was taking place. After a moment of trying to remember how he got there, he remembered Q and his mission to fight the Borg. It had been Bester's attention to win from Q, for his participation in these events, either superior weaponry or a suitable planet for his people, the telepaths of Earth. Both if he could get Q to agree to it.
Lennier was the first person that Bester saw. The Minbari was using a wooden coat rack stand as a type of staff weapon against two drones who seemed intent on injecting him with the tubules extended from their left arms. As Bester watched, Lennier blocked the right drone's weapon appendaged arm with the staff, then twisted his body and kicked out high with his leg to keep the left drone from stabbing him. Then he quickly swung the staff around, striking the left drone in the face and then used the hooks at the top of the coat rack to catch one of the right drone's ankles, pulling, causing the drone to fall backwards. The Minbari swung back towards the left drone in hopes of finishing him before the other drone could get upright.
"Your friend is a very impressive fighter," commented the man beside him.
Bester glanced back at the man next to him, trying to gage his threat level. "Who are you?"
"I'm the Doctor," he said as if it explained everything. "And now that you are up and about, I suggest I lead you out of here. You are really in no condition to fight."
"The Doctor. You led the other group to aid Q. You went into the center without us. I remember that but-but what happened to me?"
"Near as I can determine you were exposed to a psychic or telepathic explosion. I take it you are a telepath, and your being this near the Borg collective mind would have already been wearing down your natural mental defenses. Who knows what type of damage may have occurred to a telepath like yourself when-"
"Stop!" the Psi-Cop said, shaking his head slightly and not with a little pain. He pressed his forehead to try to focus and bring about some clarity. His eyes widened when he couldn't. "I can't hear you!" he cried.
"Most likely a result of the telepathic explosion," concluded the Doctor. He pushed his multi-colored scarf aside as he began searching one of his many coat pockets for something. "It may have rendered you mentally 'deaf' as a result. I've only read about such cases, but-"
"Shut up!" Bester looked around frantically for something that might help him.
The Doctor's search of his pockets yielded no results except a bag of jelly babies that he returned to its proper pocket. "Humph, I was sure I had that in there. Oh well, a battlefield is no place to try run such tests anyway. Listen, I don't believe I caught your name?" Seeing the man wasn't going to answer, the Doctor continued. "Don't worry. When this is all over, we will find you a specialist who can tell us if this is permanent or-"
"I told you to shut up!" Bester shouted as he turned and hit the time-lord hard in the face. "A doctor won't help this!" he said as he looked out at those fighting. Lennier had picked up a katana from somewhere and was now using the bladed weapon to lethal effect on the drones trying to come down the staircase. Guinan was busy proving her more vicious side by killing any drones trying to target the Minbari. Admiral Paris and his son Tom were also busy shooting up at the drones on the staircase while shouting the number of kills to each other.
Bester's eyes stopped on the prone figure lying on the tile. "The techno-mage!" shouted the Psi-Cop. "He did this to me! He can fix it!"
With no regard for his safety, the purpose driven man stumbled over a drone's body and out into the melee before the Doctor had recovered enough to get him under control. Though weaving left and right, Bester's path took him past Guinan who yelled at him to take cover.
Heedlessly, Bester stepped past the El-Aurian and practically fell in a knelling position next to the senseless forms of Galen and his apprentice, Dureena Nafeel. "Wake up, you fool! You have to fix what you did to me!" He began emphasizing his anger by slapping the techno-mage repeatedly in the face. "I will not be one of those deaf and dumb-minded backwards Earthers! I am one of the next evolutionary step for mankind and you will put me back in my rightful place! I! Will! Not! Be! Denied!"
A hit from behind caused the impaired telepath to release Galen. He reached behind him and grabbed his attacker. Guinan was there in his face glaring at him with her rifle aimed near his temple.
"Bester, I don't have time for this!" she growled. "You either do as I-"
In a rapid motion that belied his battered condition, Alfred pushed the rifle away and grabbed at her throat, throwing his weight at her. The two wrestled on the ground, heedless of the firefight going on around them. Bester headbutted her repeatedly as he continued his choke hold until a phaser rifle fired once and both fighters lay still on the floor.
Tom Paris called out repeatedly to Guinan, he was about to leave his cover when his father held him back. "We need to stop the drones from coming down. Whatever has happened to Guinan and Bester -dead or alive- has already happened."
"But they could be just hurt. I've had some medical training. I might be able to save them."
"And if any more of those drones make it down those stairs, we are all done for!" shouted the admiral. "Now start shooting and that's an order!"
With some reluctance, Tom took aim and fired again on the Borg. It was while he was manually changing his phasar frequency that he saw Guinan push Bester's corpse off of her and, with effort, rolled back to the place she had been using as cover. Only then did she reach out for her phasar rifle to try and resume shooting again.
