Together Alone (2/?)

by Anne Olsen

Rating/Warnings: OK (Oz/Kiwi spelling/grammar etc) – PG13 – action, drama, angst, romance, slash, het. SPOILERS.

Author's notes: This fic is part of the Tears in Heaven series which can be found here – also contains SPOILERS, as I'm writing the series out of order, and 'Together Alone' is set about three years after the last posted story 'Murphy's Law'.

Adam and Lisa are now married and have a son, Will. Jade and Megabyte have been a couple since the events of 'Reality Bytes', and Kevin and Alex finally admitted their feelings towards each other in 'Fairest Joys Give Most Unrest'.

Pairings: Kevin/Alex, Megabyte/Jade, Adam/Lisa.

Summary: A day of teaching in a local school turns out to be not quite the experience Alex was expecting when he happens across an experiment being conducted by an old enemy of the Tomorrow People.

Disclaimer: The Tomorrow People belong to Roger Damon Price, Thames/Tetra and ITV television. Stargate SG1 are owned by Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Products. Highlander is the property of Panzer/Davis, Rysher/Gaumount Television.

I promise to return the characters in one piece, more or less, when I'm finished, but hold no liability for any physical injury or psychological trauma sustained by them in my fiction.

Alex MacDonald belongs to me and shouldn't be used without permission.

Thanks to: The beta reading team – Lady Shadowphyre (TiH's godmother), haraamis, Anon, and Jason (TiH's godfather). Also to Misanagi for all her support/encouragement. She doesn't really stalk; it's just an urban myth.

[ ] indicates telepathy

Please send comments to: anneo paradise.net.nz

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Chapter Two

"Galt? I thought we'd seen the last of that bungling idiot."

Megabyte nodded. "Alex was sure it was him." Even though his father had called Galt a 'bungling idiot,' the memories Megabyte had of the scientist didn't quite fit that description. He shivered, remembering his experiences at Galt's hands years before, even before he'd become a Tomorrow Person.

"How could Alex be sure?" Damon wasn't convinced. "He's never met the guy."

"The bond." Megabyte rolled his eyes. "You remember that thing?"

"I remember the bond, Megabyte, but it's /one/ of those explanations I'm still waiting for." The older man sighed, his tone a clear reminder that it was only one of several questions that his son and the other Tomorrow People had managed to sidestep.

"Alex would be able to access Kev's memories of Galt," Megabyte explained, ignoring his father's sarcasm. Hopefully Galt hadn't developed any more fun gadgets like the force field that had trapped Lisa. Megabyte had enough nightmares; he didn't want more to add to the collection. Why couldn't people like Galt just leave the Tomorrow People the hell alone? "What's that psycho up to now? You'd think a New Zealand school would be safe." As soon as he'd spoken, Megabyte realised how naïve the sentiment was.

"That's an interesting definition of safe." Damon raised an eyebrow and frowned. "I suppose it's too much to hope for that Alex isn't still there?"

"Yes, it is." Megabyte flopped into the chair in front of his father's desk. "But what is he supposed to do? Teleport with Galt sitting next to him?"

"No, but there's this old-fashioned mode of transportation that some of us use occasionally. It's called walking."

Megabyte shot his father a glare, but before he could retort, there was a knock on the door.

"Excuse me, General Damon, but I need you to sign these papers." The secretary entered the room without waiting for a reply to her knock and placed a folder on the desk. Her long blonde hair fell forward and she flicked it behind her shoulder. Megabyte had made the mistake once of mentioning how it must be a nuisance having hair that long and she had made it perfectly clear that the way she wore her hair was her business; Jade at least kept hers short and out of the way. "Oh, I'm sorry," Dorothy said. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"It's okay, Dorothy," Damon replied in a weary tone. "I'll deal with them later. I'm rather busy at the moment."

"Very good, sir." Dorothy gave Megabyte a smile, and he forced himself to return it. "Enjoy your visit. Good-bye, young man. Nice to see you again." She gave her boss a nod, and left the room.

