"Alright, McKay, you're up," Matt said, standing at the controls of Atlantis's genome altering device.

Rodney popped up out of his seat and jumped up onto the platform as a former Genii woman walked down. Carson, Jennifer, Elizabeth, and Zelenka were all waiting around the lab for Rodney's sake along with two more Pegasus natives that were also due to get their 'promotions.'

"I'm not going to feel anything, right?" McKay asked.

"No, you won't" Matt said as the holographic DNA strands appeared superimposed over Rodney's body. He copied McKay's genetic code to the console's workstation and aligned it with the Lantean template. Numerous discrepancies highlighted themselves and Matt raised an eyebrow.

"What?" McKay asked, overly eager.

"You can step down now."

Rodney didn't move. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I have to calibrate the changes and that will take a while. You're free to stand there if you like."

"Thank you, I think I will."

"Suit yourself," Matt said as he began making alterations. McKay's genome was going to take some extra tweaking.

"Don't suppose you could do something about my hair?" McKay asked barely ten seconds later.

"You want the color changed?"

"You can do that?"

"I can genetically tattoo each strand if I wanted to."

"Oh, well I just meant the part about it thinning…"

"That's covered in the standard package," Matt told him.

McKay nodded then remained silent for a few seconds.

"And the whole citrus allergy thing too?"

"I'll take care of it," Matt said, having forgot about that one. He knew of it because Ryan had heard it mentioned, but he'd forgotten until McKay said it. He shifted down through the genome to fix the allergy problem and noticed a lot of other allergies and conditions that needed to be eliminated as well.

This was going to take quite a while.

"And I don't suppose you could add an inch to my height, could you?" McKay pressed.

Matt stopped and looked up at him. "I could give you a new superpower?"

"Really!" McKay said, his voice climbing in pitch. "What's it do?"

"It gives you the ability to shut up and let me work…I've got 26 other people to get through today and the more you talk the longer this takes."

"Point taken," McKay said submissively and pointed towards where Jennifer was standing. "I'll wait over there."

Matt nodded his agreement and went back to working on the loudmouth's conversion template.

"Too bad that power isn't real," Carson commented under his breath.

Elizabeth looked at the Doctor but didn't outwardly disagree. "Just be patient Rodney. You wouldn't want him getting distracted and messing something up."

"No…I wouldn't," McKay admitted, leaning against one of the solid, stone-like tables.

"I still can't believe you ran that fast," Zelenka commented.

"Yeah," Keller said, glancing once at Zelenka then turning her eyes to Rodney. "You impressed all of us."

"And I'm paying for it now," McKay complained, stretching his right arm.

"Still sore," Jennifer sympathized.

"Very," McKay confirmed.

"What got into you anyway?" Elizabeth said.

"Meaning what?" Rodney asked, a touch of concern in his voice.

"Well I know Sheppard stopped by to have a chat with you. What'd he say that got you fired up enough to run that fast?"

"Probably left a basket of lemons on his doorstep," Carson said sarcastically.

"If you must know, there was threat of citrus involved."

Elizabeth smiled. "I guess he knows how to get inside your head after all these years."

McKay cleared his throat. "He does at that."

"Alright McKay," Matt interrupted. "Step back up."

"That was quick," McKay acknowledged as he leapt back up to the pedestal.

"I made all the adjustments for the first treatment," the Alterran explained. "I'll finish the others later."

"Others?"

"It'll take four treatments in total, spread over two weeks."

"Four?" he complained. "Nobody I've talked to has had more than three."

He heard Carson snicker from the background and tossed a sneer his way.

"It all depends on the individual," Matt explained. "Ready."

"Yes. Let's do this."

"Just hold still for a few minutes. You shouldn't feel a thing."

Rodney set himself into what he thought was a stoic pose, tilting his chin slightly into the air and trying not to get dizzy from all the holographic pieces spinning around him.

One small adjustment for an Alterran, he thought to himself. One giant leap for Rodney McKay.

Looking down at the console Matt rolled his eyes.

Ryan knelt down on the hard-packed sand a little over half a dekmas away from his temporary home as he felt the instability inside him building to overload again. He didn't want to take the risk of wrecking the place or burning himself again, so he'd put enough space between him, the structure, and the nearby stargate to insure that the only thing he could damage was the sandy ground beneath his knees. As far as he could see, in every direction, was nothing but flat desert. There wasn't even enough loose sand to form dunes. It was as dead of a planet as one could get, but at least the atmosphere was breathable.

