Date: Thu, 21 Sep 1995 14:06:27 -0500 Reply-To: "Robert A. Gansler" Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: "Robert A. Gansler" Subject: Rulers of the World (Part 7 of 16) Rulers of the World (Part 7 of 16) A Highlander/War of the Worlds Crossover A ContiNEWity Story * 1995: The warehouse "Your time is up, Martan." Duncan declared. "To life immortal." Mordex responded defiantly while gasping for breath. "Not anymore." Duncan swung the blade at Martan, cleaving his head from his body. Duncan turned away as he prepared himself for the inevitable Quickening. He did not notice the slimy, three-fingered limb that burst through Martan's chest, nor did he pay attention to the inhuman sound that Martan made as he was struck down. As the energy stream of the Quickening entered Duncan, he felt something he had never experienced before. With the previous Quickenings he had received, he had felt the evil, the madness, the despair of the Immortals that he had beheaded. This Quickening felt so strange, so ... alien. It was powerful, too. It almost felt as if he was receiving the power of two beings. Duncan twisted and turned as he tried to ride the pain out. After what seemed an eternity, it was over and Duncan collapsed to the floor. After a few minutes, Duncan used his sword as a crutch to get back up on his feet. He wondered what Martan had done over the years to have developed such a strange Quickening. When he looked over at where Martan was, all he saw was a pool of brown sludge. "That never happened before," Duncan thought. This had to be the strangest Quickening he had ever experienced in his mortal life. Despite his exhaustion and musing about Martan, Duncan detected the quiet footsteps of a number of people approaching. Kincaid led the team to the warehouse. "This is where that bum said he saw the alien swordsman go. Let's go in ... quietly." Kincaid looked around to see if anyone was watching. Convincing himself that the coast was clear, he motioned Harrison and Suzanne to enter. The door was jammed or bolted. It took the combined strength of all three to open. Harrison and Suzanne went in first. Kincaid followed them and softly closed the door behind him. He hoped that the noise from them toppling the barricade did not alert whoever was inside. Kincaid pulled the gun out of his shoulder harness. "OK, we take no chances." Harrison responded "Agreed, but remember, ask questions first, shoot later." Kincaid added, "We'll do it your way, Harrison, but I'd rather just knock this old alien off or let him be. None of this detente stuff." "I know, but the old alien might be just what we need to finish the newcomers." "If this old alien doesn't try to finish us first." Kincaid muttered. "OK, quiet now." Harrison and Suzanne drew their guns and followed Kincaid through the labyrinth-like maze of the warehouse. They were all startled by the flashes of blue light that erupted from the opposite end of the warehouse. As the team closed in on the area from which they figured the energy discharge came, the air was suddenly still. Not a noise could be heard except for a slight scraping of metal. Duncan made it to his feet and tip-toed to the end of a row of crates. He was sure that sounds he heard were coming from the other side of this row. They would not surprise him. He knew it was not another Immortal. He was glad of this fact, since Martan's Quickening still left a sickening feeling within him. He hoped that the sounds were not those of Hunters. He was prepared to fight, but he was not sure if he could hold off more than a couple of those crazed zealots in his weakened state. Kincaid signaled for Harrison and Suzanne to keep quiet as they arrived at his position. He inched along the row of crates. He was quite certain that there was someone or something on the other side. He looked at his teammates and gestured to them to follow his lead. The trio braced themselves for a confrontation. Duncan steadied his shaking hands upon his sword and turned around the corner at the end of the row. Kincaid put both hands on his gun as he did the same from the other side. Duncan and Kincaid's eyes met. It was like looking in a mirror for each of them. Harrison and Suzanne jumped behind Kincaid and froze in astonishment. Kincaid and Duncan looked each other over from top to bottom. They could have been identical twins. Duncan relaxed and began to put his sword back in his trenchcoat. He saw that they only carried firearms. They could not be Hunters. He was surprised to see someone who also sported Duncan's good looks, but Duncan had seen many look-alikes down through the centuries, though never one who was the spitting image of himself. Kincaid's mind raced as he tried to figure out what he saw in front of him. Finally, a thought formed in his head. "He's a damn clone!" "Wha-" Duncan began to respond but was interrupted by Kincaid pumping five rounds into Duncan's chest. Duncan reeled with the first four rounds. The fifth put him down on the ground. Kincaid stood with his gun still pointing at the prone form of MacLeod. He was trembling slightly and sweat dribbled down his forehead as he gripped the gun even tighter. Kincaid almost felt like he had killed himself. Suzanne walked over to Kincaid and eased his arms down. "It's all right, John. It's going to be OK," she said soothingly. She pried the gun from Kincaid's fingers and set it down on the floor. Harrison got down on his knees to examine Duncan. "I don't think he's a clone." Kincaid shook his head as if to