"I don't…" Megabyte started to say.

[Alex!] Kevin sounded frantic.

Megabyte reached out telepathically to his friend, and an echo of pain ran through him. The room spun momentarily. He gripped the side of his chair to steady himself.

"Megabyte, are you okay?" Damon was out of his chair and on his feet in an instant.

[Kevin. No!] Adam's telepathic warning reverberated inside Megabyte's head, but there was no reply.

[Kevin?] Megabyte 'pathed, adding his worried question to that of the others. Whatever had happened, they'd all felt it. Megabyte rose to his feet, only to be hit by another, stronger flash of pain. Damn it. What the hell was going on?

Putting out his arms to stop himself from falling, he would have slammed into the desk, had his father not been there to support him. "Thanks," he said weakly, opening his eyes again to focus on his surroundings.

"What the hell's going on?" Damon sounded worried. "It's Galt isn't it?"

"Give me a sec, okay?" Megabyte could feel the guilt coming from Adam in waves, before his friend slammed down his mental shields. It wasn't Adam's fault. They all should have realised that Kevin would go after Alex, but Adam wouldn't listen to reason, so Megabyte wasn't going to waste his breath arguing over it. If anyone should be feeling guilty, it should be him. He should have known what Kevin's reaction would be at the thought of Alex being alone with that psycho, but no, Megabyte's first thought had been to warn his father. How could he have been so stupid?

A reassuring telepathic touch brushed against his mind. Jade had been picking up on his thoughts and the way he was feeling.

"Megabyte?" Damon had that familiar 'I know that I'm not going to like what I'm about to hear' look on his face. He was also growing impatient.

After exchanging a few comments with the other Tomorrow People, Megabyte psyched himself up to answer his father. "Kev's gone after Alex, Dad, and now we can't contact either of them." He shook his head. "I should have realised what he would do; I should have tried to stop him." Both he and Adam knew from experience what it was like to lose awareness of your partner. [1] Kevin would have gone to Alex whatever the risk might be. The urge to reconnect their bond took precedence over anything else.

"I hope none of you are getting any brilliant ideas of heading into the lion's den." Damon frowned. "If Galt has both of them, and has found a way to negate your powers, the last thing we need is to provide him with more Tomorrow People to experiment on."

"I know that, Dad. And thanks for the reminder about Galt. I really needed that."

"There's no need for sarcasm, Megabyte," his father chastised him. "And I know you're worried. So am I."

"I know that," Megabyte said. "Sorry." He paused. "The others are on their way." As though on cue, Jade materialised in front of him, and he put an arm around her. "Hey," he said to her softly, kissing her on the cheek. "We'll get them back, don't worry."

[I'll be another ten minutes,] 'pathed Lisa. [I'm just settling Will down for his nap before I leave him with Joe.] Joe Dawson seemed to enjoy his role of chief babysitter for the Newmans. But then, watching a toddler wasn't that much different from watching Immortals, even if there were certain people who might protest against the comparison.

Megabyte wondered where Methos was. Even if Galt was working alone, which he doubted, they were going to need help. He shivered, and Jade moved closer, sensing the old memories rising to the surface.

"Don't worry, we'll get them back," she whispered to him, echoing what he'd told her only moments before. He pulled her into an embrace. If Galt had gotten hold of his Jade, instead of Alex, he would have acted in the same way Kevin had.

His father had moved away discretely, to give them some privacy. He jumped and muttered something under his breath as Ami materialised in front of his desk. "Hello, Ami," he said, giving her a nod. "The gang's almost all here, I see."

"Hello, General Damon," Ami replied, almost absently. She sounded preoccupied, and her voice was strained. "Adam's on his way; he's talking to Sam."

"Adam, what's going on?" Sam wasn't surprised to see Adam materialise seconds after Kevin's panicked departure. Alex was in trouble, of that much she was certain. Even if Kevin hadn't screamed his lover's name before he'd vanished, she'd seen enough of the bond between the two young men to know that if something had happened to one of them, it would affect the other.

