The flat was way too cold.

Two people sat in cheap chairs silently regarding each other. The flat was just recently moved into, with everything not completely where it was meant to be. The woman shifted, trying to wrestle with the uncomfortable chair and the uncomfortable question the young man had posed. He was uncharacteristically tense, shifting as much as she did. She folded her hands on the table and spoke.

"I usually go to you for advice, not the other way around, Adam," Greer said, pausing for a moment to sip her tea. "I don't know if I can help much."

The young Australian shrugged, and took a gulp out of the mug, nervously. "I'm just trying to understand why."

Greer looked at the young man. Even though she was his elder by a decade and a half, he'd always seemed wiser. Now, he seemed like the young man that he really was, and she quietly considered the question, trying to sort out her jumbled thoughts. "Why people want to kill? People kill for greed. For hate. For pure satisfaction, sometimes. I'm not that much an expert in human nature, Adam. I know about my own kind. I know why we kill. But I don't know a full-depth answer to your question. You'd be better off asking questions of a bomber, or someone like that."

"You told me once that you needed to kill."

"Sort of. It's part of who we are. We can avoid it. I have, if you haven't noticed. I haven't killed in the last four years," she said, getting up and pacing. Then she looked down, confused, at the young man. "But why all this fascination with homicide, Adam? Forgive me, but you don't have any killing instincts left. Why would you need to understand them?"

The young man shrugged again, miserably. He turned the mug once around in his hands, then ran his hands through his dark hair. Greer made a circle through the room, passing her hands over the wallpaper, making minute examinations of her furniture. Adam sat there, looking so distressed and vulnerable that she wanted to hug him, put a bandage on his wounds, tell him that it was all right, and send him off. Not a wise idea with a young man out of his teens, even one prone to physical contact. Besides, she had no idea where to start.

"I killed."

Greer sat down, stunned. The young man in front of her fell silent. Greer was quiet also, trying to absorb the full implications of what Adam said. Finally, she looked at him, sitting across from her and said, "You -- killed? That's impossible."

"I thought it was, too," the young man said miserably. "But I think I managed it."

"Tell me," Greer said.

****

"That's quite a story, Adam," Greer said. "I can see why you'd be confused. But it sounds like you did kill them, as impossible as it may seem."

"I thought you might be able to figure it out," Adam said quietly. "But how is it possible?"

"I have no idea. It's like one of us killing on Holy Ground and getting away with it," she said. "An impossibility."

"I was happy at first," Adam said. "But then I'd realized what I'd done."

"Tell me more about these alien smoke pod beings. Obviously there's got to be some reason why you were suddenly able to kill."

The young man shrugged. "I don't know anything beyond what I've told you: they possess people, they reproduce by seeds and are killed by bright light, that I know."

Greer sighed. "I don't know. If you were Immortal, I could explain it. Of course, if you were Immortal we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"I know," Adam replied. "But I'm not sure what's going on."

"Oh, dear."

Adam nodded.

"Adam, this might be something you'll have to work out yourself - I don't know if I can be of any help -"

"But somehow, you should know. You've been an observer for so long."

"Observing doesn't always mean understanding, Adam. And besides, we're trained not to interfere."

****

"You sound like a mad scientist, babbling about biology and such," Michael teased her.

"Not funny, Michael."

"My, we're in a mood today."

"Sorry."

Michael, Greer's husband, sat down beside her. "So why are you grumbling so much about biology?"

Greer sighed and put down the genetics book she was reading. "I told you that Adam was here today?"

"Don't think that you did," Michael said, picking the book up and looking at it.

"He was," Greer responded tiredly. "He has a problem, and I think he was looking for some advice that I couldn't give."

"So, what's this got to do with biology?"

"I'm trying to figure out what part of him is responsible for his inability to kill."

"Kill? Adam? Adam hasn't the slightest idea about killing!" Michael said incredulously.

"Oh, he has the slightest idea. He just doesn't have the ability. He could be perfectly willing to kill someone, he just wouldn't be able to do it even if he was so inclined."

Michael rolled his eyes. "Great. So what brings us on the topic of Adam's biology?"

"He thinks he managed to kill."

"I can see that this is going to be occupying your time for a while. Still up to the trade?"

