Earth Overrun, Part Two
Earth Overrun, Part Two
by Vivid Dreamer
Summary: This is the continuation of SG-1's adventures with the X-Men, where it really gets hot! Sorry for the paragraph set-up in the last one; it really wasn't my idea. Hopefully I can fix it this time around.
Category: Action/Adventure, Crossovers, Series
Crossover: other (not listed)
Season: any Season
Pairing: none
Rating: GEN
Warnings: none
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author(s).
Archived on: 2005-01-10
In the end, Hammond agreed that the two X-Men be let into the loop, but only on a "need-to-know" basis. He had also looked at the files that Sam had pulled up on Remy and Rogue, and realized that normal methods of questioning would probably not work on them. Earth needed the information the mutants had. The SGC just had to hope that they were patriotic enough to give it over once they knew what they were dealing. Surprisingly, the couple wasn't overly shocked when presented with the idea of alien contact as they drove to Cheyenne Mountain. "So ya think this is some kind o' alien invasion," Rogue deduced. "Yeah, basically," said Sam, twisting in her seat so she could look over Daniel at Rogue, "You see, the Gao'uld need hosts to survive, and Earth has long been a sore spot for them. We're one of the few planets they've taken that has overthrown their yoke successfully enough to start helping others they've conquered. We instill thoughts of rebellion in the hearts of their slaves, and they can't stand us for that." "So Baba decided to get himself some nice, stubborn slaves and take all of Earth," Jack put in from the front seat. He didn't bother to look back at Rogue, for which everyone was grateful. It already made Jacob jumpy enough that Jack talked on a headset while driving. Jacob was doing his best to ignore the headset Jack was wearing by watching the activity in the back of the van instead of the man next to him. "So dis... Baba... `e's got a snake in `is stomach?" Remy probed, trying to keep everything straight. Daniel grinned sympathetically. "It's called a Gao'uld. And, no, it's in his head, not his stomach. Only Jaffa carry symbiotes in their stomachs. To keep them alive until their ready to take a host." "The Jaffa are the snakes' slaves, right?" Rogue's green eyes flitted from Daniel to Sam, and her gloved hand unconsciously rubbed her forehead. "Yes, the Jaffa are warriors enslaved by the Gao'uld," Daniel said patiently, "though they are now fighting their imposed `gods'." "Just go ahead and call the Gao'uld snakes," Jack told Remy and Rogue, "That's what I do. It's just easier to remember." "Look, I know this is a lot to process at one time," Sam inserted, "but you said you wanted to know what we were doing before you gave us any information. Now you know." "And we really need that information," Jack added, glancing in the review mirror at them, "Then when you kids sign the nondisclosure papers we have waiting for you at the Mountain we can get you somewhere safe to sit out the rest of this particular adventure." "Na-uh," Rogue shook her head, "we'll give y'all your information, an' we'll sign your little ol' papers, but we won't jus' sit out this adventure. We lost friends an' teammates t' this fella Luthro. We've gotta go after them." "This is not a matter for civilians," Teal'c said solemnly, "The Gao'uld are quite formidable. Like nothing else this planet has ever seen." "Most o' the people we'll be fightin' are Jaffa an' vampires," Remy pointed out, "Rogue an' me have handled both, if ya count our tussle wit' you an' de ol' man. We ain't strangers t' takin' care o' ourselves." "Fact is," Rogue shrugged, "we ain't askin' your permission. We're gonna do somethin' `bout this whether ya like it or not." Up front Jack sighed, and pressed a button on his speed dial. "Sir," he muttered into the headset, "We've got another problem."
In the end, the papers were signed, and the SGC agreed to let the X-Men help with the situation - if only to keep an eye on them. Rogue gave Sam a description of Luthro, while Remy endured a lecture on chain of command from an anxious O'Neill. Jack wasn't happy with the situation, but he was resigned to making the best of it. The X-Men would stay on base till the mission's completion, and promised not mention a word about the SGC even to their teammates. They agreed to follow the Jack's orders too, but Jack was still cautious. This had been a dangerous enough mission before civilians had been added to the mix, so needless to say, he was not inclined to be thrilled about anything the mutants said or did. The next day, Sam and Daniel had narrowed the search for Luthro down to two men, and called for Rogue and Remy to finger him. "The one of the right," Rogue said, nodding toward Daniel's computer. Daniel swiveled his chair toward Sam's workstation as best he could without rudely dislodging Rogue from the arm of his chair. "Sam, it's Bryant Vaughn," Daniel had the pictures and names on his computer, but not much else. Sam immediately started tapping keys on her keyboard. Remy stared intently over her shoulder at the screen. Finally, the file came up. Sam opened the file. "Here's our boy. Printing... now." She and Remy looked up as the printer above her head started spitting out papers. The Cajun thief started gathering the information, glancing through them instead of passing them to Sam. Daniel and Rogue abandoned Daniel's station to join them. "Born in New Hampshire... lived in LA last..." Remy read snippets aloud, thoughtfully, not really interested if the others could understand his muttering, "Got a ticket in Colorado... stayed at a motel in Texas - sure likes bouncin' `round..." The mutant suddenly straightened looking at the sheaf of papers with more interest. "Oh, here's somet'in," he said more clearly, "our boy Lut'ro was definitely in New York de last few days. Paid a fine fer parkin' in a no parkin' zone and rented an apartment." Sam twisted in her chair to look up at Remy. "Does it say where he is now?" Remy flipped through the papers. "Uhhh..." He passed them down to Sam when he couldn't find the information immediately. She skim-read the material and turned to the next page. A few pages later she found it. She held up her hand, excited. Rogue and Daniel went on either side of Remy so they too could look over Sam's shoulder. Sam didn't even notice them come closer. "Here we go!" she grinned, "He ate out at a buffet and checked into a hotel just outside of Pittsburg five minutes ago." Daniel's face lit up. "I'll go tell Jack." He took the papers from Sam and darted out the door. Sam nodded. "I'll let Dad, Teal'c, and Bra'tac know that we have a lead and that we should be ready to go." She motioned to Remy and Rogue as she exited the file. "Come on; you're going to need some gear."