Adam swayed and grabbed at the table. A repeat performance of Kevin's action was not a good sign and did nothing to put her mind at ease.

"Adam?"

He glanced over at her and his eyes glazed over. Several moments passed before he spoke. "I'm too late. Damn it, I should have known."

"Adam?" she repeated.

"I'm okay." He gave her a shaky smile. "But I'm not so sure about Kevin and Alex." Quickly, Adam explained what had happened. "I don't know what exactly Galt's done but…"

"It can't be anything good," Sam finished. Kevin had spoken about Galt before; he and Sam had talked several times about what it was like to be a Tomorrow Person and to be different. "So, how did Galt end up choosing a New Zealand school as the base for his experiments?" Alex had been nervous about his first day of teaching; he'd called in briefly to see Kevin. Their relationship was a strong one. Hopefully Galt wouldn't discover that they were a couple; if he did she doubted that he would hesitate in using it against them.

"I have no idea." Adam shrugged. "Maybe he thought that it was a safe place to carry out his experiments without being noticed?" He sighed. "All we're trying to do is to get on with our lives and survive. But as long as there are people like Galt out there, we're always going to have to look over our shoulder."

"Not everyone is like Galt, Adam," Sam reminded him. "You have friends who believe in you."

"We know that, Sam, and we appreciate it. But I worry about our future." Adam's voice dropped to a whisper. "I want to think that my son will be safe; that he won't have to always hide who and what he is the same way that we do." His tone changed; he was angry with himself. "I should have insisted that Alex left as soon as he mentioned that Galt was there. Galt's a psycho; he's been hunting Tomorrow People for years, and now he has two." Adam muttered something under his breath. "If only I'd acted sooner."

"This is not your fault," Sam told him firmly. Adam saw himself as the de facto leader of the Tomorrow People and took those responsibilities very seriously; too seriously at times. He couldn't afford to do that now. They didn't have time. Kevin and Alex didn't have time. "We need to formulate a rescue plan. How can I help?"

Adam looked surprised. "Help?"

"Help," Sam repeated. "Galt has the boys and has obviously found a way to negate their powers. If you go after them, what's to stop him targeting any of you with whatever technology he's using."

"Nothing." Adam stared at the floor for a moment. "I hate this. What use are these powers if we can't use them to protect the people we care about?"

"You don't need powers to protect those you care about," Sam said.

"I know that," Adam replied, "but it's not as simple as that."

"Nothing ever is." Sam knew that he was referring to his inability to kill, but that was a conversation for another time. "I'm going to explain the situation to General Hammond, and then I'll help you in any way I can." She paused at the door to the lab, waiting for him to catch up. "It's going to be okay, Adam. They'll be okay. Take one step at a time and think positive."

"Thanks, Sam." Adam followed her out into the corridor. "I just hope that we're in time."

"We will be," Sam told him. "We have to be."

Rob knocked on the door to Roger's office again, opening it and peering inside when there was no reply. He frowned. It wasn't like the principal to miss appointments. Glancing at his watch, he decided to look in the staff room. If Roger wasn't there, they would have to reschedule; Jill couldn't be expected to look after an extra class for the entire choir practice.

Approaching the staff room, he heard voices and a weird high pitched whining noise, faint but similar to that of a dog whistle.

"Roger?" he asked, pushing the partially open door and walking inside. Three heads turned in his direction.

"Mr. Henderson isn't here at present." The older, dark-skinned man sounded annoyed at the interruption. "I will be there shortly," he continued speaking into his cell-phone. "Yes, that sounds perfect. And yes, I have the situation well under control." He finished the call and put the phone in his pocket.

Alex and the young man sitting next to him exchanged a glance. "Roger's not here," Alex said slowly; there was a slight tremble in his voice. "You could try his office."

"I already have," Rob replied. He took a step closer, and the dark-skinned man glared at him. "You're Professor Galt, right?" They had been briefed about his visit during last week's staff meeting.

