This story is part two of the Reality Check serial. (This really is the second in the series, though it's the third posted. The first one is "Reality Check", the third is "Never Alone".)
Original Series/New Series/Reality (or the way we wish it were!)
Summary: Megan's behaving very strangely and has kidnapped Adam and John. A rescue mission ensues.
Disclaimer: The Tomorrow People were created by Roger Price, though some characters appearing here were created by Lee Pressman and Grant Canthro. Pearson Television is the current owner of the rights, though Thames, Thames/Tetra, and Nickelodeon owned them at some point. And of course, Big Finish has the rights to make audio CDs and they're using them, so let's all cheer for them. None of these entities have given permission for this fic. "Acme" is the property of Warner Brothers. Not only is no copyright infringement intended, but I meant this to be a parody, so I think I'm safe-- for once. Oh, and no offense, libel, slander, or other evil is meant towards Nickelodeon. I'm sure it's safe to watch-- if you can find something you can put up with, that is.
List members are used by their express permission. "Luke's" name has been changed as the real person hasn't given permission (musician I don't know-- actually, if I was brave enough to ask, he might not mind).
Any resemblance of villains to real Nickelodeon executives is strictly coincidental.
Extra special thanks to Shaun Hately, Megan Freeman, Arpi, and Wendy Perkins for beta reading. Especially to Shaun for being a good sport.
Please note that I've never been to Nick Studios and am therefore patching together what I've seen on TV with my own deranged imagination.
Also, this is slightly alternate universe to the TV shows. Oh, come on, you didn't expect TV to get it *perfect* did you?
November 5, 1997
The Lounge
The Lab
That Would Be Telling
Megan frowned at the stun gun she had just pulled from the charge bank, fussing with the controls as she sat at one of the couches that flanked TIM, her blondish-reddish-brownish hair flopping in her face.
"I assure you, Megan, the stun gun is fully charged," TIM said in his calmest what's-gotten-into-you tones. "What do you intend to use it for?"
"It's a lovely shade of purple, isn't it?" Megan replied, a strange look filling her pine green eyes.
"Well, yes, Megan, but a Federation issue stun gun is not a toy. And what are the matter transporters for? I am not aware of any need for them...."
It was all Megan could do not to stamp her foot and snap at the artificial intelligence. TIM was being incredibly nosy and a pain. The first thing she was going to do once she had taken over was reprogram him to be more obedient. John and Adam had allowed him to do far too much of their dirty work. They were power hungry and scheming and... kind and caring... and what was she thinking, taking over? She should just watch Ren and Stimpy and get back to that English paper before her mother telephoned looking for her. She needed the break, even if it was just a rerun-- why'd Nickelodeon have to decide that fifty-something episodes were enough, anyway? Really annoying.
Hopefully, if John and Adam came in they wouldn't send her back to work right away and would understand that... Wait a minute! Who was she kidding? They wouldn't understand! They were tyrants only interested in advancing their own power. They had to be stopped. And while she was at it, Nickelodeon was on her side. Why was she complaining? It wasn't like they'd actually taken Ren and Stimpy off the air or anything.
Here were John and Adam now.
"I'm telling you David Yates is someone on Wendy's list we should watch," John said.
Adam raked a hand through his blond hair in annoyance. "You've been saying that for years about Jez and where has that gotten us? Both Amy H. and Mike Matott on the other hand..."
John decided he wouldn't argue over the long shots for awhile. "I can't really decide about Rachael-with-an-A...."
Megan glowered. They were so busy discussing which, if any, of the subscribers to Wendy's Tomorrow People lists needed to be watched for signs of breaking out that they hadn't even noticed her. Sure, the incidence of break outs on that list outnumbered those from various monitored classrooms worldwide, but that didn't give them the right to ignore her. Megan leveled the stun gun with her right hand, supported it with her left arm, and fired. Adam and John fell to the ground, bumping their heads on the steps.
"Megan, what are you doing?" TIM's voice was as close to panicked as an artificial intelligence can get. "Give me that stun gun and move Adam and John to the mediprobe couches immediately."
The teenager didn't listen, she simply dropped an envelope onto one of the couches, put the matter transporters around John and Adam's wrists, then activated them. A flash of light marked her leaving the room as well.
* * *
Gould Library
Carleton College
Northfield, MN (USA)
Beth sat quietly in a study carrel on the first floor. There were windows on her left, more carrels in front of her and behind her, and large stacks of dusty journals to her right. She wasn't noticing any of these things, or even the musty smell in the room. She was too busy trying to ascertain just what the crystal structures she'd been staring at for the previous half hour meant to trinucleotide repeat expansion. That and she was trying not to knock over her stack of note cards *again*. It was a good thing it wasn't lab course day. She shouldn't be anywhere near glassware.
[Beth, Darryl, come to the lab at once!] TIM's voice jarred Beth away from the Journal of Biochemistry.
Beth frowned. How did the bad guys always know when she least needed to be pulled away from her studies? Not that there would have been a good time that term, with comps and all, but at the rate she as going, she'd *never* finish reading that stupid protein article.
[Is it urgent, TIM? I'm trying to work on comps here.]
[Quite urgent, I'm afraid. Adam and John have been kidnapped.]
Great, when it was Beth's afternoon to be on call. Who else was... oh, that's right. TIM was calling Darryl. Well, that would make things interesting, at least.
[I'll be right there, TIM. Let me just get out of the libe and find somewhere to teleport from,] she replied.