Flying was the swiftest option, so they hitched a ride an Air Force hop heading overseas that was nevertheless willing to make a detour to drop them off. The team sat in the baggage slings at the back of the plane, trying to get somewhat comfortable in spite of the jarring bumps. Rogue curled up in a corner all by herself, taking an active part in the conversation, but too nervous about one of the bumps sending her careening into someone to physically join the others. Although she got some curious looks, no one made a fuss about her "aloofness", so eventually she was able to relax and stop thinking about her hated ability to unintentionally drain someone of their memories and personality at skin-to-skin contact. "So what are the old-fashioned weapons for fighting vampires, kids, or will a P-90 do the job just as well as anything else?" Jack, as usual, had a leading role in the conversation, leading, yet keeping the atmosphere light. Rogue couldn't help but think how different his style of leadership was from the X-Man's reserved leader, Cyclops. Her lips quirked as she tried to imagine Scott making smart-aleck cracks as he prepared for a mission There was silence. Suddenly Rogue realized that everyone was looking at her. "What?" she asked self-consciously, embarrassed that her mind had so obviously wandered. "You were de one `oo dealt wit' Lut'ro an' vampires in general de longest," Remy remarked in a tone that said already said this more than once, "We were wonderin' if ya could come up wit' any insights." Rogue could read between the lines and in his tone and expression the sardonic query: Care to grace us with your attention? She flashed him as much as nasty look as she could without seeming to the others that she was overreacting. Daniel must have noticed anyway, because he started babbling. "I just finished talking about stakes and holy water and crucifixes," he volunteered, "Do you think the P-90s will do any good, or do we have to go shopping?" Rogue shook her auburn head. "Ah don' think ya little guns are gonna do much good against anyone `cept the Jaffa-fellas. We're gonna hafta pick up some o' the good ol' fashioned stuff, an' pack some really bright flashlights or somethin'." "Vampires hate bright light," she explained almost as an afterthought. Which was why it's so strange, she mused, that Luthro's attack was durin' the day... "But Lut'ro's attack was durin' de day," Remy protested. Unlike Rogue, Remy hadn't done much with vampires. He had heard about the X-Men's missions against them, but he hadn't actually taken part. So, like with SG-1, Bra'tac, and Jacob, this was still pretty new to him. "Ah know," Rogue admitted freely, "That bothers me too. Makes me wonder if Baba or whatever-his-name-is hasn't perhaps changed the way our vampires are wired somehow." She shrugged. "If that's so, I can't help y'all there; Ah only know what Ah found out from facin' up `gainst Dracula an' his covey." Jack sighed, pressing the back of his head to the plane's sides as he looked up at the sloped ceiling above. "Okay," he decided, his voice resigned to their unfortunate circumstances, "We arm as we usually would against Jaffa, and get some traditional vampire weapons to boot. It looks like our best defense in this situation is going to be preparation. I want everyone to share everything they find out new about the vampires when their fighting them. If they start spitting fire or make the holy water evaporate, I want to hear about it. Any questions?" There were none. Sam checked her P-90 and her handguns to make sure they were loaded before the plane landed, and Gambit went through his duster pockets, silently counting the packs of playing cards he had hidden there. Jack's radio crackled. "Sir, I'll have to let you off here." "Okay, Captain; thanks for the ride. Enjoy your trip." Jack nodded at his team to be ready to leave. Daniel started sorting through his backpack making sure he had everything, and Teal'c and helped him shove that one stubborn notebook down farther down so the flap would close. Jack cocked an eyebrow at his team archeologist, but refrained from responding as the hop landed and the pilot spoke again. "We've landed, sir." Biting back a sarcastic "ya think?", Jack instead said, "Thanks, Captain." "Let's go," he added to his enlarged team. It took a little while, but soon enough they were all out of the plane and waving goodbye to the departing hop. Jack put his sunglasses on and pulled his baseball cap lower over his eyes. "Do we have a map of the city or something?" he asked Sam. "Yessir," the blond Major replied, grabbing Daniel and turning him around so his back faced her. Daniel sighed, but let her rifle through his stuffed backpack to find the map in question, "Got it off the internet when I got the directions from the airport to the hotel." Jack raised his eyebrows. "Gotta love MapQuest." "Yessir." Sam pushed the map into her jacket pocket and worked at getting all of Daniel's stuff back in his bag. Daniel stood there patiently, although with slightly disgruntled look on his face. "Gee, Daniel," she grunted, cramming a paperback behind some ammo, "Think you brought enough stuff?" "I wanted to bring more," Daniel said honestly, his feet beginning to tap a little bit with impatience, "Uh - not that I want to rush you or anything, Sam - but are you done yet?" "Just about." Sam shoved the last object in and snapped the pack shut before it could pop up again. "There you go, Daniel, you're free." Rogue looked at Daniel curiously. "What're ya carryin' in there anyways?" Daniel shifted his backpack upward a little on his shoulders, causing his hat to fall off in the process. Teal'c handed the floppy hat back to Daniel, but Jack took it from his hand, instead pulling Daniel's hood over his head and the hat in Daniel's pocket. "Less chance of accidents that way," O'Neill remarked dryly. Daniel rolled his blue eyes at Jack, and then turned his attention to Rogue. "Ammo, a P-90, some grenades... books." The group started on their way as Sam and Jacob moved ahead, taking point. Teal'c and Jack walked leisurely behind