Galt nodded. "Yes, I am. And I'm rather busy at the moment, so if you'll excuse me." He waved his hand. "I've already told you that Mr. Henderson isn't here. Why don't you go and play nursery maid or whatever it is that teachers do these days?"

"Do you know where Mr. Henderson is?" Rob decided that he didn't like the scientist. "Alex, would you head over to the hall and help with the choir practice? They're already one teacher down so if you could…"

"No." Galt shook his head. "He's not free at the moment." He chuckled over some private joke. "You'll just have to manage without him."

"Have you looked for Mr. Henderson in one of the other classrooms?" The man next to Alex spoke for the first time. His British accent portrayed his origins, but although his tone was calm, the smile he gave Rob was strained.

"I'll just wait here for him." There was a clear view of the corridor outside Roger's office from the staff room, and it made more sense to give the principal a few more minutes before starting a school wide search. It would also give him an excuse to keep an eye on Galt until he had a chance to talk to Roger. Galt's attitude needed some serious attention, and Rob didn't appreciate his authority being undermined. Making a point of not introducing himself to Galt, he held out his hand to the younger man instead. "I don't believe that we've been introduced. I'm Rob Smothers, the assistant principal here at St. Mark's. Are you working for the Professor?"

It was difficult to miss the shudder the man gave. "Kevin Wilson. Nice to meet you, Rob." Kevin shook Rob's hand but didn't stand. He was slim and wiry, older than Alex perhaps by a few years, but not as tall. "And no, I'm not working for the Professor. I'm just…passing through." A flash of pain crossed the brunet's face, and he winced. Alex moved closer to Kevin, the knuckles on his hand white as he gripped the side of his chair.

Torn between concern and good manners, Rob helped himself to a seat. "So how long do you expect these experiments to take, Professor?" He glanced at his watch again. "Alex, I'll stay here and help the Professor set up his equipment while I wait for Roger. Could you go and see what's keeping him please?"

"I'm afraid that's not possible." Galt moved closer to Alex and went to place a hand on his shoulder. Alex pulled away from the contact. He seemed nervous, almost fearful of the older man. Kevin leaned forward in his seat, his weight shifting onto the balls of his feet. "Mr. MacDonald has already decided to help me with my experiments. In fact, he's going to play a vital part." Galt shook his head. "If you're so keen to find Mr. Henderson you're going to have to look for him yourself."

"I've already asked Alex," Rob reminded him. Galt might be a visitor to the school but that didn't give him the right to dictate his demands to a member of its staff. "He's not working for you, he's a teacher at this school. I know that we've been asked to cooperate with you over this project, but cooperation is supposed to go both ways."

"Rob, please," Alex interrupted. "I can't…" He straightened his glasses and spoke again, this time more firmly. "I'm sure Roger's in one of the classrooms. It will be faster if you go look for him yourself."

Galt nodded. "Quite right. I'll just finish packing up my equipment so that I can move it, shall I?" He smiled at Alex. "You can help me, like you promised."

"/I'll/ help you," Kevin said, glaring at Galt. He seemed determined to keep some distance between Alex and the scientist. What the hell was going on here?

"Kevin…It's okay." Alex stood. "He asked me, I'll do it." Although shaky on his feet, he sounded determined. A look passed between the two men, and Galt rolled his eyes.

"Are you feeling alright, Alex?" Rob asked, realisation growing that he was definitely missing something. Both Alex and Kevin appeared to be trying to get him to leave; if they were hiding something he needed to find out what it was. "Maybe you should go home if you're not well."

Kevin muttered something under his breath. "Go find Roger, Rob. Please." He pulled himself out his chair slowly, pausing for a moment to lean on the coffee table. Whatever the cause of Alex's apparent sudden illness was, it appeared that he wasn't the only one who was affected.

"There's a nasty stomach virus doing the rounds," Rob voiced the only explanation he could think of. "We've had a lot of children down with it of late." He paused, trying to figure out a way to discover what was going on without asking directly, as his previous questions had all been sidestepped neatly. "What did you say your business here at the school was, Kevin?"