She looked once back at Bester as she wiped blood from her lip. In the alcove, she could see the Doctor shaking his head as he straightened the dents out of his hat. She would have to ask the Doctor what that was all about, but for now she was willing to take her frustrations out on the remaining drones.
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ROSEMONT CONVENTION CENTER
BASEMENT
As Duncan explained what had happened between him and the Borg. Methos' heart went out to him; Mark listened in disbelief to a story that was barely within his comprehension; Admiral Scott merely nodded off and on while examining the Scottish Immortal's Borg body grafts.
"Once they sink their hooks into you, they definitely don't want to let you go," muttered the old Starfleet engineer, a sick feeling in his stomach at seeing all the invasive machinery that had been put in the Immortal's body.
Mark, who had been trying to listen intently to everything that Duncan had been telling them, suddenly understood where the currently inactive drone was going with his subject. "Now hang on! There has to be another way!" In the last few minutes, the grizzly bearded ex-cop had been listening to an intense dialog concerning headhunting Immortals and the mind collective of the Borg. Not concepts he was familiar with, but as a cop he had learned to put newly acquired facts together in order to understand what had happened, regardless of the usual disturbing outcome.
"The Borg has received a major setback," Duncan said. "But regardless of being tore into two factions, the Borg will grow and adapt into something mankind cannot defeat. Unless we deal with it now." Duncan was exhausted. His Immortal body was in a constant state of trying to heal itself, however, with the device attached to him that was continually adding new nanites to replace the old one his body finally destroys, he just couldn't get ahead. As it was now, he had his mind back, but nothing was as he had left it. It was taking all his energy to just stand there and talk.
"He's right on their formidability," commented Ambassador Scott, as he continued his examination more of the technological components on Duncan's chest. "And their determination."
Duncan's left hand reached out and grabbed Methos/Adam's sleeve causing the older man to look up from where he had been staring at the floor. "We have to do this," Duncan said in a tired tone. "For the sake of mankind."
Looking past Duncan's head, Methos could see a figure in white leaning against the far wall. Andrew had led him to all of his most desperate battles, and yet the angel of death had never stayed for those outcomes. At least not that Methos had seen. "I think we should make a slight change in your plan," he finally said to Duncan. His eyes never left those of the angel in white. Andrew said nothing, his face was grim and sad, but he did nod in agreement.
As Methos explained his ideas to the others, Mark became more and more opposed. "What is wrong with you people? Can't you see that this is wrong? There has to be another way!"
"How?" demanded Methos. "Without more people dying or worse? How!"
"I won't let you do it."
"Fine." The ancient Immortal moved with startling reflexes, hitting the former cop with his fist so fast that Mark barely saw it coming and had no time to avoid it. He landed hard on the floor, bouncing once before coming to a rest in a heap.
Methos looked over at Scotty. "Do you have a problem with this, too?"
Ambassador Scott shook him head. "A friend of mine once said, 'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one'," Montgomery said. "And many times, like now, that is the case."
Duncan looked down at the knocked-out form of Mark Gordon. "What do we do about him?"
Scotty sighed. "I guess I'll be lugging the big lug out of here."
The trio helped each other get the unconscious Mark Gordon draped awkwardly onto the top of a food cart and cleared a path to the door.
"There is an elevator down the hall," Duncan relayed. "Just take every right turn until you see it. You should hurry since Dverl will probably have some drones coming here to see what has happened to me. Dverl seemed to hold me in high regard due to my Immortality."
Scotty nodded. "And you are sure about this? About doing this?"
Duncan nodded. "Yes, and it should work."
Scotty tried to shake his hand but suddenly realized that he couldn't shake the borgified Immortal's hand. Hesitantly, he patted him on the shoulder instead. He was able to shake Methos hand before turning to push the cart with Mark on it out into the hall.
The two Immortals stood there silently listening to the squeaky wheels of the food cart as it went further and further down the hall. It was a good five minutes before Methos spoke. "I always knew that it would end with either you or me."
Duncan looked at him wearily. "We could still do it my way. It was my idea in the first place."
"But I'm older and have a stronger quickening within me," pointed out Methos.
"I guess it is pointless to ask if I'll survive," commented Duncan.
"I thought you weren't worried about that." Methos glanced over at Andrew who was still staying silently over by the wall. The angel in while nodded. "But I think that you'll make it," he concluded. "Just try to be more careful after this. I won't be able to bail you out anymore after this."
Duncan merely nodded. His pale complexion seemed to grow paler. "How should we do this?"
"After four hundred years living as an Immortal, you forget how to use a sword?" he said with levity. "Here," he said, handing over his sword. "Try not to lose it."
Duncan gripped the sword hard with his left hand. "I'm sorry that it had-"
"Don't," the other Immortal said. "I'd rather it be you. Besides it's not like it's the first time I'd offered it to you." He managed to force a grin.