them, and Bra'tac fell back a bit to be even with Remy. This left Daniel and Rogue at the caboose of the human train, looking for all the world like stragglers in a sight-seeing group. "What d'ya need books fer on a mission?" Rogue queried, rolling up the neck of her bomber jacket as high as it would go. It still didn't do much to protect her ears from the cold, and Daniel passed her the floppy hat Jack had put in his pocket. Rogue looked at the geeky hat for one moment; then gratefully accepted it. "Thanks," she said, slamming it on her head and turning the rim down in the sides and back so it would cover her ears. "No problem," Daniel acknowledged absent-mindedly. He was apparently more interested in answering her question correctly than accepting her thanks. Chivalry was no big deal to him; it was just how he was. "I'm an archeologist," he explained, breaking into Rogue's musings, "I study ancient Egyptian and other ancient cultures. I know much of it by heart, but even I need some reference once in a while to help me along. Sort of a spur, you see." "Ahh." Rogue nodded even though she really didn't see. The very idea of memorizing ancient cultures sent her brain careening toward overload. Danny, she thought ruefully, is obviously a lot smarter an' a lot more driven than Ah'll evah be. Daniel had started babbling about some ancient culture or another, and Rogue found herself toning him out. She nodded at all the appropriate times and murmured acknowledgement, but she really wasn't paying attention. Instead her eyes were searching for possible threats; something that Daniel, no doubt, had forgotten he was supposed to be doing in his enthusiasm over finding a receptive audience. So when Bra'tac and Remy turned into a building to their right, Rogue had to poke Daniel to get him back to earth. "Danny, Bra'tac an' Remy jus' turned up ahead." Daniel blinked, and unresistingly followed the pull on his arm that led him to the building that his friends had entered. It was, Rogue now realized, a Wal-Mart; they had just entered from the back way. Remy and Bra'tac were going through the garlic on display, and Rogue tried not to giggle at the disgusted look on Bra'tac's face. Daniel grinned over at her, obviously picking up on it too. "I guess Bra'tac doesn't like the smell of garlic." "Poor Remy," Rogue chuckled, "Bra'tac looks like he wants t' smash all o' them." Remy was oblivious to Daniel and Rogue's entrance, instead arguing with Bra'tac about the wisdom of keeping the garlic intact. "They smell like poison," Bra'tac declared, glaring suspiciously at the pale vegetables. His hands twitched for want of a staff weapon or some other blunt object. "Dat what de vampires don' like about dem," Remy insisted, tossing his auburn bangs out of his eyes, "An' it ain't poison t' us; it's only dat way de vampires. `Sides, if ya smash all de garlic, mon ami, ev'ryone in de store'll notice an' dat'll take away our element o' surprise. If de bad guys come askin' after us, de store folks'll remember us as dose guys who smashed all de garlic." Bra'tac didn't look pleased about this, but Daniel stopped Rogue from stepping in. "Bra'tac's a warrior," the archeologist told her, "and your friend just gave him a tactical reason not to destroy the garlic. He may argue about it for a little while more, but in the end, the garlic will be safe." Rogue looked doubtfully back at Remy and Bra'tac as Daniel led her toward where Sam and Jacob were by the jewelry. "Ah hope yer right." "I know Bra'tac," Daniel said confidently, "He'll be fine." Sam looked up from the cross display when she heard them coming. "Hi, guys, do you think this is enough?" She held up the eight crosses she had selected. Rogue fingered one of the larger ones. "Mebbe we should get a few extra - jus' in case." "What? Is everyone trying to spend my money now?" Jacob protested with feigned annoyance. He leaned on the display counter, shaking his head. The saleslady looked at him once; then ignored him to turn to another customer. Sam grinned impishly. "Yeah, Dad, that's it; we're going on a buying spree." Rogue clicked her tongue in mock scolding. "Y'all should know better than lettin' two gals loose in a store." "Uh... I agree with Rogue actually," Daniel inserted, breaking the mood, "I think we should get more crosses. Better safe than sorry and all that." "Whoa! Is that Daniel I hear talking?" Jack came up behind them, pushing a large basket full of wooden stakes. "Somebody pinch me." Teal'c looked at him in confusion; reached over and pinched him. Jack glared at him. "Ow." "You said for someone to pinch you, O'Neill," Teal'c said solemnly, "I was just doing as you requested." "I didn't mean..." Jack sighed and gave it up. He turned back to Daniel. "Anyway, as weird as it was to hear you say `better safe than sorry', what exactly are we talking about here. What are we doing so we'll be safe rather than sorry?" Daniel quickly composed his face. "Getting more crosses than eight." He managed to say it while only letting out the smallest of giggles. "Okay, yeah, good idea. Carter?" Jack looked over at Sam. Sam and Rogue turned as one from where they were gathered around the jewelry display. Rogue showed Jack the objects in her hands. "Ah've got what we need. Ah grabbed eight extra ones. Ya know, two fer everybody." Jack nodded turned the cart around. "Great. Let's pack up, kids, gather Gambit, Bra'tac, and the garlic, and get going." "What about the holy water?" Sam asked following Jack and Teal'c to the produce area. "Ah have some," Rogue volunteered, "My foster-brother's a seminarian an' he gave me a flask t' keep on me. We'll probably have t' get more water blessed though." Jacob disappeared momentarily from where he was trailing behind everybody, and joined them a few minutes later. He dumped the 16 large bottles of water clutched in his arms into the basket. "You think this is enough?" Jack looked at the load he was pushing, mentally computing how much this was going to cost. He sighed and dug into his back pocket for his wallet. "Gosh, I hope so." He looked over at Sam. "You think they