clear it "Not a clone? Look at him. He has to be a clone!" Harrison inspected the body very closely. "He looks very similar to you, Kincaid, but he's not an exact duplicate. He looks to be a couple of years older. Besides, the aliens never had you in their possession. How could they clone you?" Kincaid fell silent. The ordeal had apparently affected him deeply. Suzanne suggested, "Maybe they've developed some new cloning technology? One that doesn't require to have the original? They could do it from cell samples." Harrison thought about it for a moment. "It's possible, but unlikely." He got up and walked over to Suzanne and Kincaid. "So this is the old alien then?" Suzanne inquired. "I don't think so. Remember, the old aliens dissolved eventually after they were killed, too. But this fellow is still here." Harrison pointed a flashlight at the wounds on Duncan's chest. "And seeing as he has human blood there, he's not one of the newcomers, either." Harrison did a double-take as he looked at the wounds. "That's funny, I could have sworn those wounds looked worse a minute ago." A gleam of light bounced off of something metallic about ten yards away from Duncan's body. "Harrison, over there." Suzanne said. Harrison snapped his fingers, "Just a minute. Remember what Ceto, the alien boy, told us about clones. They are perfect copies of the originals, without flaws. We just have to look for a scar and that should rule him out." Harrison interrupted his examination of Duncan's corpse and joined Suzanne. Harrison and Suzanne approached the metal object cautiously. As he shone the flash light directly on it, all could see that it was another sword. As he bent down to pick it up, Suzanne noticed the pool of brown sludge. "I think I know to whom the sword belonged," she stated. Harrison pointed the flashlight at the pool. "Our old alien." It had been a few years since they had last seen the remains of an old alien. The new aliens did not decompose in the same way. He was almost sad to see that the old alien was dead; at one time, he would have been overjoyed to know that the old aliens were all gone. Now they were, but a new wave of them had taken their place, aliens even more menacing. The old aliens had to try to utilize Earth technology since all of it had been destroyed or secreted away by the government in unfindable locations; the newcomers had brought their own. Now the team was on its own against this menace. He wondered if the aliens had been behind the breakdown of society. Nobody could pin down what had started it all or when it began. It certainly aided the efforts of the aliens. That was a good enough reason for Harrison to suspect them. Harrison's main concern, however, was to defeat the aliens; society could be rebuilt later. "I guess our alien swordsman was defeated by Kincaid's look-alike." Harrison concluded matter-of-factly. Kincaid was still visibly shaken. "This still doesn't explain what this fake me is. Is he a newcomer?" Harrison nodded "Newcomers dissolve too when killed. Maybe it's just a coincidence that he looks like you." "Come on, Harrison. They're virtually identical. The odds of two humans looking so alike are astronomical." "You're right, Suzanne. They are astronomical but not impossible. But if the aliens can make clones without complete originals, we are in big trouble." Harrison pondered the ramifications of the existence of this technology upon the effort. He was interrupted from his thought by Kincaid's exclamation. "He moved! It saw it! He moved!" Suzanne moved to comfort him. "Easy, John. He's dead." Harrison followed and whispered to Suzanne "I think he's suffering from some kind of trauma from killing his doppelganger." Suzanne whispered back, "I think you're right. We should get him back to the base." Harrison nodded, "Of course. Damn, I wish we could have found out about that old alien." The duo reached Kincaid's side. Harrison rubbed his chin as he postulated. "I wonder why this guy killed the old alien. The newcomers might have hired him. He's obviously no slouch with a sword. But if he is a newcomer or a product of their technology, why use a sword?" Harrison figured that he would not determine the answer. He really needed his tuning fork. That always helped him clear his mind and come up with solutions, but the fork was still at the base. Harrison grabbed Kincaid's arm, "C'mon, Kincaid. Let's go." Suzanne grabbed the other arm and they began to leave when suddenly Duncan sat up. Kincaid turned around and threw off the arms holding him. "See, he's not dead." Harrison started to turn around "But of course, he's dead ...." Harrison stopped as he looked at Duncan and Duncan looked right back at him. Suzanne looked to Harrison, "He's alive. How?" Harrison shook his head "I don't know. He must have something to do with the aliens." Duncan appeared to be very pale. He moved his head around a little bit. He put his hands to his chest and found that his wounds had healed. He tried to get up but could not make it to his feet. He began to say something but collapsed to the floor. Harrison rushed over to Duncan. "He is alive. I don't know how but he is. We've got to get him back to the base for inspection. Suzanne, help Kincaid back to the van. I'll bring the look-alike." Suzanne started to lead the dazed Kincaid back to the warehouse entrance. "Do you think it's wise to bring this ... thing ... back to the base? We've had bad experiences with the aliens' creations before." Harrison fumbled with some wire as he secured Duncan's