========================================================================= Date: Mon, 4 Mar 1996 00:54:07 -0800 Reply-To: Selma McCrory Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Selma McCrory Subject: With Human Blood, 2/6 X-To: tpfict@xmission.com A few notes before I post part 2: First of all, , which somehow got left off of my introduction. If you know someone who is having problems recieving this (like the Compuserve member who got an unknown file type error), please let me know so that I can figure out how to send this to them in readable form. For the three people who I know are reading this (and the other 660 who may be reading this but I don't know it because no one's sending me comments), I hope to have the next part sometime around Thursday or Friday. Now, on with the show... ---------------------------------------------- With Human Blood and Human Tears by Selma McCrory A Highlander/ (new) Tomorrow People crossover copyright 1996 part 2 "Please, remember where!" Greer said. "If there's an Immortal in the Watchers, we need to know how entrenched he is, how long he's been there, other things like that." "We?" "Yes, . Unless you *want* an Immortal in the Watchers, possibly using the information to track down and kill all the others." "Not really. I mean, I don't want you to have any info if you don't want it." "I don't any info. It's enough that I remember as much as I do." Michael sighed. Just then, twin flashes of light burst forth a few feet away. The light cleared to reveal Megabyte and an unfamilar young woman. Greer forced a smile, hiding her bad mood about the Adam problem. "Hello, there. Decided to drop in?" Megabyte grinned. "Well, you did say, 'drop in whenever.'" "That I did. And who's your friend?" "Oh," the young man said, apparently a bit embarrassed. "This is Jade Weston. Jade, this is Michael Gardner and Greer Lewis." "Is she...?" Michael asked, amused. The young man nodded. Greer's smile became genuine. "A new Tomorrow Person. That's news! She's the first one in, what, two years?" * * * *How long have they known about us?* Jade's thoughts penetrated into Megabyte's mind. He ignored them. _I should have let someone else handle her_, he thought. Then she was back again. *I said, how long have they known about this?* *Three years.* Megabyte replied wearily. _This is definitely a drag. Why did I volunteer for this? Why didn't I let Adam take care of this, like he usually does? I realize that he's not quite there, really, but he got along better with her._ _At least she's a quick study,_ he thought. _Wonder what it's like to train a new Immortal. Wonder if it'd be any easier? Of course, I don't have to worry about being beheaded. Of course, Adam's so distracted, you could probably behead him, and he'd never notice. Wonder what's up that he won't tell me about._ "How long ago?" Greer asked. She was absentmindedly weaving her hands through her shoulder-length brown hair. "Huh?" Jade succinctly asked. Megabyte stepped in to forestall any more bright comments. "A week." Greer nodded. "You want to explain, or should I?" Megabyte replied, "Maybe it'd be best if you explain." Greer nodded again. "Okay. The short form is, I'm trying to keep track of all of you and your deeds, like Adam asked me to. That way, when everyone's trying to look back upon their past, at least they'll have records. You see, I'm kind of a historian. I like the past, I sometimes study the past. I know the records that I'd would love to have of the past." *Kind of a historian?* Jade asked. *Maybe she'll explain. Or I'll explain later. She's not what anyone would call ordinary,* Megabyte replied. "And knowing you, you'll keep good track." "Well, I might actually be there," Greer replied. "And maybe I might not." Michael snickered. Greer glared at him, making the motions of thwacking him with an imaginary magazine. Jade looked confused, which was not surprising considering that she was missing some critical information. "I'll explain some of it later," Megabyte said. "Well, I am certainly pleased to meet you," Michael said. "Let's sit down. I'll put in some music." "You'll have to forgive my husband, he just got the newest _Ace of Base_ album and he's been inflicting it on me." Jade's face lit up. "You like _Ace of Base_ too?" "Unfortunately, yes, he does," Greer said. Megabyte smiled inwardly. Greer's tastes in music did not run to Swedish pop groups or most rock and heavy metal bands. Once she'd excused herself out of the room when he was playing her a sample of Byron Lucifer. *Don't ask them to play Byron Lucifer.* He informed her. *Who doesn't like it?* Jade asked. *Greer. Michael's okay, but Greer's music choices are weird. Probably she listens to the same kind of stuff as your mom.* Jade looked at her watch. "Oh dear," she said out loud. "I'm afraid I must go. I promised Mum I'd be back soon." Megabyte and the others watched as Jade flashed out. He gave the other two a moment to react and readjust. It was amusing, in a way. It never affected him, of course, because his body was somehow attuned to it, and he never really noticed when people popped in. "That's always fascinating," Greer said after a moment. "Yeah. Well, she's kind of new at it." "I would imagine," Greer said. "I take it that she's past the 'landing in water' stage?" "Yeah, well she never got there." "Wait a minute," Michael said, holding up a hand and stopping them. The 'landing in water' stage? Pray tell, please explain that one to me." Megabyte exclaimed to Greer, "You haven't told him!" "I forgot." Megabyte turned to Michael. "When we don't have enough control over our teleports and haven't learned to direct ourselves, there's a point where we always teleport to. Unfortunately, it's in the water off of our island, so everyone always starts off with a bath. Except for Ami, who had help, and Jade, who managed to land in the ship instead of the water. We're still trying to figure out how she did that." "I'll have to talk to her, later," Greer said. "But I am not stabbing myself in the arm again!" "You really didn't have to do that with Ami, you know," Megabyte said. "Of course she did," Michael replied drily. "Quit it, I realize now that Ami could have done well enough without it," Greer said. "I take it that she's more used to that amount of blood, now." "Yeah, I'd say she's gotten over it." "I hope she's enjoying her trip to