take credit here?" "Oh, yeah, sir, they take credit," Sam confirmed with a grin. "She should know," muttered Jacob. Daniel smothered another chuckle. "An' yeah, Ah think it'll be enough," Rogue added, answering Jacob's question, "Jus' don' spray it on a vampire `less ya hafta. Sometimes jus' the presence of holy water freaks `em out." "Great," Jack nodded, stopping at the produce stands, "then our next step is to find the local Catholic Church. Get on it, Carter." "Yessir." Sam pulled out her map and made a beeline for a nearby salesman. The two of them started talking and Sam made notes on her map. Jack caught Remy's eye and jerked his head, indicating that he wanted him and Bra'tac to come over. Remy gave the slightest of nods and picked up the bag full of garlic, saying something softly to Bra'tac. Bra'tac threw a look over in Jack's direction, and the two began weaving their way through the grocery shoppers toward Jack and the others. "Gotta love de Super Wal-Marts," Remy remarked dryly upon joining them, "Got ev'ryt'ing an' are always crowded." He put the bag in Jack's basket with everything else. Sam came back with the map. "St. Joseph's is a few streets down, sir," the Major explained, "On Maple Street. The man said we couldn't miss it." "All right then," Jack said, "Let's pay for this junk." The line was thankfully short in spite of the crowed nature of the food aisles, and the team was very soon having their merchandise rung up by a college-age cashier with purple hair and an earring in his eyebrow. The young man snickered. "What's up, man," he sneered at Jack as he started putting stuff in bags, "You going vampire hunting or something?" He grinned as he waved his hand over the object he was bagging. "Just can't get enough of Van Helsing can you?" "Actually," Jack replied as civilly as he could, "I'm more of a Dracula fan." "I prefer Dorian Gray," Daniel muttered. The cashier ignored Daniel, mentally labeling him as a geek as he took in his glasses and floppy hair. He rattled a price off at Jack. Jack paid, but not without a grimace. "I'm owed big time," Jack complained as they walked out of the store. Luckily, everyone else's bags didn't have the overload of books that Daniel's did, so with some rearranging between them, everyone ended up carrying their quota of weapons, traditional or otherwise. "Is it just me," Jacob asked, looking around as they tried to find Maple Street, "Or is everyone around us now jumpy?" Bra'tac's head jerked up and he began studying the area with increased awareness. "They are indeed. Your senses are fine." Jack didn't like the sound of that. "Okay, kids, keep sharp. There's Maple." Sam's informant was right; there was no way they could have missed St. Joseph's. The church was large and elegant with an old-fashioned bell tower sending supplications up to God like the crucified Christ did from where his wooden crucifix was planted in the ground. The sight was enough to take the group's breath away, but Jack recovered before the others. He poked Teal'c, who was transfixed by this part of Tau'ri life he had not yet seen. "C'mon, let's get this water blessed." Daniel was the last to wander into the church, walking backwards as he went, taking in the stained glass windows, the ornate statues, and the beautiful paintings. He found himself walking right into Remy's back, and the younger man steadied him, preventing the archeologist from taking an undignified topple to the marble floor. "Wow," Daniel grinned, accepting the help unconsciously. There were no hieroglyphs on the walls or artifacts lying around, but the building was still awe-inspiring. "Kinda impressive, ain't it?" Remy agreed, only keeping half an eye on his surroundings. His thieving instincts were begging too hard for him to take something for him to allow himself to notice the richness of the church too much. He shoved his hands into his pockets to squelch the temptation. "Yeah," Daniel breathed behind him, his hand tracing the intricate design carved in the side of the nearest pew. A priest entered the church from a side door near the altar, and Jack, after a somewhat awkward genuflect, hurried to flag him down. Daniel threw Remy an alarmed look, and, fearing that Jack would be less than diplomatic, moved past the thief to catch up with his friend. "Could you give us a second, Father?" Jack called, his voice echoing in the emptiness of the majestic church. The priest looked up in alarm, noticing them for the first time. He had probably had to worry about vandals and/or thieves before, Daniel mused. Jack held up his hands pacifyingly, well aware of how rough his little group of warriors looked. "We aren't here to rob you, Father." Daniel came up beside Jack and pulled the water bottle out of his friend's pack. "We just have some water for you to bless," Daniel soothed in his best diplomatic tone. The archeologist's voice and bearing worked it's magic, and the priest relaxed a little. "Oh, is that all?" the prelate smiled, letting out some air as he did so. "How much?" Daniel bowed his head. "Sixteen bottles, Father." The priest's eyebrows shot up. "Sixteen... Why in Heaven and on Earth would you...?" He stopped himself. "Bring them over. I'll bless the bottles for you." "Thank you, Father." Daniel smiled beatifically. The others in the group brought their water forward, and muttering some words and making the Sign of the Cross of the water bottles, the priest performed the ritual. "Your water is blessed," the clergyman informed them. "Thanks, Father," Jack said, nodding at the others to put their bottles away. They did so, but Teal'c froze in mid-motion, eyes darting around. Jack turned. "Teal'c?" The priest halted his progress toward the vestibule. "Is there something I might do for you?" he asked Teal'c. To his credit, his voice only wavered a little, in spite of how intimidating the Jaffa looked with the scowl on his face. Now Bra'tac too cocked his head to listen. The two Jaffas' eyes met and they nodded in agreement. "You have heard it as well," Teal'c remarked to his mentor. Bra'tac nodded again. "I have," he said