Chapter 46:
[2 Hours Earlier]
Michael rushed around campus, scanning the area for a specific person. He sighed with relief as he spotted the person he was looking for sitting under a tree.
"Rebecca! There you are!" Michael said. "We've been looking everywhere for you."
"You can't make me go, you know." Rebecca said.
"I'm not going to." Michael said. "I just want to talk."
"I know it's stupid. But despite temporal disruptions and impromptu goodbyes, I really do love you. And I couldn't bear to never see you again." Rebecca said.
"Don't you think I feel the same way? But it's not just us. Everyone on your world that cares about you, they're hurting when you're not there. You know how I know? When I got back here, before I came over to see you guys, I called my parents and they were worried and sad and I feel terrible for putting them through that. And no matter how much I want to spend my life with you, I can't let that happen to your loved ones." Michael said.
"I don't care about that! I can't go back to my life after this! Nothing will ever be as amazing as this!" Rebecca said. "Fate brought us together for a reason!"
"I know." Michael sighed. "It is funny though. We hated each-other when we met. Well, you hated me."
"Are we official or is this going to be an on again/off again, will they/won't they thing like Joey and Phoebe on Friends?" Rebecca asked.
"Before I answer, remind me next time we're on your world to pick up a Friends boxset. I have to see that." Michael replied. "But, yeah! I'd say we are. I think the statute of limitations on that not being the case ended when we swapped bodies."
"Ugh! Don't remind me about that..." Rebecca laughed.
"Well, we don't need to figure that out now, you're not leaving at least until we figure out the Kromagg thing." Michael said. "I can't let you go home with the Mags still running around."
Suddenly a portal opened up next to them. Michael and Rebecca stepped back and got into a fighting stance, as James tumbled out of the portal.
"James, what's happened?" Rebecca asked.
"The Mags... They found us." James said. "They captured Quinn and are probably going to capture the others when they return."
"Can we help?" Michael asked.
"Yes. I wiped the computer before I left, but I downloaded it into this drive." James replied, pulling a flash drive out of his pocket. "This has all our data on the other worlds, plus some extra stuff about all the Kromagg Outposts, ones that they'd be likely to take Quinn and the others to as prisoners."
"Are they going to come here?" Rebecca asked.
"Probably not. I managed to ensure that this world's coordinates were hidden from them. Use this to find where they have Quinn and help him escape. If the Kromaggs get their hands on the reverse Slidecage plans, they could wreak massive havoc on the multiverse." James said, handing the flash drive to Michael and prepping his timer.
"Where are you going?" Michael asked.
"Back to defend my world. Good luck." James replied as he activated his timer and hopped through the portal.
Professor Arturo and Wade Welles sat in Arturo's new office at Cal-U. Arturo poured two glasses of aged scotch and handed one to Wade.
"I was hoping that they'd be back by the time I got my new office, but let's toast to absent friends... Hopefully Quinn and Rembrandt will return soon." Arturo said.
"Yeah. I just feel like Logan's going to catch up with us again." Wade said.
Michael, Sam and Rebecca rushed into the office, with Michael holding out a flash drive as he caught his breath.
"What the devil is going on?" Arturo asked.
"My double, James, gave me this. He said the Kromaggs captured Quinn and probably the others too." Michael said in between breaths.
"What?" Wade asked. "They captured Quinn?"
"Yeah." Rebecca said. "The drive has information on Kromagg outposts that they might have brought him to. So we can break him out."
"Then let's boot it up then!" Wade shouted as she grabbed the drive and put it into the computer. "Wow. These are a lot of outposts. We're going to need a better computer for this."
"Call Mr. Bennish, We've got work to do." Arturo said.
Quinn struggled against restraints as he was held against a wall in a dark room. He tried to shift himself, to no avail. The door of the room opened and Logan St. Clair walked in, glaring at him.
"You shouldn't have run away, Quinn. If you had stayed I wouldn't have to do this." Logan said.
"So, are you just going to monologue, or are you going to actually do something?" Quinn asked.
"Oh, just you wait. Once your friends return I am going to capture them and then torture them for information. Unless you want to divulge anything now, that is." Logan replied.
"I'm not talking." Quinn said, staring straight at the wall.
"Quinn, Quinn, Quinn... you haven't changed at all. But I've won. You've spent twenty years of your life running from me, and I keep catching up with you. Just give up." Logan said.