Australia," Michael said. "Last I heard, she was," Megabyte said, grateful for the small talk to keep his mind off Adam and Jade. Greer shifted on the couch. She ran her fingers through her hair nervously before speaking. "Have you talked to Adam - recently?" "Of course I have," Megabyte said. "I don't know what's happening with him - he's been so unhappy lately." "So, you noticed it too, I take it," Greer said. Megabyte snorted. _She certainly has this capability for understatement. That, or she's blind_. "I can pick up on his mood, sometimes. Not often, and when he's this way, I don't really want to." "He hasn't said anything?" "Not to me." Greer sighed. "Who's taking care of Jade, then?" "I am. I mean, Adam takes care of this, but I guess I get to, this time." "Does *everyone* know about Adam's problem?" "I don't know. I've told Kevin, but he notices anyway. Ami's on vacation, so I haven't interrupted her, and last time I tried to get Lisa, she was there, but not responding to calls." "Oh, dear." Megabyte sighed. He didn't know what to do, and he didn't know why he'd expected to know what to do, either. "Let me see if I can figure out anything," Greer said. " I might be able to help." Megabyte shrugged. "If you think you can," he said, and then left. * * * "I calling the States," Greer said, as she tapped a pencil against the table. Michael watched his wife. "You don't have to do it, you know. I could be discreetly asking someone here." "I know that, love, but I don't trust anyone here, with one of us infiltrating the organization. I don't even trust the person I'm calling about that. But he might be able to shed some light on Lisa's whereabouts." "Who are you calling, anyway?" "Joe Dawson. I may not like him, or completely trust him, but he understand what's happening." * * * "You do have this awful way of tuning things out, you know," Greer said, rebuking Lisa gently. The young woman blushed. "I know. But Megabyte doesn't understand. He's not in a position where he has to blend in so completely. I can't teleport in the line of duty unless I'm careful, because I risk the Watchers finding out about us as well." Greer sat down in the chair in her flat and looked at Lisa. "It's a risk that everyone different has to face. But I can understand Megabyte not understanding," she said, then smiled a little. "Of course, Megabyte, despite spending the last few years in my company, couldn't quite comprehend someone four thousand years old." "I guess I can understand him not understanding. But things are so different now," Lisa said, frustrated. "I've got so many responsibilities. I can't just teleport off without leaving my job or my assignment. And I doubt they'd understand me consorting with a known Immortal." "Well, they'll have to survive it, won't they? We were friends before you became a Watcher, they know that. No doubt, you're in the archives. You're probably the first Watcher to be recruited by an Immortal." Lisa smiled and regarded the Immortal. "How have things been? I see that you've got a new apartment and all, but it doesn't seem that you've changed all that much." Greer grinned. "Not all that much. I'm on my way to becoming a British citizen, I've got a steady job, and the Watchers are so happy that I've decided to not move around so much." Lisa nodded. "I'm sure they're very happy about that bit. You've got a new place, too, and a bit of an accent to match." "Well, if I'm going to become a British citizen, I might as well have the accent. And this is only our second flat." "Yeah, that sounds good." "So, you've been ignoring Megabyte. Your powers causing you a bit of a problem, other than hiding them?" "My powers always cause me problems," Lisa said, putting her bags down. "I know. Powers have a tendency to do that, don't they? Of course, most of the time I just end up with ruined clothing." " of you end up with ruined clothes." "That's true," Greer said quietly. "We make quite a pair, don't we? I hate this, too." "Yes," Lisa replied, just as quietly. "Why was I gifted with this when I didn't want it?" "I know," Greer said. "But we ended up with these gifts anyway. And sometimes they do prove useful." Lisa smiled a little. She'd made a rare use of her 'gifts' and teleported herself from where she'd been assigned, after the hassle of finding a replacement and explaining where she was going. "So, how'd you get some high person in the Watchers to find me and give me a priority call all the way from Seattle to Virginia?" "It helps to have connections," Greer said mischievously. "In this case, I'm still in touch with someone who wields a bit of influence and told him that there was someone who needed to be told about a mutual friend's personal crisis." "Yeah, it certainly worked. Who has the crisis?" "Adam." "Adam! What's wrong with Adam?" "It's a little hard to describe. But let me say that he's not in his usual mood." * * * Greer sat back. "...So, I can intellectually understand what's up with him, but I'm not one of you and I'm not too sure how to approach this. My training did include how to deal with distraught teenagers who happen to have this particular problem!" Lisa leaned back in the other chair. "I don't know, either. You know Adam better than I do." "Sometimes. This is not one of those times. I talked to Megabyte, he doesn't know. I haven't talked to Kevin yet, but he doesn't hang around Adam that much. Ami's in Australia, or I would have asked her. Jade, she's the new one, doesn't know Adam well enough. She's a little star-struck by Adam, anyway." Lisa considered her possibilities. "I'll do my best," she said finally and doubtfully. "I don't know if it would be any help. I really don't know Adam all that well." "Anything might help. Anything that you can think of." "As I said, I'll try." Lisa looked at the silent Immortal, thinking _What else is going on here? It's not just Adam_. Then an unbidden understanding flashed into her head, and she said, "There's something else wrong, isn't there? Something about Watchers and an Immortal?" Greer blinked. "Yes. How could you tell? You don't like to read minds." "Sometimes, I don't have a choice, especially with Immortals." The woman opened her mouth and was about to speak when someone knocked on the door. "I'll get that." Selma McCrory "Maybe what this world needs smccrory@calweb.com are more Selmas." selmamc@aol.com -Darien Lambert, Time Trax