She rubber banded her note cards and put them in her backpack, reshelved the journal, and climbed the stairs from the first to third floor of the library to exit. (No, really, that's Minnesota architecture for you.)
'Maybe I'll at least get a story out of this. Now where can I jaunt from? My room's too far. The practice rooms in the Old Music Hall should be OK, especially considering what went on in one of them in _Tam Lin_. *If* one's open,' Beth thought as she crossed the woody lawn to the Old Music Hall and began the task of finding an empty practice room to teleport from.
* * *
A Location I'm Not Telling You About Yet Somewhere in Europe... (OK, not really, I just played too much Carmen Sandiego in Junior High)
"Ugh," John groaned, the room coming slowly into focus.
He wasn't in the lab.
It was way too white to be the lab. Not only that, but the upstairs lounge of the lab (as opposed to the first five seasons downstairs workshop section) was devoid of blinking lights and there were plenty of those here. There was a control panel that held a lot of these lights, which cast their eerie glows onto Megan's face, making it appear far more sinister than it should...
Wait a minute. *Megan*? He'd been kidnapped by Megan?
"Oh, my head," a voice said to his right.
Correction, he and Mike had been kidnapped by Megan?
"John? Where are we? What happened?"
Now that was confusing, Mike didn't have an Australian accent. John looked to his right. Mike wasn't exactly blond either.
"Adam? Are you all right?"
"Yes, John, I'm fine. But what happened?"
"I'll tell you what's happened," Megan interrupted. "You two have become dictators. You've been in control long enough. It's time for someone else to take over!"
Megan grabbed a purple stun gun that had been resting on the console and trained it on them, cocking her head and using both arms as before.
"Megan?" Adam was confused. "What's wrong?"
John staggered to his feet, and started approaching her, very slowly. Megan didn't fire the stun gun, but she didn't seem especially concerned by his approach, either.
"Megan, whatever's bothering you... oof." John bumped into something he couldn't see. 'A force field,' he thought. 'Why the stun gun if we're behind a force field?'
"Nice try, but it's not that easy," Megan cackled.
John put his hand to his wrist. He couldn't jaunt. [Jaunt me in, please, TIM. TIM?]
[Sorry, all telepathic lines are down right now, please try again later,] Megan giggled.
[Has she gone mad?] Adam telepathed to John privately.
"So are you going to step down?" Megan asked out loud.
[Something's not right, that's for sure,] John replied to Adam's question.
To Megan, he said, "Why don't you turn off whatever's short circuiting our special powers and we can all go back to the lab and discuss this over a nice cup of cocoa," John suggested soothingly.
Megan frowned. Clearly she wasn't going to be placated with talk and chocolate. "Fine, the hard way, then."
She turned around to the console and pressed a few buttons.
Impossibly high falsetto male voices filled the room with Boston accented nonsense syllables.
"No!" Adam groaned in agony.
"I thought I was spared from this when Jade outgrew her bad music phase!" John added.
"So what do you call this Byron Lucifer phase of hers, then?" Adam asked.
"An improvement!" John snapped.
"Had enough?" Megan asked.
John forced his voice to remain calm and gentle. "What's eating you, Megan?"
"I'm tired of being pushed around! What do you mean 'what's eating me'? You two are out-of-control power freaks!"
John and Adam retreated to a corner.
[We've dealt with teen angst before, but this is ridiculous,] John 'pathed.
Part 2
The Lab
Beth stepped down off the jaunting pad only to be joined by Darryl a few moments later.
"What's going on, TIM?" Darryl shoved a tuft of long red hair out of his eyes.
"Megan came in here, stunned Adam and John and teleported them off somewhere," TIM replied.
'Megan? But wasn't she just blowing off steam on the list?' Beth thought as she flopped down onto one of the couches. It sounded like this was going to be a long night. And she had comps to work on, darn it! Something crackled as she shifted.
"Hey, what's this?" Beth grabbed the crackle-y thing-- which was a white envelope-- and opened it. "Oh, boy."
"Your name?" Darryl teased.
Beth raised her eyebrows at Darryl. He didn't typically spout random Quantum Leap references (Sam, the main character took over someone else's body and would usually exclaim "oh, boy" as soon as he realized where he was), unless.... "You've been hanging out with Maria again, haven't you?"
"Not lately. Too many eyes wandering around in Budapest where she's studying. We talk though, and she's too addicted to that reference. Your name?"
"Tigger. C'mon, is Al gonna dig out that little nugget that quickly?"
TIM made a sound very much like he was clearing his throat. "Might I be permitted to see the note?"
"Oh, sorry, TIM," Beth turned the note so that the artificial intelligence could see it.
No longer will I tolerate the rule of Insignificant dictators over the so-called Children of our community. Adam and John will be deposed. Kids rule!
"Most interesting," TIM mused.
"Is that last line really necessary?" Beth wondered. It certainly *seemed* out of place.
"It's a note, Beth, not a fanfic, don't beta read it." Darryl decided that this was a good time to tease her. "Or are you talking to yourself again?"
"Beth does have a point, Darryl, that last line is incongruous with the rest of the note."
Jade flashed into the room. "Hello. Has anyone seen my Dad?"
"Jade!" Darryl's whole face lit up.
[Careful, Darryl, don't drool,] Beth 'pathed privately.
[Don't let yourself get out of character, Beth,] Darryl retorted.
Jade frowned. "There's something you're not telling me, isn't there?"