solemnly. "Heard what?" Jack demanded, his voice tight. His hand floated toward the place in his jacket where his handgun was hidden. Teal'c shoved the bottle into his pack while his other hand snaked to his own pocket, the one with the zat. "We are about to have company, O'Neill." Jack cursed softly and turned back to the priest. "Father, get yourself out of here." The priest's brown eyes widened. "Why? What's going to happen?" He unconsciously crossed himself. Teal'c had turned to view the door, and now whirled to take two steps closer to Jack. "Now, O'Neill!" he bellowed. "Move!" Jack yelled at the priest. The priest's eyes began to snap with indignation, but then there was a loud cracking noise and Jack wasn't worried about the other's feelings anymore. Instincts alone saved them. Jack tackled the priest, pulling them both under the altar. Simultaneously, everyone else dove into the pews, cowering as low as possible. Remy pushed Sam underneath him on the marble floor, and Rogue shielded them both as best she could. Teal'c shoved Daniel under a pew and then flattened himself next to him. Bra'tac and Jacob followed suit. The ceiling of the great church collapsed with a swiftness that would have shocked anyone watching. The rumbling filled the air like an angry predator's roar, and dust filled the air, waiting to choke anyone foolish enough to try to breath before it dissipated. With an effort the survivors tried to hold their breath, and to wait the disaster out. Half an hour later, Jack deemed it safe to find a way out of their mess. He signaled the priest to stay still for a little while longer, and the man nodded his understanding. Jack opened a channel on his radio. "Teal'c? Daniel? Carter? Anybody? You guys still alive down there? I can't see you past all this junk." There was a pause, and just as Jack was beginning to worry, Teal'c answered. "Danieljackson and I are well, O'Neill." Jack breathed a little easier. "And Carter and everyone else?" "Gambit, Rogue, and I are accounted for as well, sir," Sam's voice crackled through the radio, "Rogue, you okay? You took most of the debris on yourself." "Ah'm fine," the younger woman's voice came over the radio dimly, "Ah'm invulnerable, remember?" "Must come in handy," Jack remarked, breathing easier still in spite of the light dust still floating in the air. Two more left to go. "Jake? Bra'tac?" This reply took a little while longer, but finally it came through. "We're both fine," Jacob said, his voice cutting in and out. "Sorry about that, Jack; my radio got damaged, and I don't know if Bra'tac's survived." "But you two are both fine, right?" Jack demanded, needing confirmation. His eyes stared at the rubble boxing him in under the altar as if sheer will power could make it burn to dust. "Perfectly," Jacob verified, "Can't talk much longer, Jack. Radio stinks and... need to... out..." Jacob's connection dropped off. Jack hoped it was just because the two older men had decided to stop wasting time talking and to start digging. He was not, he told himself fiercely, going to even consider the other possibility. "Alright, kids," he said opening a channel to everyone but Jacob and Bra'tac, "You heard Jacob. He and Bra'tac are digging out. We probably should too. O'Neill out." Jack closed the channel and surveyed the mess around him. The priest studied him curiously. "You're a soldier," the clergyman deduced. Gee, ya think, Sherlock? Jack bit back the nasty, and unwarranted retort. This wasn't the priest's fault; there was no need to take his frustration out on him. "Air Force, actually," Jack replied more pleasantly, "but you were close." He started pushing at rocks, looking for a weak spot and hoping that if he did find one it wouldn't send a ton of stone toppling on him. "I'm trying to dig us out of here, Father; I'm looking for a weakness." "Can I help?" the priest offered, already starting to tentatively shove at their solid jail. Jack thought about it and shrugged. "Yeah, sure, why not? The more the merrier." It took them another half hour to get out, and twenty minutes more to help everyone else out. Other than some minor nicks and bruises, amazingly no one was injured. Bra'tac's radio was found intact, and Sam promised to take a look at her dad's later. Meanwhile, there were still some sounds of action going on the streets. "Father, get out of here," Jack ordered, feeling like a parrot, "it's for your own protection." This time the priest listened, but first he made a detour to the tabernacle that had somehow avoided being damaged. He wrapped the hosts inside in a clean handkerchief, and put them in a bag around his neck. "God bless you," he whispered, making the Sign of the Cross over them. "Get out of here," Jack hissed. The priest ducked out the door, and they could hear his car starting. "Thank God," Sam breathed. She pulled her P-90 from her bag as well as a stake. Rogue reached over and clipped a cross around her neck. Everyone else also put one on and armed themselves. Rogue then took to air, grabbing Remy around the back and under his arms. The two of them flew over the walls and to the streets below. Jack nodded at the waiting Teal'c and Bra'tac, raising his P-90 to cover the door. "Go." The two Jaffa pulled open the heavy doors, showing those remaining in the church the streets they had just left hours before. The cityscape was wrecked, cars were burning and buildings had collapsed. Rogue was hovering just above the pavement, still gripping Remy, her jaw working angrily as she stared at destruction around her. "Keep sharp..." Jack began to say, but he never got to finish his sentence. A flash of color whizzed through the air and knocked Rogue out of position. Remy plummeted down, but was lucking enough to land on his feet. Regaining his balance, he flicked out his bo-staff, his eyes searching for the enemy. Really, all that was necessary was to follow the scuffling noises. It sounded like King-Kong had just taken on Godzilla, and though he knew he had to, it was really not a fight that Jack looked forward to involving his team in. "Let's go!" he ordered. "Gambit, Carter, Jacob