"I didn't." Kevin glanced over at Galt who was watching Alex intently. Cautiously, he began edging down the table. "I came to help a friend, that's all."

"Don't even think about it," Galt said coldly, taking a step forward so that he was directly standing behind Alex. Kevin stopped, his hand hovering over the black box sitting on the table, and then he slowly raised both hands to show that he had no intention of touching it.

"I've heard about you guys being over protective of your equipment but don't you think you're going a bit over board?" Rob picked up the box and examined it carefully. It was time to start getting some answers. "Is this the thing causing that annoying noise?" It was beginning to get on his nerves, even more so than Galt.

"You can hear it?" Galt sounded smug. "I do believe that this is my lucky day."

Kevin let out a sharp breath.

"That high pitched whining noise?" Rob nodded. "Yes, I can hear it."

"Put the box down and step away from the table, Mr. Smothers," Galt ordered, shaking his head. "You people are idiots, thinking that you could fool me like that."

"You're the bloody idiot," Kevin muttered. "He's not one of us, Galt. Let him go."

"Oh, I don't think so," Galt retorted. "And I think I asked you to put the box down." He stepped sideways to show that he had a gun in his hand, before placing it against Alex's temple.

"Rob, please," Kevin said, his hands still where Galt could see them. Had he known all along that Galt possessed a weapon? It would explain his and Alex's earlier nervousness and strange behaviour.

"Put it down now, or I'll put a nice clean hole through his head." Galt laughed. "While I'd prefer him alive, I already have live specimens, and I've always wanted to do a proper autopsy on one of your kind."

"What the hell is going on here?" Rob stared at Galt and the gun in his hand, realising too late, that he should have listened to his instincts. "Who are you?"

"Put the box down, Mr. Smothers, or I'll blow your friend's brains out." Galt's finger tightened on the trigger and Alex closed his eyes. "Don't play the innocent with me; it won't work."

Rob put the box down carefully. Whatever this nut was smoking, it wasn't worth risking a life over. "What," he repeated slowly, as though addressing a five year old, "is going on?"

"Now, now, I've already told you not to play the innocent." Galt smiled and lowered the gun, but not before grabbing Alex by his collar and pulling him close. Kevin took a step forward, and Galt tsked and raised the gun again. "Come now, I would have thought that you valued your boyfriend's life more than that." Galt sniggered. "Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that how you fags refer to your…significant other?"

"Partner," Kevin said quietly. "He's my partner. Put down the gun, Galt. I won't do anything, I promise."

"Partner?" Rob looked at Kevin and then at Alex, the body language he'd observed between them finally making sense. No wonder they had been so protective of each other, with this lunatic in the room. He turned his attention back to Galt. "You're doing this because they're gay?" He shook his head in disbelief. "You're crazy. You can't pull a gun on someone because of his sexual orientation. Put down your weapon, Galt. Let's talk about this reasonably."

Kevin placed a warning hand on Rob's arm. "This isn't because of that. Please, you don't understand." He turned to Galt. "He's not a Tomorrow Person, you have to let him go. You have us. Please."

"What's a Tomorrow Person?" Rob asked, wondering if he should have taken the earlier hints about leaving. But, even though that, in hindsight, would have been wiser, he still wanted to know what Galt's agenda was. His wife had once told him that his curiosity would be the death of him. Watching Galt's finger on the trigger of the gun, Rob hoped that she wasn't about to be proven right.

"No," Galt said, ignoring Rob's question. "Why should I believe you? I'm not going to make the same mistake twice."

"You're more than just an idiot, Galt," Kevin's voice rose in pitch. "You're a fucking psycho. What the hell Masters ever saw in you, I'll never know."

"Kevin, don't." Alex whispered, but Kevin wasn't listening.

"Megabyte wasn't a Tomorrow Person when you captured him. Rob isn't a Tomorrow Person. Just because he can hear the noise doesn't mean that he's one of us. Your machines always have a flaw, Galt, and this is just one of them." Kevin gave Alex an apologetic look. "Turn up the machine, and see if it affects him the same way it affects us. It won't."