Beth handed Jade the note.
Jade's face fell as she read it. Mike walked in from the boys' (oops, should that be men's?) side of the lab. Jade grabbed him round the waist, nearly bowling him over.
"Uncle Mike!"
Mike hugged his "niece" back, smoothing her hair. "What's wrong, Jade?"
The others quickly filled him in, Jade still nestling against her favorite "uncle". Mike still wondered at the fact that John had asked his daughter to call him that; they weren't really related.
Not that he was complaining.
"I got it!" Beth exclaimed, pulling Mike out of his musing.
"Well, don't give it to anyone else," Darryl cracked.
Beth wrinkled her nose at the _You Can't Do that on Television_ reference.
Jade glared at Darryl.
"Hey!" Darryl exclaimed.
[Don't mess with the author, Darryl,] Beth 'pathed privately.
[Don't go there, Tigger, it's cliched.]
"Got what?" Mike snapped. Whatever was going on, it wasn't getting John and Adam back. Or even slightly helping to advance the plot.
"What's up with the last line. The first letter of each line spells out 'Nick'," Beth explained. This was really cool, she usually didn't get stuff like this.
"What's Nick Young got to do with anything?" Mike said.
"Kids rule? Uh-uh, not Nick Young. Nickelodeon!" Beth explained.
"Nickelodeon? Why?" Jade inquired.
"That's a good question, but we can worry about the why after your Dad and Adam are safe," Mike said. "Beth track down Selma and see if you can visit Luke on the sly. He's the closest we have to an entertainment insider, maybe he'll have some ideas of how Nickelodeon might have gotten Megan to cooperate."
"They offered her a purple stun gun?" Beth suggested.
"I think that whole thread was just letting off steam. The way TIM tells it, she wasn't exactly herself. I think there's something more sinister at work here," Mike said.
"Yes, and John made her a purple stun gun last month," TIM added.
"All right," Beth sighed as she climbed the steps to the jaunting pad.
"And Beth?" Mike added.
"Yeah?"
"No borrowing Selma's Power Rangers videos, you have comps to work on," Mike teased.
Beth stuck her tongue out at Mike and then vanished.
"Darryl, you and Jade go to Nickelodeon Studios in Florida and snoop around a bit."
"All right," Jade mounted the jaunting pad.
Darryl moved to follow her, but Mike grabbed his arm.
"Darryl, you be a gentlemen to my 'niece' or you'll have me to answer to," Mike whispered.
"Hey, I'm a TP when it comes down to it!" Darryl whispered back indignantly. He broke Mike's grasp, climbed to the jaunting pad, and he and Jade vanished.
[Jackie,] Mike 'pathed lightly, not wanting to wake Jackie if she was actually asleep.
[What's going on, Mike?] Jackie's reply made it clear that she was wide awake.
Mike was almost surprised. Almost. Jackie was known for her weird hours. Not as weird as Luke's, maybe, but weird nonetheless.
[I know it's sort of late in Britain, but do you feel like a bit of subterfuge aimed at Nickelodeon?]
* * *
Viacom Building
1414 Broadway
NY, NY 10002 (USA)
(Too many Nickelodeon contests, me? Naw.)
Mike stared at a directory posted on the wall. The lobby was pretty generic, security guards, but not a security desk, white walls, black directory with white plastic letters listing the occupants in alphabetical order, and shining aluminum elevators. In short, bloody boring.
Jackie kept a sharp lookout while pretending to fuss with her make-up in the mirror of a compact. Mike was taking a long time to find the name they were looking for. How many Jay Mulvaney's could there be in this building? "Well, Mike?"
"Fourteenth floor, let's go," Mike moved his right hand to the watch on his left wrist.
Jackie rolled her eyes. Maybe all the people who made fun of Mike on the list were right. [Why don't we just take the lift?]
[Huh? Oh, right! That would be less conspicuous, wouldn't it?]
Jackie tried to stifle a giggle as she pushed the up button. What on Earth *was* she going to do with Mike, anyway?
***
Nickelodeon Studios
Universal Studios
Orlando, FL
Unfortunately, Roundhouse had already moved to California and then been canceled.
Jade and Darryl appeared in an out-of-the-way corner. It was more of an alleyway than a corner, really, but if you're anything like me, you're sick of teleporting into allies, so let's just pretend it's an obscure corner, OK?
'Fortunately, we've teleported near a map, now if I can just check it out without Jade noticing,' Darryl thought. 'Stay cool, Darryl, what would John Steed do?' Darryl had been overdosing on The Avengers again.
"This way," Jade said. Apparently, while Darryl had been wembling, she'd been consulting the map.
Soon, they were approaching the famed orange smoke stack that was the Slime Geyser.
It felt too quiet to Darryl. "So this is it, huh? Nickelodeon Studios," he said nervously.
"You'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy," Jade quipped.
"Golly gee, Obi Wan, do you think it's dangerous?"
Part 3
Embassy Suites San Francisco-Airport Burlingame
Burlingame, CA
Beth and Selma sat at a table amidst walkways surrounded by trees. A pond full of koi was at the feet of the table. They swam regally under the bridge the table was sitting on to the other side of the pond. Selma was keeping an eye out for Luke. Beth was trying to do so as well, but was failing miserably. The koi were way too distracting.
"Are you sure we're at the right Embassy Suites? It's not like Luke to be late," Beth squirmed, nervous despite the soothing qualities of the fish. "Or am I slipping back into teen idol worship only with a non-teen idol or..."