head right! Teal'c, Bra'tac take the left! Daniel, you're with me!" His orders were immediately followed, although Jack got the feeling that Remy would have gone to Rogue's aid whether or not he had had Jack's permission. Jack grimaced and pulled his P-90 and a stake loose. He looked over at Daniel who was equally ready with holy water and a zat. The archeologist nodded at Jack grimly and the teammates headed toward the sound of battle. Once again, only their battle honed instincts saved them. Jack heard the swooshing of the air and hit the ground. Behind him he could hear Daniel gasp and do the same. Since the super monsters' fight was still going on ahead of them, a bad feeling told Jack that they had more to deal with than one vampire. The colonel came to his feet swiftly, tracking anything that moved with his gun. Daniel grabbed Jack's fallen stake and held it in the hand that carried the holy water. "Daniel?!" Jack demanded. "I don't see anyone, Jack," the archeologist confirmed. Another wind-like noise prompted the two men to hit the ground once more, this time holding onto their weapons a little better. They could hear the mocking laughter. Jack swore. "Darn, they're fast." "You saw two also?" Daniel asked, pulling himself into a kneeling position. His blue eyes shifted around, looking for any sign of their enemy. Jack snorted. "I saw a blur." The two men stood up again. This time they were ready when the vampires came around again. There were actually three, two males and a female. Jack fired his P-90 at them, and Daniel zatted the female. The bullets seemed to pass right through them, and the woman vampire shrugged off the effects of the zat. Daniel looked at Jack. "This could be a problem." "Ya think?" O'Neill let the P-90 hang over his shoulder and reached for the stake in Daniel's backpack. The vampires charged them and the two men tumbled backwards into the building behind them. Jack was unarmed except for the worthless P-90, and Daniel couldn't get the stake is his hand into fighting position quick enough. Daniel's eyes widened with fear and he convulsively squeezed the water bottle, using the stake to press even deep into the plastic. At the last minute, he thought to un-pop the top, and the sports bottle spewed the water all over the approaching vampires. Jack ducked behind Daniel and pulled the stake out of his backpack. The vampires shivered and stopped for a second, but then attacked with renewed fervor. Jack swore as he positioned himself next Daniel. "Aren't afraid of sunlight. Aren't afraid of holy water. That's two weapons down, three to go." Daniel opened his mouth to answer, but just then one of the male vampires flew right at them, claws extended and mouth open. Daniel and Jack dove away from each other to keep from being scratched or bitten, Daniel hitting the floor while Jack's back made contact with a wall. Before Jack knew what was happening, the wall had revolved, and he was facing a whole different room. Jack whirled around, stake ready. "Daniel?!" he called frantically. The archeologist didn't answer, and when Jack tried his radio, he came across some kind of interference. "Your friend is not here, Colonel." Jack twisted around again at the sound of the other voice. His free hand reached for his P-90. The voice laughed in soft amusement. "Your weapon will do no harm against be, Colonel." "Who the heck are you?" Jack snapped, fear overridden by training, "And if I can't hurt you, why are you hiding? And what did you do with Daniel?" "So many questions," the voice crooned, "so little patience." Jack was getting really tired of this. Daniel obviously wasn't around here, which meant that he was alone facing three vampires. The thought did not put Jack O'Neill in a happy mood. "Look," he said as civilly as he could, "I've got a friend out there who's likely getting himself killed. So if it's all the same to you, I'm leaving now to help him." He pushed the wall he had come by, looking for the mechanism that made it spin. It wouldn't move. Jack hoped that didn't mean it only swung one way. It might be a very long time before someone pushed from the other end, especially if Daniel didn't make it out of his fight alive. "You cannot leave unless I let you," the voice told him in a reasonable tone, "Only I can make the dimensions meld." Jack blinked. "Huh?" He waved a hand, deciding he didn't care. "Never mind. Why don't you just let me leave, okay? Talk someone else to death... I've got a world to save." That came out a little more sarcastically than he'd intended, but then again Jack had always had trouble controlling his mouth. Words seemed to spill out almost in spite of him. Once again Jack got the distinct feeling that he was being laughed at. "So impatient." With an effort Jack bit back a nasty remark. "Very. So if you have something to say, just spit it out before I start shooting things. Like this door." Jack didn't know if shooting the door would do him any good, but it would sure make him feel better. A grenade, he decided, will work better. It wasn't quite as satisfying, but that was life. He reached back for his pack... only to find it gone. Jack's eyes widened in the darkness as his hand searched his back frantically for his backpack. Nope, it was gone all right. "What'd you do with my things?!" Jack yelled at the voice. His own voice bounced angrily off the walls back at him. "Your plan," the other voice said disapprovingly, "Would not have worked, but it would have potentially injured you. You must control your violent desires, Colonel, if you are to take the gift I am to give you." Jack felt like he was all of six. He glared into the darkness sullenly. "Look, pal, the only gift I'll be happy to see is Daniel alive and safe, my weapons, and no vampires or other monsters on Earth. Somehow I don't think that's what you had in mind, since I was well on my way to obtaining those things when you grabbed me." Okay, that was stretching the truth a bit, but Jack wasn't in the mood to quibble over details right now. Silence filled the space around him. Jack could almost see the