hands and feet. "Nothing is safe these days, Suzanne, but this, whatever it is, could give us vital information. We can't just ignore it. I don't know if we can destroy it. Thus, we have to analyze it." "I suppose you're right. I'm not sure if I want to know the answers it will give." Suzanne stated with a noticeable worry in her voice. "Lighten up, I'm sure its just some new cloning technology now. What else could it be?" The team got into the van along with the captive Duncan. They quickly wove their way through the streets back to the base. They parked the van in its secret garage and carried their captive through the tunnels that led down to the main part of the base. They propped up Duncan's unconscious form on a chair. Debi pulled back the curtain that served as a doorway to her room. She was somewhat surprised that they had brought someone back with them. Kincaid was usually a stickler for tight security. When she looked at Kincaid, she could tell that he was a little bit out of sorts. She was about to ask her mother about what happened to him when she got a good luck at the prisoner. "Mom, who is he? He looks just like Kincaid!" "Yes, Debi. We noticed. We're trying to figure out who or what he is. Now, don't get to close." Suzanne put her hand out as Debi approached. "He could be dangerous." Debi put on a pouty look. "C'mon, you got him all tied up. What can he do?" Harrison interjected "We don't know what he can do. That's what we can't to find out." Kincaid slowly sat in a chair. This, whatever it was, was getting to him. If the aliens had cloned him, by God they were going to pay. He had not seen someone who looked so much like him since he last saw his brother Max. The damn aliens had killed him, right around the time that General Wilson disappeared. They were on an undercover mission for the General. It had been a few years since the brothers got out of the Army. Colonel Ironhorse was too demanding of a commanding officer. Sure, he was an excellent tactician and a fighter of lethal ability, but he was too insistent on following regulations to the letter. The Kincaid brothers could not deal with that, so they got out. However, General Wilson knew that they were very capable agents in the right situations - those that the government could not or would not undertake overtly. The pay had been very good, but the cost was too high. The aliens were waiting for them on that last mission. They got Max, but Kincaid made sure that none of them, except for one alien, lived to celebrate the fact. He was ready to march on Washington by himself get an accounting from Wilson. When he called in, he found that Wilson had disappeared. This had shocked him back to his senses. Wilson had always been straight with them. The thought that Wilson sold out and was aiding the aliens was a possibility. If Wilson had known that the aliens were aware of the operation, he would have told them. Kincaid figured that the aliens must have gotten him. Now, Kincaid was operating with the Blackwood Project. He shook himself out of his reminiscing and saw that Harrison had begun interrogating the doppelganger. "How long have you been fighting in this war of the worlds?" Duncan had not completely regained his senses. He shook his head with a confused look "The movie? Or the radio show? Or do you mean the book?" "No, the real invasion. You should know." Suzanne responded. "You Morthrain came in 1953." Harrison added. "There was also an invasion in 1938. Not many people remember the second one, and even fewer the first." "Morthrain? War of the worlds? What are you talking about?" Harrison explained "Yes, Morthrain. We found out a few years ago that you didn't come from Mars." Duncan was not paying close attention to Harrison. His gaze was on a picture sitting on a desk nearby It was a picture of the team from a few years back. There was Harrison, Suzanne, Debi, some Army person, and ... Charlie in a wheelchair? "What's Charlie DeSalvo doing with your team, and in a wheelchair?" "That's not Charlie DeSalvo, that's Norton Drake, our computer specialist. We lost him and Colonel Ironhorse" Harrison pointed to the man in Army fatigues in the picture, "a few years back." "That's Norton Drake, Charlie's cousin? Charlie wasn't kidding, they do like alike," Duncan thought. Then it dawned on Duncan that Charlie's cousin was dead, and that he would have to tell him; that is, if he got out of here with his head still attached. Duncan also thought about what the Army man in the picture was called - Ironhorse. Duncan remembered an Ironhorse he knew - an Immortal that was the medicine man of a neighboring tribe to Little Deer's. Duncan seemed to remember Ironhorse telling a story about strange 'star-bears'. Now that he thought about it, the description sounded like the aliens these people were talking about. He wondered if this Colonel Ironhorse could possibly be related. Years later after the massacre, he had heard rumors that Ironhorse's adopted son had escaped from the soldiers that Kern had led to the settlement. Duncan hoped that Kern was burning in hell for all of his evil. Duncan considered asking about Ironhorse, but he did not want to antagonize his captors with questions about family history. Perhaps there would be an opportunity later. Bob G. EPRI HVAC&R Center rgansler@facstaff.wisc.edu "Reality - a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there." "dS >=q/T : It's not just a good idea, it's the law!" =========================================================================