"Beth, calm down," Selma sighed. "We can telepath and ask, you know. What's gotten into you?"
"Comps."
Selma rolled her eyes. [Hey, Luke, we're here, where are you?]
[Where I said I would meet you two, the Embassy Suites by the airport in South San Francisco. That's not where you two are,] was the reply.
[Oops, we're at the one in Burlingame. We'll be there in a few minutes,] Selma replied.
Beth giggled. "Gotta quit mixing these two up. It was bad enough when you and Kyrie were trying to find me here when I was staying there. I don't think it's my fault this time, though."
"We should've remembered to ask. Especially you. You've been working too hard. I should probably distract you with Power Rangers videos."
"Mike forbade it," Beth replied. "So don't offer them to me, I'm almost stressed enough to take them."
***
Embassy Suites SFO Airport
South San Francisco, CA
The layout of this hotel was very similar to the one Beth and Selma had just left. Given the intervening time between visits, it really shouldn't have surprised them that they didn't realize it wasn't the same place.
They saw Luke at a table as he waved them over.
"Thanks for meeting me, you two. The others notice when I'm having telepathic conversations 'cause I tend to zone. I trust them, but well, you know sometime they'd think it'd be funny to mention it on stage. Anyway, what's going on?"
Beth stared at the table. She was very intimidated by being so close to a member of her favorite group. Not that she wasn't a big Deborah Gib-- but I digress.
Selma filled him in. "It's really weird, TIM said she was just watching Ren and Stimpy and then flipped out.
"Has TIM checked for subliminal messages in the program?"
Selma nearly hit herself on the head. "Why didn't we think of that?"
Luke shrugged. "Helps that Kirk was joking about putting 'convert more fan' messages on our new album over breakfast this morning. At least, I *think* he was joking."
"You guys don't need sub..." Beth paused as Selma and Luke both stared are her. "I'm sounding like drooling fan girl again, aren't I?"
* * *
Viacom Building
The elevator opened to a surprisingly calm and beige office area. Directly in front of the elevator was a desk. It was occupied by a woman wearing a very poofy peasant style blouse and horn rimmed glasses. On the desk sat a nameplate, which read "Roseanne Hayes, Receptionist".
[This is a kids' network?] Mike telepathed. [It looks like something out of Dilbert!]
Jackie tried very hard not to giggle. [What did you expect, a big orange couch?]
"May I help you?" Ms. Hayes asked.
"We'd like to see Mr. Mulvaney please," Jackie replied.
[Being just a bit obvious, aren't you?] Mike asked.
[Have you got a better idea?] Jackie replied.
"Oh, you must be the two here to pitch the new program idea. Mr. Mulvaney is out today. His assistant Phillip Smith, will be listening to your pitch. This way please."
[Wow, that went really well, Jackie. Got another bright idea?] Mike asked sarcastically.
[Play along,] Jackie instructed.
[But what should we pitch?] Mike was determined to point out every flaw in Jackie's plan. One might almost think he was John or Stephen.
[A new version of the TP of course!]
[That's beyond obvious, Jackie. That's practically leaving him a calling card.]
[Do you have a better idea?] Jackie challenged.
[Actually, yes, I do,] Mike replied. [Just follow my lead.]
[What are you planning?]
Mike just smiled at Jackie mysteriously.
***
Nick Studios Tour
Meanwhile, Darryl and Jade were being led along a corridor with orange walls as part of a tour group.
The tour guide pointed at windows into a studio. "And *this* is where our *fabulous* animators bring those *lovable* Rugrats to life."
Jade was becoming more annoyed with the woman's shrill and overly perky voice by the minute. [Shouldn't she be wearing yellow and green?] Jade joked telepathically while trying to inspect the walls of the corridor they were walking down without *looking* like she was inspecting the walls.
[Yup. Definitely channeling Tammi. We're in real trouble,] Darryl replied.
Jade was glad to know she wasn't the only one reminded of the Monsoon Man episode of the new series. Her eyes spied a slight crack in the wall. Well, three cracks. In a box missing one side-- no, wait, it was completed by a very subtle crease in the hideous orange wallpaper.
[Not for long, we're not. I found something.] Jade pulled Darryl into a small door.
[Jade, I don't think your Dad would ap--] Darryl started.
Jade snorted, shaking her head. Boys! They could be so single minded sometimes.
[Look, it's a Dr. Who corridor,] Darryl cracked.
[Is that all you think about? Television? Addicted much?] Jade teased.
[This from the girl practically quoting Buffy the Vampire Slayer? No comment. Wait, is that what I think it is up there?]
[What, the big blank, empty nothing?] Jade inquired.
Darryl nodded.
[Yeah, it probably is.] Jade broadened her telepathy, [TIM, Darryl and I are going to check out a psi-dampening field, we'll contact you in 15 minutes.]
[Be careful, Jade,] TIM responded. Jade and Darryl were following established protocols for investigating such things, but that didn't make the mother hennish computer any less nervous.
Jade and Darryl walked down the corridor to a large door with a sign proclaiming "Authorized personnel only". The psi-dampening field appeared to be behind it.
[You don't need to see our identification,] Jade joked as she used telekinesis to open the door.
They walked through the door and the field stuck to them like a 98 degrees F day with 99% humidity. Or was that the room? It seemed to be literally steaming in there, with water vapor coming out of the vents.
