Arcs of energy leapt out from Ryan's body and impacted the walls, ceiling, and floor at random points. Inside he could feel himself painfully shift through another round of hyper-alteration, but this one was far worse than any he'd had before. When the energy began leaving his body the pressure didn't lessen much…and more and more bio-energy was being forcefully pumped out through his extremities as his internal reserves exceeded the saturation point.

His bed caught on fire, but he didn't even notice the flames. He was in so much internal agony he couldn't focus on anything other than the flow of energy. Ryan needed it out of him, but even as it left it seemed to drag up more with it…and fry him in the process.

He didn't know how much time had passed since the overload began, but suddenly he was looking up into a familiar face as Matt stared down at him. The air was smoky, and his own vision hadn't settled yet, but he could still hear Matt's voice inside his head.

Ryan, wake up!

I'm here, he answered back telepathically.

You have burns over most of your body. Lie still while I heal them, he said as Ryan began to feel a faint pressure.

Burns from what?

You lit your room on fire, Matt said matter-of-factly.

Oh, Ryan said, trying to raise his head.

I said hold still, Matt complained, telekinetically pushing his forehead back down. Doesn't it hurt you to move?

I don't feel anything…I must be numb, Ryan said, trying to bring his senses back around.

Well stay put, I have to focus to make this work, Matt said as he held his left hand against Ryan's shoulder and his right on his opposite forearm. Both had lost nearly all the skin on them. Ryan lay on the charred rubble of his bed cushions, a black and red burnt monstrosity. His natural healing ability hadn't kicked in yet…or it was busy with internal damage. Matt couldn't be sure what was going or not going to happen, so he set himself to healing his twin's skin using his own natural healing power. He didn't want to risk moving him yet, nor did he want to take the time to retrieve a regenerator.

Was anyone else hurt? Ryan asked.

A few people in the nearby rooms, nothing serious. I have Carson working on them now. What happened to you?

Not entirely sure. I think I lost control…but for some reason I'm still alive.

I don't know how badly damaged you are on the inside, but you're a mess on the outside. Better not look until I get your skin regrown.

That bad? Ryan asked, not realizing how damaged he was.

You're breathing up smoke, Matt pointed out as Ryan's left arm began to regrow its skin amidst a gentle glow.

My room's trashed too, I take it?

Pretty much, Matt said as the skin growth began to spread up to Ryan's shoulder and then his neck. Are you sure you did this to yourself?

You mean one of the Ascended?

Yeah, that was the thought.

No…afraid I kicked my own butt this time.

Ironic, Matt noted as the regrowth began to pick up speed. You're so strong the only threat to you is yourself.

You know that's not true…but still funny.

A lot funnier for us.

I suppose so. Is that you I feel in my chest?

IN your chest…no.

Ryan searched within him, pushing his numbed senses for the tingling pressure on the right side of his chest, low enough to probably be his secata organ…

Watch out! Ryan warned his brother as another rainbow colored lance of energy arced out of his chest, down the length of his right arm, and leapt into the wall opposite Matt.

Sorry, Ryan said, getting his first look at his unhealed right arm. Ugh.

Told you not to look, Matt reminded him as he gently pushed his head back down. Bit of residual charge?

I think so. I'm still numb on the inside, so I really don't know what's going on.

As soon as I get the skin back on you, we'll go down to the med bay and check you out.

How long with that take?

Should have you shinny again in a few minutes.

You're one to talk.

Matt glanced down at his own skin, which he'd lightened in the DNA resequencer. Point.

Ryan stretched his senses, which felt like he was reaching for nothing, but was rewarded with a dull headache forming.

Easy, Matt cautioned, sensing his struggle. Let your senses reset on their own. You don't want to feel this anyway.

Yes, I do, Ryan argued. I can't self-heal if I can't feel the damage.

I've got you covered, Matt said as the last of the skin on Ryan's feet reformed. Try sitting up.