disappointment in the air. O'Neill sighed as it slowly sunk in that he wasn't going anywhere until he made his unwanted host happy. "Okay, what's the big, all important gift?" he asked ungraciously. A soft chuckle filled the air. "You are slow, Colonel, but you eventually arrive." A soft globe of white suddenly floated in front of Jack's face, and he pulled back in alarm. When it didn't chase him, he drew closer to study it. It was, he realized, actually a crystal that was glowing with some kind of weird inner light. Carter could probably tell him the science of why it was doing what it was, but to Jack it was just amazing. "What is it?" he asked, not quite ready to touch it until he knew it wasn't going to kill him. The voice laughed at his caution. Apparently Jack amused him very much. "It is a postbite." Jack blinked. "A what?" "A postbite. To use terms you would understand, a de-vampire-device. It changes vampires back into their original forms. They still have the memories and the desire to return to vampirism, but basically they will be human." Jack stared at the glowing crystal. "Will it hurt normal humans or anyone who isn't vampire?" The voice seemed to smile. "Indeed not, Colonel. It works only against vampires. I should know; I made it to fight them." Jack tried to locate the owner of the voice with his eyes. "If you're so willing to take care of vampire problems, why didn't you come to work this thing yourself, instead of wasting your time explaining it to me?" The voice sighed. "How I wish I could, but I cannot survive in your world. I only knew how to contact you because the Ascended pointed your team out to me one time. Take care of the vampires, Colonel. They can be a difficult opponent, especially as changed as they are from my people's misplaced kindness in manipulating the vampiric process. Now they will all be more difficult to kill because we meant to be kind to strangers to our world. No traditional methods will harm them; only the crystal will help you. You are smarter than you let others believe, Colonel, I trust that you will be able to use the crystal to your world's advantage." A gust of wind filled the empty room, blowing Jack against the door/wall. Goodbye and Good luck, the air whispered, and then all was silent. "You're gonna let me out, right?" Jack called to the emptiness. When he received no answer, he tentatively reached out and grabbed the crystal. It was a little bigger than his fist, and gave him a warm humming feeling in his hand. He felt a tug on his back, and startled, he reached back with his other hand to touch his back. His pack was there again. Jack smiled grimly. "This is more like it." Stuffing the stake into his bag, he carried the crystal in one hand and began to push against the door/wall with his shoulder and back. The door swung around again, and once more Jack was facing the battlefield. The three vampires were still around, but the fact that they were ransacking the place as if they were looking for something told him that Daniel wasn't only alive and well, but also safely hidden. Jack walked boldly over, hoping this wouldn't prove to be his last mistake. "Hey, guys," he smiled, getting right in their faces, "do you know what this thing is?" He waved the crystal at them. The female screamed and crumpled to the ground, grabbing her head. Jack wasn't as close to the male vampires, and the two creatures took to air and fled when they saw what happened to their companion. Jack waited a few minutes before he could get the nerve up to touch the cowering girl. She looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. He grinned in relief as he noted the size of her teeth. Oh, yeah, she's de-vampired. "You okay?" he asked, giving her a helping hand up. She took it shakily and stood. "No." Jack laughed softly. "Well, that's an honest answer at least. Ma'am, we have a small vampire problem. The best thing for you to do is hide and wait this thing out, okay? Get into a hole and stay there." Her lip trembled in terror, but she tried to stay calm. "Will my car trunk do?" "Perfect," Jack said, "Run." She took him at his word and took off, her shoes clack clacking on the rubble-covered floor. Jack hoped she would be all right, but at this moment he had to find Daniel. "Daniel?" he called softly, "Are you there? Danny?" "Jack?" A broken piece of ceiling jiggled, and Jack yanked it aside. There was Daniel, stuck in a hole that looked like it used to be where the toilet sat. Jack smothered a snicker and tried to help Daniel out. Daniel was crammed in there pretty tight, but between the two of them they got it done. "Jack," Daniel said immediately after being freed, "the stake, the cross, and the onions don't work either. Just cause them to pause and get mad." "Yeah, I know." With that Jack sat down to explain what had happened to him while Daniel had been fighting for his life. "We have to get to Sam, Teal'c, and the others," Daniel remarked as he listened with wide eyes, "This thing... this crystal; it might be their only chance." Jack nodded. "Yeah." He glanced at Daniel. "You up to this." Daniel let his friend help him to his feet. "As long as you have that crystal, I'm ready for anything."
Sam was very relieved when Jack and Daniel showed up with their new toy. Her vampires didn't even need a demonstration of the thing's power; the minute Jack approached, they fled, warning Jacob and Remy's opponents as they went. Remy stared after the fleeing vampires in surprise. "What de heck...?" Jack shrugged. "New weapon. I'll explain it later." "Word must have gotten around," Daniel noted, nodding in the direction the enemy had gone. "Yeah," Jack said, looking pleased in spite of himself, "Too bad for them, huh? Gives us some breathing room." "Good thing you came when you did, sir," Sam put in, "We were just about to be overrun. None of our weapons work against them." "I know," Daniel and Jack answered simultaneously. Jack looked at Daniel; then returned his attention to Carter. He waved his free hand. "Like I said, I'll explain it later. Right now we need to find Rogue, Bra'tac, and Teal'c."