He'd been successful in bleeding off the normal instability and isolating this new variety, but no matter what he tried he couldn't dissipate it…and he'd tried everything he knew of. He could feel the energy welling up inside his secata organ, buried deep inside his chest. It was one of three internal structures that Alterrans possessed that Humans and most Lanteans did not, and was responsible for the production of external energy…or rather the energy that could be expended outside the body.

Knowing that, Ryan had tried releasing energy blasts from his hands in order to drain the energy, but it hadn't worked either. Somehow the charge building up inside him was different from the bio-plasma that also originated from his secata, nor was it linked to his telekinesis, which originated from a small auxiliary tennatis nodule inside his brain…more of an extension than a separate organ, but it was one of the three that Humans didn't possess.

He knew of other physical abilities that he'd yet to develop, but those still in the queue didn't match up to what he was experiencing now…and Ryan was beginning to get worried.

"Just go with the flow," he reminded himself, stretching his arms wide in order to better attenuate the power if it did rip from his body once again. He still wasn't fully healed from the first ordeal, and if this one got worse he could very well kill himself.

He felt the moment of saturation approaching and decided to head it off. He mentally reached down inside for the instable energy and tried to push it out through his exterior…but it felt like trying to blow a full breath through a coffee straw. Small ripples of energy began to form around his silhouette, but the flow inside him continued to build up to overload. He managed to buy himself an extra minute or two, but the cascade occurred just the same as it had the first time.

The rainbow lightning forced its way through his body, frying him internally and leapt out through his fingertips…but did little to relieve the internal pressure. Inside Ryan's mind he searched and searched for some way to divert the flow, but it had nowhere to go. He could feel his body being damaged and frustration overrode his fear. He was going to die, not because he screwed up or because someone had attacked him, he was going to do it to himself out of pure ignorance. That angered him more than the thought of failure and he turned his aggression inward. He stopped 'going with the flow' and started fighting…trying to force it into submission with every ounce of strength he had.

The lightning arcs passing through his arms ceased, but a horrible pressure built inside of him. He fought with it, but it continued to grow. The energy had to go somewhere.

Just as he was about to lose control he threw back his head and yelled in frustration and anger, letting his rage press inward just a bit more than before…

Suddenly he felt a crack open in his mind and the pent up energy flowed through it…and flowed out so fast that before it had completely dissipated he blacked out and fell to the ground.

A quarter of the way across the galaxy, in one of the small Ori villages that was undergoing reconstruction, a man walking the streets suddenly stopped and turned to his left.

"Now what is that?" he asked.

He stared in the same direction for several seconds before turning around and walking in a hurry back towards the stargate…passing directly through the wall of one stone building like a ghost, but no one in the village saw him, nor had ever seen him.

When he got to the stargate he activated it mentally and sucked in a deep 'breath.' He could only survive completely outside of Alfleheym for a few seconds, but it would be long enough to pass through the portal. His human persona disappeared and a green glow replaced it. The ascended being passed into the stargate, enroute to the planet where Ryan was.

"Wake up," Ryan heard someone say as his mind wheeled about and his vision slowly cleared. He found himself looking up at the orange sky. "I know I shouldn't be, but I'm very surprised to find you here, Orici."

Ryan sat up amidst a wash of disorientation, but as he did so he noted the presence of a man in what looked like a green military uniform standing next to him.

"Hi," Ryan said awkwardly as he tried to dispel the stars from his vision.

"I would recommend you stay seated until your mind recovers," the man said forcefully. "You're kind isn't accustomed to such power."

"My kind?" Ryan asked, wondering who this man was. He clearly wasn't a Prior.

"Alterrans," the man said with disdain.

That brought Ryan's head up. "Who are you?"

"Have you ever done that before?" the man asked, ignoring his question.

"I don't know. What'd I do?"

"You broke through the dimensional barrier," the man said, just a hint of respect in his tone, "and released a small amount of biological energy into our realm. Such things don't go unnoticed, so I will ask you again, have you done this before?"

Ryan thought back over what happened. "I don't think so…last time I couldn't relieve the pressure and it discharged physically."

The man nodded. "I can sense your previous wounds, but not your thoughts."

Ryan hesitantly stood up. "That's to keep ascended beings from snooping around," he said, glaring at the man.

The man nodded. "You are fortunate you did so here. Had you been inside the Empire's territory you would be as good as dead."