"Okay then." Duncan tried to return the grin, doing it awfully.
"Yeah."
"So…?"
"So…what?"
"I think I hear drones approaching."
Methos sighed. "Then do it already, Highlander."
Duncan hesitated only briefly before swinging the sword and thus decapitating the unresisting Methos. Before he could grieve for his friend, MacLeod dropped the sword and reached down to reconnect the Borg component that would bring him back online with the Dverl Collective.
"All right, Dverl," Duncan spat. "Let's see you adapt to this."
Even as the body of Methos began emitting the energies of a quickening over five thousand years old, Duncan could feel the Borg Collective of Grand Nagus reclaiming his mind.
A drone stepped into the room only to be struck back by the beginning of the energy being released.
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Characters in order of appearance or mentioned:
Doctor, The 4th (Tom Baker) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1974-1981)
Galen (Peter Woodward) – from the TV series Crusade (1999)
Kent, Clark Jerome / Kal-El (Tom Welling) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011)
Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1988-1993)
Jackson-Drummond, Arnold (Gary Coleman) – from the TV series Diff'rent Strokes (1978-1986)
Dverl –Star Trek Ferengi character of my own creation.
K-9 Mark I (voiced by John Leeson) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1977-?)
Nafeel, Dureena (Carrie Dobro) – from the TV series Crusade (1999)
Paris, Adm. Owen (Richard Herd) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1999-2001)
Luthor, Lex / Brainiac (Michael Rosenbaum) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011)
Magnum, Thomas (Tom Selleck) – from the TV series Magnum P.I. (1980-1988)
Lang, Lana (Kristin Kreuk) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2009)
Sullivan, Chloe (Allison Mack) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011)
Paris, Lt. Tom (Robert Duncan McNeill) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)
Lennier (Bill Mumy) – from the TV series Babylon 5 (1994-1998)
Bester, Alfred (Walter Koenig) – from the TV series Babylon 5 (1994-1998)
Kenny (Myles Ferguson) – from the TV series Highlander (1994-1995)
MacLeod, Duncan (Adrian Paul) – from the TV series Highlander (1992-1997)
Stone, Ezekiel 'Zeke' (Peter Horton) – from the TV series Brimstone (1998-1999)
Smith, Jonathan (Michael Landon) – from the TV series Highway to Heaven (1984-1989)
The Devil (John Glover) – from the TV series Brimstone (1998-1999)
Broots (Jon Gries) – from the TV series Pretender (1996-2000)
Steele, Remington (Pierce Brosnan) – from the TV series Remington Steele (1982-1987)
MacLeod, Connor (Christopher Lambert) – from the movie Highlander (1986)
Dawson, Joe (Jim Byrnes) – from the TV series Highlander (1993-1998)
Pierson, Adam / Methos (Peter Wingfield) – from the TV series Highlander (1995-1998)
Andrew (John Dye) – from the TV series Touched by an Angel (1994-2003)
Gordon, Mark (Victor French) – from the TV series Highway to Heaven (1984-1989)
Scott, Cdr. Montgomery 'Scotty' (James Doohan) – from the TV series Star Trek (1966-1969)
La Forge,Lt. Geordi (LeVar Burton) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994) (mentioned only)
McCormick, Kenny (Matt Stone) – from the TV series South Park (1997-?) (mentioned only)
Stetson, Lee 'Scarecrow' (Bruce Boxleitner) – from the TV series
Scarecrow & Mrs. King (1983-1987)
Tasker, Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis) – from the movie True Lies (1994)
Tess (Della Reese) – from the TV series Touched by an Angel (1994-2003)
Murtaugh, Det. Roger (Danny Glover) – from the movie Lethal Weapon (1987)
Grissom, Gil (William Petersen) – from the TV series C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation (2000-2009)
Ellison, Det. Jim (Richard Burgi) – from the TV series Sentinel (1996-1999)
Hawk (Avery Brooks) – from the TV series Spenser: For Hire (1985-1988), A Man Called Hawk (1989)
Sydney (Patrick Bauchau) – from the TV series Pretender (1996-2000)
Tasker, Harry (Arnold Schwarzenegger) – from the movie True Lies (1994)
Simon, A.J. (Jameson Parker) – from the TV series Simon & Simon (1981-1988)
Simon, Rick (Gerald Raney) – from the TV series Simon & Simon (1981-1988)
Hooker, T.J. (William Shatner) – from the TV series T.J. Hooker (1982-1986)
Jarod (Michael T. Weiss) – from the TV series Pretender (1996-2000)
MacGyver, Angus (Richard Dean Anderson) – from the TV series MacGyver (1985-1992)
Parker, Catherine (Andrea Parker) – from the TV series Pretender (1996-2000)
Q (John de Lancie) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-?), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager (mentioned only)