Darryl grabbed Jade's arm and started to pull her towards the door. Jade pulled away in annoyance. Sure, the whole situation was a little too reminiscent of Monsoon Man for comfort, but surely Darryl was just being paranoid because of the tour guide. This hesitation resulted in the two Tomorrow People's heads falling in the general direction of the exit as they collapsed on the floor.
***
Viacom Building
The secretary led Jackie and Mike among many rows of gray cubicles to a sun lit corner office. The room was filled with gray filing cabinets and a white board with the names and ratings of various shows marked off for the past month.
There was barely enough room for the desk and large orange couch in the room. On the desk was a Gateway computer (only good guys use Macs), with an open paper file on top of the keyboard.
"Have a seat; Mr. Smith will be with you as soon as possible."
Jackie and Mike sat down on the loud couch until the secretary left the room. They then leapt up and got to work. Mike grabbed the file and started reading it, leaving Jackie to break into the computer.
[Shouldn't Megabyte be doing this?] she joked. [Or someone else? I don't think I've been on a good old-fashioned search mission since I turned twenty.]
[This is interesting, but useless.] Mike put down the folder and headed for the filing cabinets. [It's a scheme to try to get kids to quit reading some book series by ruining the TV adaptation. Sad.]
[Never mind the paper files, Mike, I found something. Guard the door will you?] Jackie requested.
[I can look at the files and keep my eye on it,] Mike replied and opened the filing cabinet anyway.
[TIM, I'm sending you a file via e-mail. Let me know if it comes through all right,] Jackie advised the computer.
[Stupid firewalls, TIM can't get into anything anymore,] Mike mused. [What's in there, anyway, Jackie? Jackie?]
Mike looked up and discovered that Jackie had keeled over on the desk. He glanced towards the door he claimed to have been watching. [Jaunt us in, TIM.]
Mike then passed out, quivering.
A man with blond hair, hazel eyes, and a toothy grin epoxied to his face entered the room. He carried a voluminite ray gun. "Nice try, but Mr. Mulvaney wasn't expecting anyone. Stupid Tomorrow People. I should give my secretary a raise for dealing with them so efficiently."
Smith picked up the phone. "Ms. Hayes, please see if we can get a next flight out package to Florida, then kindly come in here to help me crate it. Thank you."
He pulled a small box out of a cabinet and pressed a button. It grew outward, and then sides sprung out to reveal a large box. The side read "Acme Bad Guy Expand-O-Matic Crate". Patent and trademark symbols followed the logo.
"That should fit both of them," Smith muttered to himself.
Part 4
The Lab
[Mike! Jacqueline!] TIM called again.
"I don't think it's any use, TIM," Selma said. "That felt like volumin."
"What felt like volumin?" A woman with short, brown hair, a delicate figure, and a floor length black leather trench coat inquired. "And where's Darryl? He's not on-line, he's not answering the phone, and he's not answering my telepathic messages-- and finally I know that *I'm* not the problem. Something has to be wrong!"
Beth giggled. Wendy had been... interesting since she broke out. Why was telepathy the *third* thing Wendy had tried?
Wendy glared at her. "What's so funny?"
Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on whose side you're on), Beth didn't have a chance to answer because Arpi jaunted into the lab brandishing a black stun gun.
"All right, where are you hiding them?"
"Hiding who, Ariana?" Wendy asked.
Beth frowned. "Arpi, you weren't watching Nickelodeon just now, were you?"
"John and Adam. Where are you hiding them?"
Selma rolled her eyes. "You're too late."
"Megan beat you. Ariana, were you watching Nickelodeon? They're controlling you. Snap out of it!" Beth added.
"Where are John and Adam?" Arpi repeated, as if oblivious to Beth's questions.
"Might I try something?" TIM asked.
"Go for it, TIM," Wendy replied.
A strobe-light-like flashing filled the room; Arpi froze in place, dazed.
"Have you been watching Men In Black again, TIM?" Selma inquired as she maneuvered the confused teen to a couch.
"Reminds me more of an episode of Next Gen," Beth mused. After all, in that episode, flashing lights had been used to break mind control, whereas the flashy thing in Men in Black was used to make people forget stuff.
"Actually, it was the proscribed treatment in the file that Jacqueline sent me," TIM replied.
"Ugh, what hit me?" Arpi groaned, removing her glasses to rub her eyes.
"Careful, Arpi, you're starting to sound like Mike!" Beth teased.
Ariana wrinkled her nose but refused to justify the comment with a remark. "I'm sorry guys, I don't know what came over me."
"Were you watching Nickelodeon?" Beth asked.
Arpi nodded.
"Nickelodeon's subliminal messages. Proof that they are the supreme evil of the universe and should be whacked," Wendy said.
Arpi started sniffling.
"Y'know, Wendy, with the amount of time you spend wishing you were an immortal or a vampire, I'm surprised you managed to break out," Selma teased.
"I think we had proof way before this." Beth suddenly decided she needed to tack something on to Wendy's previous comment; in her own random way of thinking, this was perfectly appropriate.
Wendy glared at Beth. "It's not your fault, Ariana."
Ariana sniffled and brought her legs up to her chest.
"Arpi, how many times do we have to tell you that it's not your fault?" Beth asked, starting to rub Ariana's back with the palm of her hand.
All three elder TP's tried sending soothing thoughts towards Ariana, but it didn't seem to be helping.
"Time for the big guns," Beth decided. [Shaun.]