Ryan's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

The man crossed his arms over his chest. "I am Rivera, but a long, long time ago I was once one of your Gods."

Ryan's head came up. "You're Ori?"

"Not anymore," he said, pointing up at the sky. "I left after a disagreement and joined the Rivera, far from here. We had heard the Ori had been destroyed, so they sent me to determine what happened. I had assumed the Empire had annexed this galaxy, but they curiously have not. It is completely dead. Not even the lower lifeforms have survived. I have been here for well over a year and have not encountered a single ascended being, which is fortunate for you."

Ryan walked up to the man and lightly touched a finger to his chest…which was solid.

"Are you descended?"

"No, but we can take physical form at any time without letting go of our energy matrix."

Ryan nodded amicably, then in a blur of motion drove a stiffened elbow into the man's face, knocking him back a good two meters onto the ground.

"That!" Ryan shouted emotionally, "Is 46 million years long overdue!"

The former Ori sat on the ground, staring at Ryan in surprise for his overly stupid impudence…then he laughed once, shaking his head. "It seems you have some backbone after all."

The man stood up, seemingly unhurt. "Perhaps all those years in another galaxy burnt the cowardice out of you…but not your stupidity. I can squash you like a bug at any time of my choosing."

Ryan acknowledged that fact with a nod. "But then I wouldn't be able to avenge the Ori if you did."

The man smiled cruelly. "Not so reckless after all. Good. There is hope for you yet."

"So what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Ryan asked sarcastically.

"As I said, that energy spurt you gave off was visible for half a galaxy. Luckily I'm the only one here to see it or you would have been in a world of hurt."

"How so?"

"The incursion you made into our dimension is extraordinarily rare, so much so that I can't remember the last time it's happened. The amount of energy you emitted was negligible, but the type stands out like a beacon. Bio-energy doesn't exist in our realm, so the only possible source is a crossover from this dimension. It's what alerted me to your presence. I come to see what's happening and what do I find...the foretold Orici that would arise if we ever fell. Which apparently happened, from what information I've been able to gather from the Priors."

"You spoke with them?"

The man glared at him. "Please. I simply accessed their minds. I would do the same with you, but somehow you've created a block that I can't bypass."

"Handy, isn't it?"

"Quite," the former Ori said, beginning to pace in a circle around Ryan. "However it does draw suspicion."

"Can't be helped. If the Ascended Empire knew what I know, they'd kill me on the spot."

The man raised an eyebrow. "You've heard of them, then?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"Now you see, that's exactly one of those things that would get me killed, so you'll forgive me if I don't mention it to you."

"You think I'd tell the Empire?" he said, almost laughing.

"I take it that's a no?"

"Despite the fact that your kind joined with them, we hate the Empire for all sorts of other reasons."

"The Ori, or the Rivera?"

"Both."

Ryan put his hands on his hips. "Do you know how the Ori died?"

"Not completely…do you?"

"Yes, I do. So how about an information swap?"

The man smiled again, but not in a comforting way. "Oh, I am beginning to like you…and since I want to see you do as much damage to the Empire as you can before you die, I'll fill you in on what you need to know."

"Such as?"

"First things first," the man cautioned. "I had expected the Empire to take control of this galaxy, worthless as it is. I need to know why they haven't, and I suspect the answer to that question will come from the way in which the Ori died."

"They were killed by a group of Humans," Ryan explained, rubbing that fact in, "using a weapon designed to kill ascended beings. They sent it through the Ori stargate and it detonated in this galaxy, killing all within it."

The man frowned heavily and Ryan sensed anger rising within him. "Where did they get the weapon?"

"A former ascended being descended in order to build the device in secret. He was worried about the threat the Ori posed and the lack of action on the part of the Empire, so he took matters into his own hands. He was stopped and the weapon destroyed, but arrangements were made to preserve him, and therefore the knowledge. The Humans discovered him by following clues that an ascended Morgan Le Fay left for them to follow. They revived him from stasis and he built the weapon again for them."

"The Empire would not have allowed that to happen under their noses," the man said. "Therefore I assume they intended for the Humans to use it all along. Where is the weapon now?"

"I believe it was a one shot only device. It hasn't been heard of since it was used, though the first Orici should have had access to its remains."

"There are two of you?"

"The other was created to lead the Ori armies in a crusade to convert the Humans of Avalona in order to give the Ori enough energy to kill my ascended ex-brothers."