"If you want me to give up, you'll have to kill me first." Quinn said.
"That can be arranged." Logan snarled.
Wade sat in front of a computer hitting keys furiously as Arturo and the trio studied a printed list.
"This one says that it was for high profile prisoners." Sam said. "Maybe it's here."
"Well, we can't go anywhere without exact coordinates and descriptions. Any luck breaking the encryption, Ms. Welles?" Arturo asked.
"Not yet. This is pretty intense stuff. I mean, I'm good with computers, but this... this is a lot." Wade replied.
"What about you, Mr. Bennish?" Arturo asked.
"No dice. Not even out most advanced programs can break this. And I'm using stuff that's technically illegal." Bennish said.
"We have to figure this out!" Wade said.
"I have an idea." Michael said. "You said your timer was modded with Kromagg tech at one point, what if we hooked it up to the computer? The Kromagg tech might unlock the encryption."
"That's an excellent idea. But Quinn has the timer." Arturo said. "We took yours here, remember?"
"Yeah, but when Quinn came here, my double, who was helping us, gave him a fresh one so he could get Rembrandt and Colin and get right back to work. But, he didn't want it to fall into the wrong hands, so he told me to give it to you. I just hadn't gotten around to giving it to you yet, and I felt the drive was more important." Michael said, taking the timer out of his pocket."
"Then give it here, my boy!" Arturo said.
Arturo handed the timer to Wade, who hooked it up to the computer and started tapping keys. Her determined face turned into a smile and she turned to the others.
"Like every fake hacker in a bad 90's movie would say, "I'm in!"" Wade laughed as she turned the screen to show the others.
"So, Outpost 111 Alpha looks like the most logical one. Now, the question is, how do we go about rescuing Mr. Mallory?" Arturo asked.
"I've got a few ideas." Bennish replied.
"Why does that response frighten me?" Arturo asked.
Logan St. Clair slammed her fist down on a console as she watched over her prisoners. The door opened and a Kromagg guard walked in. She turned to the guard at the door, who stood at attention.
"This isn't working! I thought you had psychic powers!" she shouted.
"I apologize, Empress. We... had a bit of a snag. His mental capacity is astounding. He's completely blocked us out." the guard said.
"That's not good enough. I need his home coordinates!" Logan shouted.
"We're trying, Empress." the guard said.
"Get me the General. Maybe he's less incompetent than his soldiers." Logan said.
"As you wish." the guard said as he walked out of the room.
Michael stood with the timer in hand, shifting uncomfortably in the gear he was decked out in, as were the other sliders. They had heavy vests, and holsters, with phaser-esque pistols in them. Arturo looked the most ridiculous, but the others looked like soldiers.
"I knew we'd have a need for this stuff after we repelled the invasion." Bennish said as he looked them up and down.
"So, this is anti-Kromagg gear?" Sam asked.
"Yep. Developed from that Manta Ship you gave us." Bennish said.
"I do say, Mr. Bennish, this is probably the most brilliant idea you've ever had. Even if I don't exactly look the part." Arturo laughed.
"Are we ready?" Wade asked.
"I'm game." Rebecca said.
"Okay, so the coordinates were programmed into your timer. We'll use it, get to the outpost, get Quinn, and hopefully be able to find Rembrandt, Maggie and Colin, if they're there and get us all back to a safe place and proceed with the plan." Michael said. "The timer also has a map of the outpost so we'll be able to find out way around."
"Let's go!" Wade said as Michael aimed the timer at the wall and opened the portal.
"Good luck, guys!" Bennish said. "See you when you get back!"
The sliders rushed into the portal, unsure of what they would find on the other side. They emerged from the portal in a dark room made almost entirely of metal. There was a door in the corner, and several shelves and computer consoles lining the walls.
"Must be a lab of some sort. Come on." Wade said as she led them out the door. "Did a lot of stuff like this after I escaped the breeding camp, getting others out."
They walked stealthily down an empty corridor, but stopped when they heard two Kromaggs walking down the opposite corridor. They peeked around the corner to see a familiar Kromagg general walk past.
"You're sure the Empress specifically asked for me?" Tiberius asked.
"Yes, sir. She was adamant about it." the guard replied.
"Tiberius!" Michael whispered to Sam.
