Date: Thu, 9 Nov 1995 11:34:39 -0800 Reply-To: Selma McCrory Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Selma McCrory Subject: Differing Varieties, part 2/6 Differing Varieties by Selma McCrory a Highlander/Tomorrow People crossover copyright 1995 part 2 Greer was tired of the security office, and tired of answering questions. "Sacramento, California. My husband and I had been friends for years, but we decided to take the plunge and marry, finally. We were married by a Justice of the Peace there. You can check our marriage certificate. We stayed there for a month after." "Congratulations on your marriage," Damon said, and then continued with, "So, you haven't been to Chicago lately?" "Eight years ago. Haven't been back since, except in transit on a flight." "So, what are you planning to do here?" The other man, Jim by name, asked. "Find work," Greer said. "We've both been wanderers, and we thought we'd try our luck with Britain. It has the decided advantage of not being the United States." "That is, if the British government lets us," Michael said. Greer nodded. "I've been all over the U.S., General, ever since I was 18. I've had some very exciting work, and some boring work. I've been in sales, and I've been in research. It doesn't matter to me. Eventually I'll get bored and move on. Britain was a challenge." They talked some more, and then the two government agents let them go. They talked as they walked away from the building. "That took forever," Greer said. "I thought that they'd never get tired of asking us questions." Michael shrugged. "I think it was worth it. Besides, this way we know they're looking for bombers, not Immortals." "Yes, I agree. I just hope that they don't come across us looking for the bomber." * * * "General Damon!" General Roberts said. Damon looked up from his desk. Roberts looked smug. "I take it you found something?" Wordlessly, Roberts laid a videotape and a photograph on Damon's desk. Damon took a look at the photo. It was a picture of a sword, a rapier if he guessed right. "What's this?" Damon asked. "It's a rapier. Sixteenth century to be exact. I had an expert look at the picture." "What does a rapier have to do with bombings?" "Ask Mrs. Lewis. Or Mr. Gardner. It was found in their bedroom." "Whether or not the two own a rapier has nothing to do with whether they bombed the Underground! Unless you're hoping for a charge of smuggling, of course." "I doubt that they are stupid enough to have bomb makings in their bedroom. However, the owning of the rapier poses plenty of questions." "I still don't see it as evidence," Damon said. "And what about their tattoos?" Roberts asked. "Tattoos?" "Identical ones, sir, on their left wrists. Some kind of bird within a shield, is my best guess," Jim said. "Has anyone run it through their files yet?" Damon asked. "No, they're still running it," Roberts said. "But I will bet you, 9 chances out of 10, that they belong to a cult." Damon shook his head. Maybe he was picking up some of his son's telepathic powers, but he had a feeling that the two were innocent. Maybe he just needed someone to confirm. He turned to the intercom and had Adam summoned. * * * "I agree, General," Adam said. "They were not responsible. Neither were the other people here today." "Did you pick anything up?" "Mostly what came out, or feelings. I didn't want to look any further," Adam said. "I didn't need to." "Did anyone seem like they were hiding something?" Damon asked. The telepath smiled. "General, they were all hiding something. For that matter, you hide things. All the secrets you know. I hide my abilities so that someone like Masters doesn't try to exploit us," he said with a shudder. "Understood. What next?" Adam shrugged. * * * "What didn't you tell him?" Megabyte asked Adam when Adam had returned to the spaceship. "I got the impression about one of the people that he was interviewing... that they had a secret that was as extraordinary as our own." "That would have to be pretty extraordinary," Megabyte agreed. "So, you want to talk to them yourself?" The other teen nodded and then lay back against the circular entryway in the spaceship. "I know it's one of two people. Actually, I got the feeling from both, but one *feels* different. The woman of the couple." Both of them registered, but paid no attention to, a bright flash of light. "What are you two doing here?" Lisa asked when she had finished teleporting. "We're dealing with a bombing that happened in London," Megabyte said, boastfully. Lisa ignored the boast. "You mean the one that happened a couple of days ago?" Adam nodded. "General Damon had me sitting in to get impressions." Megabyte added, "Yeah, and we're trying to find out what two of the people are hiding." "Isn't that an invasion of privacy?" Lisa asked, shocked. "I didn't actually do much skimming," Adam said defensively. "I didn't mean that, I meant finding out what's different about the couple," Lisa said. "Certainly that has nothing to do with the bombs." "Lisa, think about it," Adam said. "What if they're a different variety of Tomorrow Person? An older generation?" "Did you try asking them?" "No, I was going to," Adam said. "When we went to see them." "I'll go with you," Lisa said. "Just to prove that we're not total idiots." * * * General Damon looked at the fax in his hands. It showed a clear design of a bird in a circle, much as Jim and General Roberts had mentioned. He read the rest of the report. "This is the symbol of a cult/secret society called the WATCHERS. These Watchers observe and record the lives of certain individuals, reason unknown. This cult has been in existence for centuries and members in the current era are marked with the cult's symbol on their right or left wrists, most commonly the left. This cult is considered harmless except for a possible small splinter group who is intent on violent acts upon individuals, reason also unknown." "Typical cult," Damon sighed. The door opened, and General Roberts walked in. "Here," Damon said. "You're partially right." "I thought so," Roberts said. "But that doesn't mean that Lewis or Gardner are part of the splinter group, just that they are part of this cult," Damon said. * * * As Damon, Roberts, and Jim were having a discussion about secret societies, one ex-member of the Watchers was having a walk in the park. Greer was surveying the surrounding area not only to get more familiar with that part of London, but to find escape routes just in case the Watchers tumbled on to her move. She'd found herself also contemplating the questions that had arisen the fateful night when she'd become Immortal in the warehouse. Loyalty to her own kind had arisen after her change, conflicted with the loyalty she felt she owed to the Watchers. March 1982, Los Angeles She huddled beside her mentor. "Why are we here?" she said Helen. The elder Watcher shushed the eighteen year old. Her normal smile was absent as she seriously considered the empty space around her. Greer looked around. She was used to the cold, but something sent shivers down her spine. The deserted quadrangle was conspicuously empty except for the two Watchers. Suddenly, it was empty no more. Two men warily circled each other with swords. Greer recognized one of them as Antony, the Immortal that Helen watched. In fact, it was because of Antony that Greer had met Helen. Purely by accident, the teenager had stumbled upon one Antony's fights. Even after he had departed victorious, the teenager had stayed nearby, stunned and fascinated. It hadn't taken too long for Helen to recruit her as a Watcher. And here she was, spending the evening at a deserted quadrangle at the University of California, Los Angeles, watching two men have it out with swords. It looked like soon that they'd have a victor. And then they'd have to chronicle the loss of the loser, if one died, and put one more fight into their history. The Present Greer snapped out of her remembrances to register two flashes of light. Suddenly, where nobody had been moments before, were a young man and a young woman. The older of the two looked around. "Shall we go?" The young woman nodded. Greer still had the instincts that had made her a good Watcher. And she was curious about these teens. As amazing as Immortals were, they certainly didn't appear out of thin air! And neither of the two were Immortals. She would have sensed them immediately. The teens moved off, and Greer followed them. * * * Selma McCrory "Maybe what the world needs smccrory@calweb.com are more Selmas" selmamc@aol.com -Darien Lambert, Time Trax =========================================================================