Ryan ordered his muscles to move and suddenly he was looking at Matt next to him and down on his naked, ash covered body…but he still didn't feel it there.

Matt raised an eyebrow.

You could punch me and I probably couldn't feel it.

Matt let a smile slip as he got a telekinetic hold of Ryan and helped him to his feet. Come on, he said, reinforcing Ryan's awkward balance. We'll figure this out.

The two Stevensons walked to the nearest transporter and headed back to Matt's lair, catching all kinds of looks from the Humans and Lanteans they passed in the hallways. Eventually they made it to the med bay and Matt nudged Ryan towards the analysis table.

"Ow," Ryan said out loud.

What?

I think my head just started to unnumb, he thought back to him as he laid down under the scanner, still totally naked but not caring.

Let's see what we've got, Matt said as he activated the scanner. As the initial results began to show Matt's face slackened.

Ryan sensed his dismay. That bad?

Your nervous system is in disarray, you've got significant damage to your lungs, half of your internal tissues are partially fried…but more than that your secata is rating a 14.2 despite only a quarter of it being active.

Ryan twisted his head so he could look at Matt. "That's not supposed to be possible," he said aloud.

The other three quarters appear to have overloaded and fragged themselves, but they're showing a modest rate of regeneration, Matt said, continuing their telepathic conversation.

Matt, I couldn't bleed it off through telekinesis, Ryan said as Elizabeth walked into the room with a stack of clothes and pair of shoes in hand.

"Oh, hello," she said when she saw him lying naked on the analysis table. He slid his legs off and sat up, but refrained from standing due to the persistent numbness.

"Those for me?" he asked.

"Ah, yes. Matt asked me to bring them," she said, just standing there.

"Something wrong?" Ryan asked.

"Matt said you'd been burned."

"I was able to regenerate his skin," Matt explained, sensing her reluctance to give him his clothes. He imagined that from her perspective this was quite a rare moment. "However, he's rather busted up inside."

"I can imagine," Elizabeth continued. "There were power fluctuations all throughout the tower."

"Sorry about that," Ryan said, dipping his head a bit. He really hadn't expected this to happen…not like this anyway.

"I've already got repair crews on the job, and the injuries were light. I saw Beckett on the way in and he said everyone was patching up fine."

Ryan looked at the wall in the direction of the other portion of the med bay and did a mental check on the wounded. He found six individuals along with Beckett, but only one of them was in pain, and that pain was receding quickly. He figured Carson was using one of the handheld regeneration units in lieu of the more powerful regenerator cubes, but if the injuries were truly light then the small units would be more than adequate for the task.

Ryan mentally thanked Beckett then turned his attention back to Elizabeth. "To answer your unspoken question…I'm not sure what happened. I lost control and my instability skyrocketed. I don't remember much after that."

"You said telekinesis didn't work?" Matt interrupted.

"It didn't bleed off the energy this time," Ryan tried to explain. "I felt, different. It was still instability, but not the same kind. I can't articulate it."

"Not much I could do about it anyway," Matt added, referring to the fact that any significant alteration could interfere with the Repository's transitional programming…which neither of them understood, medically speaking. "But if that happens again, a little more powerful next time…"

"I'm toast, I know," Ryan said, tilting his neck to the side. His headache was getting worse.

"Is there nothing you can do for him?" Elizabeth asked Matt.

Matt shrugged. "I can patch him up, but I don't know enough about the problem to try and fix it. That's something he has to figure out."

"Was this supposed to happen?" she asked.

"No," Ryan said flatly. "I screwed up…I just don't know how."

"Do you want me to move everyone else out of the tower, in case this happens again?"

"No, I need to get out of the city," Ryan said, attempting to stand. He wobbled a bit, not being able to feel his legs, but with a hand on the analysis table he managed to stay upright. "Do something about this numbness, please."

Matt frowned. "It'd be better if you let it come back naturally."

"Not if I overload again because I can't feel it coming," Ryan argued.