"Yeah, do you know who's to meet?"

"Um...let me check. Another Adam. Adam Pierson."

"Wonderful. I hope he's less of a problem than our Adam."

"Should be - it's the usual drill. He picks up the package, hands me the request, I hand him their request. We have two happy camper groups."

"It's weird. Somehow, I didn't expect to be spending my life exchanging information between British Intelligence -MI5 I think it's called? And the Watchers."

"It is weird. It's also called life."

"Yes. It's weird, all right. Okay, you trade, I'll figure out what's gone wrong. Lunch first?"

"Lunch."

****

It was a good, if noisy day. The streets bustled with Saturday shoppers. They'd always chosen this particular cafe for lunch before their afternoon drops.

Michael held the disk with the information on it carefully with his hands. Greer was pondering the menu with more interest than she even had before, probably because she was paying half of her attention to it.

She'd be busy trying to figure out Adam's problem for probably the rest of the day and possibly the rest of the week. He knew how she felt about them; being unable to have children had somehow caused her to be concerned about the young people who heralded Humankind's future.

Greer looked up, greatly startled, and started looking around. Michael saw a woman coming into the shop, who also had the standard look of an Immortal trying to figure out who they've sensed. He figured that they'd either miss each other, or they'd begin a short conversation. He was quite surprised when Greer began smiling and waving.

The woman, astonished, came over to their table. "Georgina Lewis? Is that you? What happened? How?"

"'Tis me, Charity," Greer said. "Want to join us for lunch?"

The woman smiled in return and sat down. "And who is this?"

"This is my husband, Michael Gardner. Michael, meet Charity McCullen, she was a classmate of mine."

****

Greer smiled as she sat down on the bench.

She'd had an enjoyable lunch with Charity and Michael. Once assured that Michael knew about Immortals, Charity had started chatting animatedly. They'd compared notes, talked about the university, Charity's deli (which she still ran), and how each other's life was going. Charity had told them that she hadn't detected that Greer was going to become Immortal, which had startled the both of them, and that she had taken on a protege named Gabrielle, who didn't know yet that she was going to become immortal.

Greer was overjoyed to come in contact with Charity again, since she had enjoyed being around her before, when she was assigned to her by the Watchers. She'd had to explain, of course, how she'd become Immortal, and how she'd known Charity was Immortal, but the evasions that she'd learned in the Watchers server her in good stead. Even if she wasn't sure if Charity had bought her story about being good at observation. She'd left the entire deal with the Watchers out.

It was too bad that Charity had to leave for her flight later that day. Greer gave her their address and phone number so that she and Charity could stay in touch.

She'd needed the uplift in spirits, with Adam being in the mood he was. The park wasn't helping, and neither was the weather. Her husband was sitting on a park bench a few yards away. She'd settled down first, seemingly a young woman enjoying a bright (if cold) day. He'd sat down a few minutes later, on a bench under a tree. One might think that they were young, secret lovers instead of husband and wife.

She shivered, partially due to the cold weather (which was totally normal for London at that time of year) and partially because of the problem that she was considering.

And then she realized that there was another reason. And that reason was walking down the path towards her husband.

The other Immortal was male. Dark haired, but the sunlight obscured her efforts to discern his eye colour. He was thoughtfully looking around, and she was glad she had muted her own reaction, the one that would have given her away as another immortal.

She looked away, and watched as he shrugged the feeling off. For the moment, anyway. She had no doubt that he was being very cautious.

Greer continued her watch of the Immortal while keeping an eye on her husband. And then, he did something unexpected.

The Immortal was sitting down with her husband, talking with him. They had a few words, obviously some kind of discourse of ideas, and then the man left. She waited until he had left her sensing range, and then moved off.

****

Michael didn't remark on her mood as they came up to the flat. They had paralleled their courses for a few blocks, and then had ended up together, taking the Underground to the proper stop on the proper route. They settled down in the chairs, Greer nervously braiding and unbraiding locks of her hair.

"What did you say his name was again?" she asked Michael.

"Who?" Michael said absentmindedly. "Oh, you mean my contact? Adam Pierson."

"You haven't met him before?" Greer asked him, concerned.

"Of course not," Michael said, clearly puzzled.