[I know, my exam just got out; I'm looking for somewhere to jaunt from now.]
* * *
Still the lab
Just a bit later
Shaun appeared on the jaunting pad, a moderate height and build man-boy wearing his TP list t-shirt and navy blue shorts. He sank into the couch next to Arpi and pulled her into a hug. "What exactly happened?"
Ariana could only sob incoherently, so Wendy filled Shaun in.
"Shh, it's OK," Shaun soothed. "It wasn't your fault."
"He's right, Arpi," Beth added. "We all know that Nickelodeon is the root of all evil."
"Which is why I shouldn't have been watch..." Ariana broke down into sobs once more.
"How could you know?" Shaun pointed out.
Wendy and Selma stood with their backs to TIM, facing Ariana and Shaun on the couch.
"Now what?" Wendy asked as Ariana's tears finally subsided.
"We somehow rescue Jackie and Mike without getting caught ourselves?" Beth suggested.
Shaun rolled his eyes at Beth. "TIM, have you heard from Darryl and Jade recently?" Shaun added, still running a hand soothingly over Ariana's hair.
"No, Shaun, I have not. And they should have checked in twenty minutes ago."
"*What*? TIM, I know Darryl can sometimes be... well, scatterbrained, but are you forgetting who Jade's father is?" Wendy asked. "You should've said something 19 minutes ago! The Weston family is *never* late."
"Okay, two problems, the first is that Jackie and Mike are in trouble and were last heard from in Nickelodeon's offices."
"Ouch," Wendy exclaimed, having somehow managed to trip over her own two feet.
Beth didn't miss a beat. "The second is that Darryl and Jade are probably, but not definitely in trouble, and we know that they entered a psi-dampening field a little over half an hour ago and haven't been heard from since. And there are only four of us," Beth summed up.
Ariana coughed.
Beth rolled her eyes. "Sorry, Arpi, youngest TP present. Besides, you're in no shape." Tigger bit her lip. "Got it. Let's call up the reserves, go in en masse, and storm the place!"
Shaun shrugged his eyebrows. "Sarcasm won't help."
"Reinforcements might not be such a bad idea, though," Beth said sheepishly.
"I may have located Jackie and Mike," TIM interrupted. "Phillip Smith, the assistant whose office they were in, has just shipped a crate via Federal Express. The precise weight of the package, less the crate, is approximately the combined weight of Jackie and Mike."
'And I thought the tree stump was weird.' Beth had spent one too many summers working at a packing and shipping retail store. The experience was proving somewhat useful, however. "Have they scanned the crate into a center recently, TIM?" Beth asked.
"Yes," TIM replied.
"OK, Wendy and I will go after them. Shaun and Selma, stay here for a couple of minutes. Maybe contact Geoff to hang with Arpi. The four of us can check out Nick studios after we have Jackie and Mike safe."
Beth and Wendy grabbed stun guns and stepped up to the jaunting pad.
"Energize," Beth joked as she and Wendy teleported away.
"We really need to get that girl off of Star Trek." Shaun shook his head.
***
FedEx Dock
Laguardia Airport
New York
[And now we get to play with the Thargon Menace Geek watches,] Beth joked as she swept her arm across the area, using the watch scanner on her wrist to check the crates for life content.
Wendy did likewise. [Found it.]
Beth tossed Wendy the matter transporter. The matter transporter dropped on the ground.
Wendy stared at it for a moment, trying to figure out why the matter transporter hadn't simply fallen into her hand. She then realized she could *make* it do that, and telekinetically called it to her hand.
Wendy grinned. [I've always wanted to do that.] She attached the matter transmitter to the crate. [Go for it, TIM.]
The crate vanished and the two women teleported back to the lab.
***
The Lab
If you don't know by now,
I'm not gonna tell you.
"Were they really going to ship us?" Mike asked, sipping a mug of cocoa.
"Beth, have you been overdosing on sugar again?" Jackie asked as she added another spoonful of the substance in question to her coffee.
"Actually, I think that one was finals induce... I mean... um... shouldn't we be worrying about Jade and Darryl?" Beth ducked the rather awkward question.
"Jade's in trouble? Let's get going!" Mike jumped up from his seat. He sat right back down. "Oh, my head."
"Stay here and keep an eye on Ariana, Mike," Shaun said. "Let's go."
"They will be closed," TIM said. "That part of the park is being closed early for renovation."
"Much better for snooping around," Wendy pointed out.
"We can bring better scanning equipment than the GW's," Beth added.
"GW's?" Mike shook his head. "You kids and your internet acronyms."
"Geek watches, AKA the scanning equipment that looks like a digital wristwatch," Beth explained, as she double checked her stun gun charge.
***
Somewhere in Florida....
"Ugh, what hit me?" Darryl asked, groaning.
Adam almost laughed. "I don't know, but we're all sounding like Mike in this story."
Jade was leaning against something warm and not quite soft. She tried to sit up, then felt dizzy and flopped back against the warm thing she'd been laying against.
"Take your time," John said softly, stroking his daughter's hair.
"Daddy?" Jade snuggled against John's lap.
"Just relax, sweetheart," John softly kissed his daughter's forehead. "We'll worry about the way out as soon as you and Darryl are up to it."
Jade sat up abruptly. "Daddy, not in front of Adam and Darryl."
John rolled his eyes. "Feeling better all ready, I see."
