Disclaimer: I do not own StarGate or Heroes, as cool as that would be.
A/N: Thanks to all of you for your amazing reviews!
Jessica looked up as she heard the sound of people approaching her cell. Hiding a smile, she stood up to greet them. The first man was taken out by a shove into the nearby wall. The second received a sharp kick to the stomach, and the third got a high kick across the face. Grinning, she turned towards the last man and was stunned to see that it was the man from earlier, who'd spoken to Nikki. Tossing her hair back, Jessica glared defiantly at him. He merely surveyed her handiwork and then started chuckling.
"I see that Senator Petrelli's statement was not in jest," he said aloud, his voice reverberating through the room, as if he had a mike in his throat.
"Oh yeah?" Jessica growled. "Tell me what he said. I'll need to 'thank' him for it when I get the chance."
"He merely commented that you are not one to be underestimated," the man responded.
"Huh. For once he was right."
"You appear to have changed," the man remarked, studying her. "Earlier you seemed frightened, but now….."
"Just needed to get my bearings," Jessica said coolly, walking around him, studying him. He chuckled again.
"You are one of the others, aren't you?" he asked. "He mentioned that there were other…..personalities within your body." Jessica chuckled and tossed her hair back.
"I'm Jessica," she said. "And you are….?"
"Ba'al," he answered. Jessica arched her eyebrow.
"Ba'al," she repeated. "Well, Ba'al, which way to the exit?"
"I cannot tell you," he said. Jessica's smile vanished and she stared at him.
"Really? Why not?"
"Because I need you."
"Need me? For what?"
"To be my queen," proclaimed the man, looking extremely excited. Jessica laughed.
"Your queen?" she repeated. "You're kidding, right?"
"I'm perfectly serious."
"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, Ba'al, but I'm not interested in being anyone's queen." Jessica growled. She started to pass him but he grabbed her arm.
"You don't understand-!" he began, but Jessica had already instinctively lashed out, hurling him into the far wall.
"No," she said aloud to his still form before walking off. "I understand perfectly."
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"So what you're telling me is that these…….mutants, or whatever you call them…have invaded this base and then escaped?" General Hammond exclaimed.
"Yes sir," Barrett said, nodding. "However, we will capture them again."
"Oh really? And how exactly to you plan to do that?"
"The group is currently holding Cassandra Frasier hostage, sir. By using the Prometheus, we may be able to track her."
"How?" the general demanded.
"She has naquadah in her blood," Barrett said. "We may be able to limit the search to her specific EM field."
"Good luck," O'Neill muttered, doodling on his pad. Just then, the door opened and Walter ran in.
"Sir," he said breathlessly. "We think we know where they are!"
"How?" all three men asked at once.
"A man called the police tipline. He says he sold land to a man matching Gabriel Petrelli's description last year and that they've been building all over the place, but there are no buildings there."
"An underground bunker," Jack realized. Walter nodded.
"And he said that he saw a van driving onto the property earlier this afternoon and he got the license plate number and it matches the one we have on record for Mohinder Suresh."
"Where?" Barrett demanded. Walter held up a piece of paper. Jack leapt up, grabbed it, and then said, almost as an afterthought,
"Barrett, call your men. I'll get my team, we leave in 5."
"Major Carter and Teal'c are still trying to figure out where Nikki Sanders went," Barrett said. Jack sighed.
"I'll get Daniel, then. Walter, when they get done with that, have them join us," the colonel ordered. Walter nodded and dashed off. Jack looked back at Hammond. "We'll be home for supper," he said before looking at Barrett. "Let's go."
"I want three teams," Barrett said into his cellphone as he followed Jack.
"Isn't that a bit…..much?" Jack asked. Barrett looked at him.
"I will not let them escape again!" he vowed.
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Sam looked at Teal'c who was staring at their surroundings.
"This mothership is one of Ba'al's," he announced.
"Great," Sam muttered. "As if this wasn't complicated enough!" She looked around and then back at her companion. "Come on. Let's see if we can find a way to ring down." Nodding, Teal'c followed her as they stealthily crept down the hall.
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The man watched as his teammates headed for the trucks, guns in hand. He smiled and then, shouldering his own gun, he pulled out his other weapon. It was a small medical kit, filled with just a syringe, already containing the formula he would need. He smiled. If all ended well, the NID would get what they wanted, and he would get what he wanted.
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Peter walked into the den area of their underground home. It was dark, and its only occupant was just sitting in a chair. Peter telekinetically flipped on the light. Elle, seated in the recliner, started at the bright light and then turned in the chair, putting her back to Peter.
"Elle?" he asked.
"Please go away," she requested, and something in her voice caused Peter to frown. He walked into the room, stopping just a few feet of the chair.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she answered in a tense voice. Sighing, Peter telekinetically turned the chair so that Elle faced him. Her lips were thinned and there were tear tracks going down from her red eyes. She sniffled and looked up at him. "What?"
"You seem upset," Peter remarked, leaning on the armrest of the couch. She snorted and looked at him.
"You think?"
"What's wrong?" he asked her.
"Don't you get it, Peter?" she asked. "The Company failed! All my father's work was for nothing! We are still being hunted! No one can tell who's a hero or who's a villain! The government will never stop chasing us! This isn't gonna end!" By that time, Elle was in tears again. Peter stood up and walked over to the chair. She stood up and collapsed into his arms, sobbing.