The man looked even more confused for a moment, but then it all began to come together. "Interesting. We'd heard rumors about the Empire pulling back from the border galaxies, leaving them vulnerable. That's very uncharacteristic of them, but now I think I see their purpose. They fained weakness in order to draw the Ori in, then surreptitiously used the Humans to deliver the fatal blow. All the Ori are dead, and they didn't have to fight a single battle."

The man held his head in his hand. "Never underestimate their cunning, Orici. They are the most ruthlessly intelligent group of ascended beings we've ever known."

"We being the Ori or the Rivera?"

"The Rivera are far older than the Ori. They've had dealings with the Empire far back in history, but due to the distances involved, they've never come into close contact, however the Empire continues to slowly expand. Over the past 100,000 years they've annexed three more galaxies. Not much in the grand scheme of things, but it adds up over time. That's why we assumed they'd taken this galaxy."

"How close are we to their territory?" Ryan asked. "I know the line goes somewhere between here and Avalona?"

The man raised an eyebrow again. "You have an insider feeding you information?"

"Not much, I'm afraid," Ryan said, trusting him enough to admit that much.

"There are many galaxies in between, but none heavily populated by ascended beings or natives. This galaxy was the major threat along this portion of their border. With the Ori gone they can focus their attention elsewhere, for there isn't another credible threat in this area."

"How many galaxies do they have?"

The man inclined his head. "The Rivera have been able to map around the backside of their territory, and our best guess is that they have feelers into upwards of 1,000 galaxies and hold as many as 26 nexuses."

"A thousand?" Ryan said, stunned. "That's just great."

"Like I said, you don't stand a chance."

"We'll see," Ryan deflected. "What's a nexus?"

"Nectar of the Gods."

"Ascended super-juice?" Ryan mocked.

"Call it what you like. The nexuses are wellsprings located within certain rare galaxies. Destra has none, which makes it of low priority. The Rivera control two, which makes them a powerhouse in their region."

"And you said the Empire has 26?" Ryan said, starting to get a sense of the balance of power.

"That we suspect. We can't get our scouts inside their borders to be sure."

Ryan thought for a moment. "Do our galaxies transition into your dimension?"

"There is a crossover, yes. In our realm they provide what you would think of as terrain. The distances separating the galaxies are more or less barren."

"Which is why the Ori were all in one galaxy at one time?"

"Unfortunately yes."

"Other than this nectar and sapping power from worshipers, what do you eat?"

"There are many ways of absorbing power. Our dimension is filled with one type that we must have in small amounts on a moment by moment basis. That is why we cannot completely leave this dimension for yours. A part of us is always linked to it, unless we choose to retake our previous form."

"Descend?"

"Yes."

"Does that happen often?"

"No. We are much superior to your kind…save perhaps you, or rather what you are transforming into. I may not be able to search your memories, but I can see the flux within your body. You are forcing your development somehow."

"Do you know how the Alterra ascended?"

"No, just that we ascended first, but the Empire wouldn't allow us in their territory when we came looking for you."

"To kill us."

"Of course," the man said as if it needn't be said.

"We were dying from a plague, one that we couldn't cure. Those few that escaped learned to ascend while the rest died out. A plan was put in place during those final years to recreate our species on a lower level, one that wouldn't be affected by the plague, so that in the distant future we could be reborn. Repositories of Knowledge were scattered throughout our galaxies for the time when the seed species would become advanced enough to use them. I am the first to successfully make the transformation."

"Galaxies, huh? Why then is your physiology continuing to advance?"

"A few loyal ascended Alterra discovered that it was the Empire that created the plague to kill us. They altered the programming of the Repository to continue to press my advancement until I reached the point where I could affect events in your dimension."

The former-Ori whistled appreciatively. "That's very interesting. When did you expect these extra-dimensional powers to develop?"

"Not for several hundred years," Ryan said, confused. "But if I did break the dimensional barrier, then I am far ahead of schedule…and I don't know why."

The man shook his head. "Typical Alterra science. The universe doesn't obey your rules, nor is it predictable. Just because you expect your development to follow a pre-determined pattern doesn't mean it will. The energy I feel building within you now, along with the internal damage you've sustained comes from an inability to control your Kadarva energy."

Now it was Ryan that raised an eyebrow. "I'm not familiar with that term."

"I suppose not. We didn't develop the power until long after your kind ran away. It is the power that allows you to create displacementary defenses around your body."

"Ovartka?" Ryan asked. "That's a level 4 edeva skill. I've only begun to develop level 2."