"TIM will be expecting us to check in," Darryl reported in an attempt to distract John from Jade's behavior. "The others will start looking for us."
"Any idea where we are?" John asked.
"We were in Nickelodeon Studios before the room went all Colonel Cobb on us," Darryl replied.
"We can't be too far," Adam said. "Probably Orlando somewhere. Likely still in Universal Studios."
"I have your daughter, John. Step down." Megan said from the other side of the barrier.
John tried not to frown, or show how nervous he was. "What can you do to her, Megan? You're a *Tomorrow* Person. That used to mean something to you."
"It does, I...." Megan paused, shaking her head. "No! You're tyrants, you have to be stopped. If you want to give up your freedom rather than your power, so be it."
"Seems like she's under some kind of mind control," Darryl whispered. "It was like she broke it for a minute there."
"If that's the case, it's clear she's trying to fight it," John analyzed. "The question is, how do we help her win?"
Part 5
Nickelodeon Studios
Orlando, FL
Wendy, Selma, Beth, and Shaun teleported directly into the hallway from which Darryl and Jade had last made contact.
"The psi-dampening field's that way," Selma pointed to the end of the long corridor. "Let's start there."
"Darryl and Jade are probably all ready trapped in there; that may not be such a great idea," Beth pointed out.
"I agree," Shaun said. "Selma, you and Wendy stay here and see what you can pick up with the scanning equipment. Beth and I will check out this other room not in the field," Shaun directed.
"Hey, Beth, I thought you weren't going to let this man-boy get too uppity," Wendy joked.
Shaun fumed. "I'm *not* a man-boy. And Beth all ready called me that once in this story."
Beth shrugged. "Wendy, I have to finish this thing soon, like three months ago twice over, so I'm not arguing as long as it's going. Shaun, you're probably going to be a beta reader, do you really think the first reference is gonna make it to the final draft?"
"Unfortunately, yes, because otherwise the joke won't make any sense," Shaun said. "But you'd better watch out if we ever meet in real life!"
"If you want to finish, Beth, you shouldn't hold up the plot," Selma pointed out.
***
Still Nick Studios
Beth and Shaun entered a room that might have been a control room for a studio. Except the TVs on the left hand wall had pictures of various locations in the building, though there were computer controls in front of them. One showed the Tammi-wanna-be that had led Jade and Darryl on their tour out of uniform and walking out the back door. A second showed Wendy and Selma scanning the hallway. A third showed Darryl, Jade, Adam, and John talking with Megan in a large room. The wall opposite the door contained a large computer.
Beth sat down at the computer in front of the TVs. "I'll see if I can find out where they are." She looked down at the controls and frowned.
Shaun laughed. "Not a Mac, Tigger, better let me have a go."
Beth relinquished her seat and went to stare at the other computer. Of course, as we've established, bad guys don't have the sense to use Macintoshes (at least in my own deranged universe), so there wasn't much she could do with that computer either. However, she knew someone who was very good at hacking into strange computers.
[Hey, Megabyte,] she 'pathed.
[TIM told me what's going on, Tig, how can I help?] Megabyte replied.
[There's a computer or two here that need hacking. Want to give it a try?]
"Is that a rhetorical question?" Megabyte asked from behind Beth.
She jumped about ten feet, even though she really shouldn't have been surprised that Megabyte had just teleported in behind her. If for no other reason than those darned teleporting flashes.
Megabyte laughed and sat down at the computer. "You startle too easily, kid."
[Are you guys OK in there?] Wendy asked.
[Yes, Mom,] Beth teased in reply.
[Ha, ha,] Wendy replied. [Find anything?]
[A security monitor with our missing TP's,] Shaun replied. [They're somewhere in the PD field, but I can't figure out where.]
[I'm getting five life forms about two rooms over,] Selma confirmed. [The question is, how do we get to them?]
[Never mind, I can probably shut the field down.] Megabyte projected a Cheshire Cat grin to the group; he was looking forward to this.
[That might not be such a good idea, we don't know how Megan will react,] Shaun pointed out.
[Couldn't someone teleport in there with a stun gun and stun her right when the field shuts down?] Beth suggested.
[Just not you, Tigger, you're a lousy shot,] Wendy replied
[Yeah, but you'd drop the gun,] Beth retorted.
[Shaun's the best choice, he can talk Megan down if necessary.]
[Now, that's a better reason than Wendy's making fun of my shooting ability, Megabyte.]
[Hello, pot, this is kettle, you're black,] Wendy chimed in.
[Beth, you've missed the whole point of a Mary Sue, you don't have to be such a klutz,] Selma added.
Beth didn't respond. She just rolled her eyes in what she hoped was a fair imitation of Liz.
[Ready, Shaun?] Megabyte said.
[Yup.]
[On three, then. One. Two. Three.]
***
Our previously undisclosed location that's really Nick Studios
"Megan, what's gotten into you? You were one of the ones just last month who said there was little point to holding elections until we could find someone to run against John and I," Adam said.
[When was this?] John telepathed privately to his daughter.
[Late night Monopoly session,] Jade replied. [Trust me, Dad, you don't want to know.]
"I don't remember that," Megan replied. "You're lying."
"Have I ever lied to you, Megan?" Adam asked.
"No..." Megan blinked. Shook her head. "What am I thinking? I can't trust you!"
Jade winced as the world she was just getting used to being without came rushing back to her. Telepathic impressions-- her father's calming presence, Megan's confusion, and Adam's concentration on how to help Megan break through. She made it a point to shut out Darryl-- she really, really didn't want to know.