"I was wondering when he was going to show up again." Sam whispered back.
"We'll have to keep an eye out for him." Rebecca whispered as they continued down the corridor.
They stopped in front of a room and Wade tapped the keypad next to and the door opened. The group walked in, aiming the guns at the two Kromaggs sitting at the computer in the room. The Kromaggs immediately picked up their rifles and fired a laser blast at the group, but it quickly dissipated. The Kromaggs looked at each-other with confused faces as Wade blasted the two of them with her gun, and they dropped to the floor. Arturo looked at Wade in amazement.
"Ms. Welles, I can't say I expected you to do that." Arturo said.
"Call it revenge for what the Mags did to me in those camps." Wade said.
Wade sat down at the computer and began to search through it. She pulled up several screens of surveillance footage from all around the base, including the room Quinn was being held in.
"Found it." Wade said. "I've got an idea, it's cliched, but it'll work."
"What's the idea?" Sam asked.
"I'm looping the footage of Quinn, so that we can sneak into the room and grab Quinn, we just have to be sure we're in and out before Logan goes into check on him." Wade replied.
"But what if Logan goes in first and they notice that the footage is off?" Michael asked.
"Then we'll have to be quick." Wade replied. "Quickly, you four go, I'll keep the footage maintained."
"Got it." Sam said as he picked up his gun and walked toward the door.
"Wait. You'll have to go without me." Arturo said.
"Why?" Wade asked.
"Because the last time I left you alone at a computer when Logan was involved, you were kidnapped and replaced with a double. I won't let that happen again." Arturo said.
"We can handle it. It's not our first jailbreak." Rebecca said.
The trio walked out the door and skulked down the corridor, walking up to the room that Quinn was being held in. Sam checked the door, which was locked.
"So we're dead." Sam said.
"Maybe not." Michael said, digging into his pocket, pulling out a key card.
"Is that?" Rebecca started.
"The key card. Back from when we stole the manta ship. I stashed it in my dorm room when we went back, and figured that it might come in handy." Michael said.
"Only one way to find out." Sam said.
Michael swiped it, and the door slid open. They stepped in and the door closed behind them. The room was dark, and Michael fumbled for a lightswitch, finding one, revealing the room, with Quinn chained to the wall.
"Quinn!" Michael shouted.
"What are you guys doing here?" Quinn asked.
"Rescuing you. Well, we're just doing the easy part, Wade, Bennish and Arturo organized the rest." Rebecca replied.
"How do we get him out of the restraints?" Sam asked.
"I've got an idea." Michael replied, taking his gun and shooting at a piece of chain hanging on the wall adjacent to Quinn. When the blast hit, half of the chain fell to the floor.
Tiberius sat at the desk, listening to the Empress, a human woman yelling at him. He wondered why he had pledged his loyalty to her, she wasn't interested in conquest, just revenge on one insignificant man. Then again, who is he to talk, considering his quest to destroy a certain group of humans.
"Your soldiers are incompetent!" Logan shouted.
"I cannot deny that, Empress." Tiberius said. "Though Mallory's intense mental discipline may be a result of our repeated attempts to enter his mind."
"So this is my fault?" Logan asked. "How dare you!"
"I merely mean that going into his mind isn't going to help you locate his home coordinates." Tiberius said, remembering his failed conquest of that world, a failure he did not relay to his superiors.
"Empress... the surveillance footage is acting oddly." a Kromagg said over an intercom. Logan quickly turned her computer on.
"It looks fine to me." Logan said. "Wait... It's looping..."
She tapped a button on her console and ran to the door. She turned back to look at Tiberius.
"We are not done here." she said as an alarm started to blare.
Michael, Sam, Rebecca and Quinn ran down the hallway, coming up on the surveillance room. Kromagg soldiers approached from both sides of the hallway, they made a mad dash for the door and ran in, locking it behind them.
"We've got to go! Now!" Rebecca shouted.
"The timer's already set. Back to our world?" Wade asked.
"Yeah. Let's go." Quinn said. "I hope my modification to the timer took."
"What modification?" Michael asked.
"Something to mask our wormhole's signature." Quinn replied. "Do it!"
Arturo aimed the timer at the wall and the vortex opened. The group hopped into the portal. The door was blown open and a group of Kromagg soldiers ran in with enough time to see the portal dissipate.
To Be Continued...