"Shhh," he soothed, stroking her hair. "It's going to be OK, Elle. I promise, this will end!" She pulled back, sniffling.
"Are you sure?" she asked suspiciously. He smiled at her.
"Hey, relax," he assured her. "I can see the future, remember?" She laughed and gave him an extra squeeze.
"Thanks," she whispered in his ear before walking out. Peter watched her go before collapsing into the nearest chair. It had been a long, tiresome day. Laying his head back, he closed his eyes. And that's when he saw it:
He was on his knees in front of two men. One of them he recognized instantly: Nathan!
"I thought you were dead!" he gasped, struggling against two guards he couldn't see. His brother smiled grimly.
"Sorry to disappoint," he said. The man beside Nathan cleared his throat.
"I hate to interrupt," he said impatiently. "But if you'll excuse us, Senator, your brother and I have an agreement to make." He waved a hand and then two men wearing strange armor appeared. One was carrying a jar with what looked like a snake in it, and the other was holding Cassie. She was attempting to struggle, but she looked……weak.
"Choose, Peter," the man commanded. "Her life……or the Goa'uld?" Peter saw Cassie wince slightly in pain, her cry of pain was forced past her clenched teeth.
"I'll do it!" he burst out.
"Peter?" asked a voice, jolting him back to the present. He opened his eyes and looked up. Meredith was standing in the doorway, watching him. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah," Peter said, rising. His mind was reeling. He'd do what? What was "it"? And what was going to happen to Cassie? Can I stop it? "The kids asleep?"
"Everyone is," Meredith chuckled. Peter glanced at the clock and then laughed, shocked. It was almost midnight!
"I guess I'll go join them," he said, heading for the nearest computer. He wanted to check on the perimeter before he turned in.
"What do you know about Claire's friend?" Meredith asked, following him.
"Not much," he answered, scanning the screen for any threats. "Why?"
"Something's wrong."
"What do you mean?" Peter asked, turning to face her.
"Cassie Frasier," Meredith said, as if he hadn't heard her the first time. "There's something about her I don't like."
"She's just a kid, Meredith," Peter reasoned. "I doubt she'll be any kind of prob-! Uh-oh."
"What?" Meredith demanded. Peter looked at her and then hit the alarm button. Instantly, sirens began wailing. "Peter, what is it?" Meredith persisted as Peter ran back to the computer.
"Invasion!" he answered, watching all the green dots swarm onto the field. "We need to get everyone out of here!"
"What's going on?" Mohinder demanded as he, Elle, and Gabriel ran in.
"They found us," Gabriel guessed, looking at his brother.
"Yeah, we need to get everyone to the escape tunnels!" Peter answered, looking at him. "Mohinder, you take Micah and Molly down the south tunnel. Meredith, you take Claire, Monica and Cassie down the east. Gabriel, you, Elle, and I'll shut down here and then take the west. Go!" Everyone obediently scattered as Gabriel and Peter began to activate the shutdown protocols.
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Sam and Teal'c ducked into a room when they heard the Jaffa coming. Much to Sam's relief, it was just one. She glanced at Teal'c, but he was already moving. In less than a minute, the unconscious Jaffa was being dragged down the hall and Teal'c and Sam were divvying up his weapons. Then they continued down the hallway. Again, they heard the sound of approaching Jaffa, and again, they ducked into another room. While Teal'c watched the men walking past, Sam did a quick 360 around the room. To her shock, she saw a man in a gray suit standing over by the window. Tensing, she alerted Teal'c by touching his arm and then she darted silently towards the stranger. A few feet away from him she stopped, raising her zat to aim it at him.
"Don't move!" she commanded. He froze and then turned to face her. Sam couldn't help but gasp. Despite all her time offworld, she was well aware of the presidential candidates, and who this man was:
"Senator Petrelli!"
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Cassie stirred as she felt someone shaking her.
"Mom?" she asked sleepily.
"No, Cassie, it's Meredith. Wake up!"
Cassie opened her eyes and blinked groggily at Meredith, who was running around, shaking each kid and urging them to wake up. Yawning, Cassie slid out of the chair she'd been curled up in and headed for the door. When she opened it, Gabriel was standing right outside! Stifling a shriek, Cassie leapt back.
"Sorry," Gabriel said hastily before brushing past her and going over to Meredith. Sighing, Cassie looked at them.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"We have to get you out of here," Gabriel said, flinging her jacket at her.
"Why?" Cassie demanded.
"Because there are people outside who want in," Peter said suddenly, coming up behind her. "And they might not take prisoners."
"Should I go get in the van?" Cassie asked.
"No," Peter answered. "We're not taking the van. We have four other exits out of this compound. You, Claire, Meredith and Monica are together. Molly, Micah, you're with Meredith."
"What about the rest of you?" Cassie asked.
"We're going to shut things down," Peter answered.
"Isn't that dangerous?" Molly asked, watching Gabriel button her coat.
"We'll be all right," he assured her.
"Everyone ready?" Peter asked. Everybody nodded and he looked at the adults. "Go." Cassie found herself being herded out by Meredith, along with Monica and Claire. She looked back and saw Peter, Gabriel and Elle calmly making the beds. Cassie swallowed. Were they calm because the enemy was being underestimated……..or because they were?
There! Another chapter! I hope this tides you over until the next one! Enjoy!