"What?" Megan snapped out of her confusion and reached for her holstered stun gun.
A flash of light announced Shaun's arrival in the room. Shaun knocked Megan's stun gun out of her hand and it fell against the force field. Megan reached for it, but Shaun fired and Megan froze in place. Shaun started examining the control panel.
"What's going on?" Adam asked.
The force field crackled and turned off.
"Explanations later, Adam. Let's get Megan back to the lab," John said, picking up the purple stun gun and sticking it in his waist band.
"Why don't you take her back with Darryl and Jade? I'll stay here and help Shaun and whoever's with him wrap things up," Adam suggested. "You do have back-up don't you, Shaun?"
"Only Wendy, Selma, Beth, and Megabyte." Shaun rolled his eyes.
"All right, Adam, see you back at the lab," John said. [Can I have a matter transporter band, please, TIM?]
[Certainly, John. It's a pleasure to hear your voice again.]
The matter transporter band appeared on the control console.
[Likewise, TIM.] John strapped the band to Megan's wrist. [Jaunt us in, please, TIM.]
John and Megan vanished, followed soon after by Darryl and Jade.
"Back to the control room?" Shaun asked.
"I'll follow you," Adam replied.
***
Adam and Shaun stood near Megabyte as Shaun filled Adam in on what they knew. Beth was watching over Megabyte's shoulder. He had hacked into a machine running VMS, and Beth was at least somewhat familiar with it as Carleton used a highly aliased version of that operating system for e-mail access.
"So one major question: how do we make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again?" Adam asked. "Other than warning the others not to watch Nickelodeon that is?"
"Bingo!" Megabyte said.
"We just found Phillip Smith's dirty laundry," Beth elaborated.
"And?" Adam asked, moving so he could look over Megabyte's shoulder as well.
"Jay Mulvaney doesn't know anything about Smith's plan," Megabyte grinned. "The evidence is all here. I'll just send it to Mr. Mulvaney with a note that it'll all become public if Mr. Smith is still working for him in six weeks."
"Send copies to TIM too," Adam said. "We don't want Smith just erasing the file."
"Way ahead of you, Pal," Megabyte replied. "TIM's been logging the whole session."
[We're packed and ready to go,] Wendy telepathed.
[Right on cue, Wen,] Megabyte replied.
Adam shook his head. He didn't think Wendy would take well to having her name shortened like that. [Meet you back at the lab.]
The four Tomorrow People in the control room disappeared in a simultaneous flash of light.
***
The Lab
Beth, Shaun, Wendy, Adam, and Megabyte materialized in the lab.
"Oh, good, Shaun can you watch Arpi for a minute? I have to dash out," Geoff asked as he relinquished his seat on the couch and headed for the jaunting pad.
John rolled his eyes. "Geoff, use the bathroom Roger refused to show. I don't want have to deal with UFO reports from your being ridiculous again."
Geoff stormed off into the men's wing, muttering something about John not being any fun.
The exhausted Tomorrow People all flopped onto various couches, Shaun taking the seat Geoff had just vacated next to Arpi. John was sitting between Jade and Megan. Darryl sat on Jade's other side. Beth sat on Shaun's other side, leaning against the back of the couch with her eyes closed.
"What about cherry bombs in the executive washrooms?" Megan suggested.
Adam tried not to laugh as he took the vacant seat next to Megan.
"Which part of 'that's not worth the risk' are you having trouble with, Megan?" Jade asked.
"I'm not taking this lying down. I'm doing something about this, I tell you!" Megan stood up, her legs apart, knees slightly bent. She made gun shapes with her fingers and adopted an accent that was more Texas than Tennessee. "I'm a-looking for Mulvaney. He's got till noon to show up, or I'm a-taking over this here place. Got that compadres? Tell him... the purple stun gun's after him..."
"Don't you dare spit, Megan," John said.
Megan glared at John and sat down again.
Darryl decided a diversion was in order. "Hey, Beth, the danger's over."
Beth opened her eyes and looked at him in confusion. "Yeah, so?"
"So don't you have comps to work on?" Wendy reminded her.
"What? Yeah!" Beth leapt up. Then checked her watch. "Uh-oh, I'm late for dinner, my friends will be looking for me."
Beth grabbed her jacket and backpack that she'd left lying by one of the couches and started to climb the jaunting pad.
Selma appeared on it. "Here, Tigger, you'll want these." She placed some video tapes in Beth's hands.
"What's on these?" Beth asked.
"Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers," Selma replied.
"Eep," Beth said and then teleported to her single dorm room.
"She took the tapes with her," Mike observed.
"Trust me, Mike, that was the point," Selma replied.
"You shouldn't be corrupting her with that show, Selma," Megabyte said. "Considering what Ren and Stimpy did to Megan here, the Power Rangers are likely to make her become pretty violent."
Megan glowered at the redhead.
Adam put an arm around her in a hug. "Calm down, they're not worth getting your dander up over. And you can quit blaming yourself too-- don't think I'm not noticing. It is not your fault, and getting revenge on Smith won't change anything that happened."
Megan decided there was no point being angry at Megabyte. She batted her eyelashes innocently at him instead.
"Well, you know, it's not your fault other than your bad taste in TV," Megabyte teased.
"Megabyte, shut up," Wendy, Adam, and Jade, Darryl, Megan, and Selma all said at once.
The End