Bra'tac and Teal'c were doing well in spite of their lack of weapons, but even they looked grateful for the respite. As one, the group then paraded down the streets looking for Rogue. They found her a few blocks down, still tussling with Luthro. Luthro's body jerked as he felt the presence of the crystal and with a hiss he pushed Rogue away from him. He glared at Jack, keeping his distance. "The Vwaq managed to contact you then." He sounded furious. Jack cocked his head. "Big voice? Fond of large, dark rooms? Easily amused? Yeah, they found us." He held up the crystal with a smirk. "Gave us a little gift, too. You recognize it perhaps?" "The Master will not be pleased." Luthro did not sound pleased himself, although he was retreating rather than attacking. "No, he will not be pleased at all." "Oh... well that's too bad," Jack cooed, "tell the snakehead how sorry we are." Luthro's eyes glowed red with frustrated blood lust. "I shall. This new development will have no effect on our plans, I assure you." With a wave of his hand, he disappeared. The team stood there, staring where Luthro once was. "Darn," Jack finally whispered. He looked at Rogue. "Do you have any idea of what plans he was talking about?" Rogue shook her head. "Too busy fightin' fer mah life Ah'm afraid." Sam nodded toward the crystal in Jack's hands. "That seems pretty powerful, sir. Can it tell us?" Jack looked down at it; weighed it in his hands. He glanced back up at Sam a little sheepishly. "Aahh... I don't know," he admitted, "the Vwa... whatever it was called didn't explain very much. Guess he actually wanted me to use my brain." "Ouch," Daniel muttered, "Picked the wrong guy." Jack threw him a nasty look. Daniel looked up apologetically. "Just kidding," the archeologist said quickly. O'Neill rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Sam. "It's a crystal. It de-vampirizes. That's all I know." He passed it to SG-1's astrophysicist. Sam took it and brought it close too her face, her eyes narrowing as she studied it. Her fingers played along the multifaceted surfaces. "Well," she murmured, "It's got some kind of internal light source. Can't tell what, though. It might be some kind of radiation." She glanced up at he CO. "That could be what's affecting the vampires." "But... not affecting us," Daniel added thoughtfully. "Right..." Sam said. She stared at the weapon. "It could be created specifically to attack a DNA strand found only in vampires." "That... guy..." Jack put in, "he did say that it wouldn't bother normal humans." "But there's only one," Jacob pointed out, shifting his weight, "That's not going to help us if we don't know where the vampires are going." The team stared at each other thoughtfully. "Darn it anyway," Jack grimaced. "No, no, no," Daniel said, putting a hand up and pressing the other one in a fist against his forehead. His brow crinkled thoughtfully, and he shut his eyes as if to block all else out. "This could still work." Jack looked up at the tone in Daniel's voice. He knew that tone. Daniel usually used it when he was about to come up with something brilliant. "Daniel?" he probed. Daniel opened his eyes. "Washington," he blurted. Jack gave him a blank look. "What about it?" "That's where they'll go next," Daniel explained, tripping over his words in his excitement, "Baba is ostensibly in charge of this; somehow got a foothold with the vampires. Typically, a Gao'uld would want to convince the leader of a conquered planet that he or she is their god." In a slightly muted tone, he added: "Of course, in our case, since our planet's been so difficult, the said Gao'uld just might consider it less time-consuming and more satisfying to just... eliminate the president." "And they can get all their information about our politics from our vampirized people," Sam added, catching on. She turned to Jack, and passed the crystal back to him. "This could just work, sir." "We don't know for sure that Baba is even here," Jack protested. There were too many holes in this plan for his liking. Sam grimaced. "It's the best lead we've got, sir." Jack chewed on the inside of his mouth. She had a point, whether he liked it or not. He sighed. Ultimately, it was his decision, and like it or not, they had to do something. "Fine, we catch the next flight to DC. Hopefully we can make it there before the vampires do. Jacob, Gambit, Teal'c: you three head back to the Mountain and let General Hammond know what's going on. Don't let him send any backup; we don't need to worry about shooting our own men on top of everything else." "We will return as soon as we are able, O'Neill." Teal'c said solemnly. "If you can," Jack replied, "Try to meet us at the airport. If we aren't there, head for Washington." "Too bad you can't just deactivate the vampires' transportation abilities," Jacob remarked, shouldering his P-90, "Then you would be sure to beat them to Washington." The crystal in Jack's hands glowed. "Deactivating transportation device now." It paused. "Transportation device deactivated." Jack blinked. "Whoa." Daniel stepped closer, pushing up his glasses. He cleared his throat. "Crystal, reverse all the vampire transformations." The crystal seemed to think about that. "Impossible. Must be within touching distance of said vampire." "Well, Ah guess that woulda been too easy," Rogue remarked dryly. Jack looked around him at his extended team, feeling pride in the fact that everyone of them, even Gambit and Rogue looked ready for action. "Alright, kids, we've got a go. Let's go save the world. Again."
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Luthro knelt before the golden throne, the other displays around it seeming to do homage as well. "My Lord," he whispered, placing his right fist over his heart. The figure seated in the throne looked up. His face was aristocratic and sported a small, well-trimmed goatee and mustache. Rogue would not have needed to look for the pointed ears and sharp teeth to be able to recognize the X-Men's old foe Dracula. The vampire king's eyes flashed with an eerie light, and he waved his hand for Luthro to get up. "What is your report?" he asked, his voice taking on the unnaturally deep tones of a Gao'uld. Luthro stood as ordered, but kept his head bond deferentially. As far as he was considered, this was still in essence his lord Dracula, though the other vampire was much more powerful now. "One of the humans found the crystal, my lord. We were prevented from taking the two troublesome mutants or any of the soldiers as our own." He paused; then reluctantly continued. "They somehow disabled our transportation devices, my lord; we must now traverse as do the other accursed beings on this planet." "So you have failed." Luthro turned to see Baba's first prime stride into their wing of the museum. The Jaffa's voice was sneering as he took his place next to the vampire/Gao'uld. Luthro felt his temper flair. "They had the crystal. It has power that you could only dream about." The Jaffa's lip twisted in disdain. "The Tau'ri are but insects. They are incapable of being any threat to a true warrior." He faced Baba/Dracula. "These pathetic vampires are not worth your time, my lord." A growl reverberated in Luthro's throat, and he could feel his fangs lengthening and his eyes glow red. Just say that one more time... Baba/Dracula held up a hand in amusement, calling for peace between his two seconds-in-command. "You are both of worth to me. Alive." He put his attention on Luthro. The vampire's temper dissipated and his teeth shrunk a little in size. "How can we get to Washington if we cannot transport ourselves there?" the Gao'uld asked Luthro. You should know this. The thought came unbidden to Luthro's mind, and he squashed it as unloyal. "By plane, my lord. I can make reservations. We do not," he added, "want our trip to Washington to be noticed as unusual." Baba/Dracula nodded. "Do so. You may take your army with you and go recruiting as you go. My Jaffa and I shall meet you when you give your signal." Luthro placed his right fist over his heart again and bowed. "As you order so I shall do." He clicked his heels to together and turned abruptly to the door. He could feel the first prime's condescending glare boring into his back. Luthro straightened his posture even more. I'll show him... I'll show all his kind and the humans not to underestimate a vampire...
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