"True," Matt relented as he walked off to retrieve another piece of equipment.

"I have to admit," Elizabeth said, walking a couple of steps closer to him, "I'm worried about you."

"Me too," Ryan said, flexing his fingers without being able to feel them. He balled his right hand into a fist and punched the side of the table. Still, he felt nothing.

"Are you trying to hurt yourself again?" she pointed out.

"I can't feel anything except a headache," he told her, "and that's only recent."

"Really," Elizabeth repeated. "Nothing at all."

"No," he said, looking down at his clothes in her hands and then back up at her eyes, letting her know that he knew that she was intentionally stalling.

She smiled slightly. "Well, if you can't feel anything. Do you need some help dressing?" she asked playfully.

"Thank you," he said, saying the opposite of what she'd expected just as Matt walked back in. "Put a hold on that," he changed his mind as Matt came over and started running the device up and down his spine from behind him.

"Ow," Ryan said as some feeling began to creep back into his chest.

"It's going to get a lot worse," Matt said, pausing. "Are you sure you want me to do this?"

"I need my senses back," Ryan reiterated.

"This will delay a full comeback by more than a day," Matt pointed out.

Ryan sighed. "A little more then, at least enough to keep my balance."

"Alright," Matt said reservedly as he moved the device up and down his arms and legs, then treated his spine once more. "Done."

"How do you feel?" Elizabeth asked, eyes narrowing.

"Like I got run over by a Ha'tak," he said, referencing an SGC cliché. "Hand me my pants."

Elizabeth pulled them out of the stack along with some shorts that looked like a skin-tight swimsuit. "Don't you want these first?" she said, holding them up tantalizingly in front of him.

"Flirt," he said sarcastically as he grabbed them from her and bent over to put them on…tipping to the side as he did.

"Whoa there," Elizabeth said, catching him by the shoulder.

Ryan pulled the 'shorts' up and on then got his balance back. "Thanks," he said, sitting back down on the table. "I thought you were going to give me my balance back?"

"I did," Matt said evenly. "But I imagine the pain is taking priority."

Ryan gave him a 'you should have gone farther' glare and put his hand up in front of Elizabeth for his pants. She held onto his shoulder to steady him as she gave him the trim, white-colored generic clothing. He pulled them on with less hassle and asked for his shirt, which he sat down on the table in order to pull on. Still, he almost lost his balance and fell forward when the shirt went over his head and he lost his visual reference.

Elizabeth caught him again with a hand to the chest as Matt looked on, smiling. He could have telekinetically stabilized Ryan, but if he was going to be stubborn about his condition then he was on his own as far as balance was concerned…and Elizabeth seemed to be enjoying the moment too much for him to spoil it.

Ryan finally got the shirt over his still numb shoulders, then pulled it down curtly over his recently regenerated chest and took a moment to steady himself. "Could you help me with the shoes?"

"My pleasure," Elizabeth teased as she stooped down and lifted up his left leg. She pulled on his shoes and fastened the straps for him, then stood up and theatrically rubbed her hands together. "Anything else I can help you with?"

"How are you with massages?" he asked, just to see her reaction…which was a wide-eyed flinch. He laughed it off and changed subjects. "Tell Sheppard I need to see him whenever he's able, preferably within the day. I can't stay here any longer. I'm putting you all at risk."

"I'm sure we can work up some kind of containment room," she said quickly, looking at Matt who nodded 'yes.'

"That's possible," he confirmed aloud.

Ryan wasn't convinced. "No. I need to get away and deal with this myself. I'm due back in Destra next week anyway. I'll head out there and find a nice quiet planet where I won't fry anyone if I lose control again."

"Someone should go with you," Elizabeth pointed out. "If Matt hadn't gotten to you when he did, you could have burned to death without realizing it."

"I'll take precautions," Ryan assured them. "But I have a feeling this is something that you guys aren't going to be able to help me with."