"As I said, the universe isn't predictable. Just because it's a higher level skill, doesn't mean you have to develop the lower levels first."

Ryan got a perturbed look on his face. "If the universe isn't predictable, how did the Ori know I'd be here?"

The man smiled ironically. "We didn't. If the Ori had been successful, you never would have existed, but if we failed and were beaten by the Empire, then you might emerge as foreseen. If you didn't, then the prophecy in the Book of Origin would appear to be referring to something else in the distant future."

"You hedged your bets."

"Wouldn't you?"

"I can't argue with the results," Ryan admitted. "Being recognized by the Priors was quite helpful."

"As it was intended to be. If we couldn't beat the Empire, we intended to give you the best chance you had at revenge."

"I thought you said I couldn't win?"

"You can't, but if all goes extremely well, you might be able to bloody their nose…something that hasn't happened in a very, very long time."

"How many factions of ascended beings are there?"

"Several dozen that the Rivera are aware of, but the universe is seemingly infinite. If you travel far enough you will probably find more."

"Are the Rivera all ascended?"

"About half," the former Ori admitted. "The others are native to the dimension."

"Like the Originals," Ryan commented.

The man's head came up. "I assume you're referring to the leaders of the Empire?"

"Yes, I was told that's what the ascended beings call them."

"We never see them. They lie buried deep within their borders, probably gorging themselves on the nexuses. The original Rivera have, though, a long time ago. They witnessed a battle between a rival faction and the Empire when it was still young. These "Originals" as you call them are vicious, powerful monsters, far greater than any being I have ever encountered. They dwarf our power, our size, and our longevity. They are Ancient, and as close to all powerful as you can get. Fortunately the Rivera are too far away for them to bother with."

"Until the Empire's border eventually expands in your direction," Ryan guessed.

"That won't be any time soon, but it is a distant concern."

"Can the Rivera, the native ones…can they take power from Humans like the Ori did?"

"No, they can't access your dimension. Only the ascended can."

"Really," Ryan said, taking valuable insight from that.

"All native species are the same, as far as we can tell," the man told him, "but the Empire has a vast number of ascended beings in its ranks that can wipe you out on a whim."

"I was thinking about the non-interference edict. I assume that isn't standard operating procedure for everyone else?"

"The Rivera don't exploit beings in this dimension as we did, but only because they have no reason to. They prefer to stay in the shadows and watch, rather than try to control. It has served them well, but they don't have any stipulations on us acting within this dimension, though we rarely do."

"No point in it?"

"Not really. The Ori did only because of a lack of Nexuses and other food sources within this galaxy. It's pretty much worthless, and can't sustain a large population without augmentation. And now with all the lower lifeforms gone, we can't even feed off of them."

Ryan bristled at that, but didn't voice his dissention. "Are there other wellsprings aside from nexuses?"

"It'd be pointless to try and explain, given your lack of vision…however, now that you've broken through the dimensional barrier I can help expand your abilities."

"How?"

The man gave him a 'come on' look of disgust.

"Can you do so without affecting my programming? It's my only chance of growing strong enough to fight the Empire directly."

"Don't worry, I…" he said, pausing suddenly and turning his head.

"What's wrong?" Ryan asked.

"It seems I misspoke earlier," the man said, glaring off at the horizon. "There are two ascended beings coming this way in a hurry."

"How far?" Ryan asked

"Halfway across the galaxy," the man said direly. "They're moving so fast, and expending so much energy, I can see them from this far away."

"Any idea who they are?"

"They're Empire."

"How do you know for sure?"

"We alter our energy signature to identify our allegiance. Theirs is clearly visible."

Ryan didn't say anything for a moment. "They're coming after me?"

"Nothing else here to attract their attention."

"What about you?"

"They can't see me from this far away."

"What about when you were traveling?"

"I came through the stargate. My energy expenditure was minimal."

"What do you think they want?"

"All ascended beings fear the Juntar, but the Empire is the most fanatical about it."

"I'm becoming a Juntar?" Ryan guessed.

"Someone in this dimension capable of affecting ours naturally."

"And the Originals can't do anything about it, making them even more fearful?"

"Like I said, they have their weapons and do well enough by them."

"So they're coming here to kill me?" Ryan asked.

"Don't worry," the man said dismissively. "I'm not going to let our vengeance be spoiled so lightly."

"Can you take them?"

The man's smile twisted sardonically as his body dissipated into a green aura, then it changed over into the orange flames characteristic of the Ori.