"What's a Tomorrow Person?" Rob asked again, his mind working through scenarios to convince Galt to lower his weapon. Whatever reality the scientist was living in, it sounded as though Kevin, at least, was buying into it.

Galt snorted. "Turn up the machine, and incapacitate you? Do I look stupid?" He gazed at Kevin thoughtfully. "I thought you seemed familiar. So the annoying kid who teleported and distracted Gloria so that young Damon could smash my machine has all grown up? I think I'm going to take great delight in using you to test my theories."

"Teleported?" Rob shook his head. He backed towards the door, deciding to take advantage of the fact that he was being ignored. While Kevin and Galt were arguing, this seemed like a good time to take the opportunity to leave.

"Going somewhere?" Galt looked up, and Rob froze like a deer in headlights.

/Bloody hell./ Rob's mouth went dry.

"Well, actually you are, but you need to learn to stay with the class, Mr. Smothers," Galt continued. "We're going on a little field trip to meet some friends."

"Field trip?" Rob echoed, hoping that this particular episode of the Twilight Zone didn't have an ending typical to that series. "Look, Galt, I don't know what you're on, but I'm not a part of this. Let me go; let us all go, and I won't call the police. I promise."

"He doesn't care about the police," Kevin said bitterly. "He's looking for guinea pigs for his science experiments." He gave Rob a shaky smile. "I'm sorry that you've got involved in this; it's our fight, not yours."

Keeping his gun aimed at them, Galt pushed Alex towards Kevin and then placed several objects in his briefcase. "It's not your fault, Kevin, it's mine." Alex whispered, stroking Kevin's cheek before the other man pulled him into an embrace. "I can't…" He sounded frustrated. "I want…"

"I know," Kevin replied in the same low voice. Rob could barely hear them. "So do I." He kissed Alex gently.

Didn't they realise that flaunting their relationship in front of this homophobe would only make things worse?

"We're not…" Keeping his voice barely above the whisper he'd used with Alex, Kevin glanced over towards Galt before speaking to Rob. "I can't explain, but…" His breathing seemed somewhat irregular, and he kept looking at Alex and wetting his lips. They didn't seem to be able to keep their hands off each other.

Rob nodded, pretending he understood. He wasn't sure how to respond, but knew that this wasn't the time or place for Kevin and Alex to be giving into their overactive libidos. However, warning them about it now would only help to draw Galt's attention to their behaviour.

"Time to go, boys," Galt announced, slipping the black box into his briefcase. ""It transmits perfectly well through solid matter," he announced proudly before pointing his gun at Alex again. Reluctantly disentangling himself from Kevin, Alex took a step forward, but Galt shook his head and grinned. "No, I don't think so. I've decided that because your boyfriend's…excuse me…partner's behaviour is somewhat erratic he can play the hostage." He motioned with the gun. "We're all going for a nice car ride, and you, Mr. MacDonald, are going to drive" He sighed. "Please don't try to play the hero, or you'll force me to inflict some serious pain on my old friend. Do we have an understanding?"

"Yes," said Alex. Kevin slowly walked over to Galt and allowed his arms to be pulled behind him. Galt secured them with handcuffs that he'd produced from his briefcase. "I understand you perfectly."

"And you, Mr. Smothers." Galt pushed his gun into the small of Kevin's back and then placed his coat over his arm to hide it. "You're not going to do anything silly either now, are you?"

Rob glanced between his two new friends, giving them the nod of reassurance rather than Galt. Whatever happened he had no intention of playing the hero. For the moment, at least, Galt held the upper hand, and until that changed Rob had every intention of humouring him and feigning co-operation.

"No," he said quietly, knowing that his future depended on Galt believing him. "I won't."

Notes:

[1] Refers to events taking place in 'Reflections', another fic set earlier in the TiH timeline.

End of Chapter Two

TBC