Greer twisted her hair around, then tried to braid some of her braids together, rather unsuccessfully. She tried paying attention to the newspaper. She looked up to see Michael, who was staring at her rather anxiously. She then decided to speak up.

"He's an Immortal."

"WHAT?" Michael exclaimed, then calmed down. "You're kidding, of course."

"No, I'm not."

Michael sat back down in the chair. "There's an Immortal in the Watchers?"

"It's happened before, you know."

"Yeah, but I didn't think it would happen twice. And the scary thing is, I think I've heard his name before. Can't remember where."

"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, we. 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 want 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 wonderful 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 Greer 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 love 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 might 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."

"Most 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 not 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."

Lisa watched as Greer got up and opened the door. "Adam, what are you doing here? And why are you using the door?"

"I didn't have any choice."

"You know that you're welcome to pop in anytime. You don't have to use the door."

"This time, I did."

Whatever Adam was going to add, he stopped when he saw Lisa. A big smile broke out on his face and he went over to hug Lisa. "Lisa! What are you doing here? I haven't seen you for ages!"

"Well, I was in the area, and Greer invited me in," Lisa said hesitantly.

"She hasn't gone to see anyone yet, she just got here, but I'm glad she decided to visit."

"She needs to do that more often," he replied.

"Well, I bet Megabyte would like to see her," Greer replied jovially. "But we were just catching up, comparing notes, that sort of thing."

Adam nodded. "I'm certainly lucky to drop in at this time."

Greer replied, "Well, I'm happy to be hosting this impromptu get-together here. Should I call the others? Ring them, I mean."

"I'll call them," Lisa replied. She looked at Adam expectantly. "Or you can, if you want."

"Go ahead," Adam said. Lisa frowned; Adam would normally be the one to call, since he knew everyone. But she relented, figuring that she could use the practice anyway.

(Hey, everyone! This is Lisa. We seem to have a get-together at Greer's place.)

She got some questioning inquiries back from two people she was familiar with. Kevin answered with a startled, (Lisa!), while Megabyte answered with a (where have you been?)

(I've been busy. Pop by and see what's up.)

Obviously, it didn't take more than that. Megabyte popped in almost instantly, followed by Kevin. Two other girls popped in a few minutes later, prompting Greer to speak up.

"You're supposed to be on vacation. You didn't have to come all the way back to England."

"Mum is asleep. I was going to bed but I heard the call."

Adam shook off his lethargy and jumped up, interposing himself between Lisa and the two newcomers. "This is Ami," he said, indicating the young woman who had just spoken. "And this is Jade. This is Lisa, she's one of us."

(Are you the one that Megabyte is continually grumbling about?) Jade asked her quietly.

(Probably.)

"Who doesn't hang around her kind very much," Greer said from nearby.

"We noticed," Megabyte said.

Greer raised her eyebrows. "Just because you enjoy your powers doesn't mean everyone has to," she said.

"Greer's right," Adam interjected. "If Lisa wants to ignore her powers, she's got every right."

Megabyte glared at Adam. Lisa watched as the entire room tensed. Then suddenly, a noise broke the silence.

Michael came in, looking surprised. "A party that I wasn't invited to?"

"An impromptu one, may I say," Greer said thoughtfully. "Lisa came over from the States and I thought we needed a get-together."

"Well, let me get some music," Michael said, apparently oblivious to the tension in the room.

"I'll get some of my tapes," Jade volunteered, and vanished.

"I really need to go," Ami said. "It was pleasant meeting you, Lisa."

Lisa smiled. Just before Ami popped out, she heard, (Behave yourself, Megabyte.)

(Thanks a lot, Ami. Adam? Are you going to tell me what to do, too? Adam?)

(If he doesn't want to respond, he won't respond,) Kevin said, joining the conversation.

(Now everyone's ganging up against me. Adam? Where are you?)

Greer looked around and cleared her throat. "Out loud, please folks? Some of us aren't telepaths, you know."

Megabyte grumbled something unintelligible.

"Here we are," Jade said, popping back in. "A bit of music."

Michael took a look at the tapes. "Van Halen, Deep Blue Something, Byron Lucifer, Hootie and the Blowfish, Ace of Base..."

Greer groaned. "I suppose I could stand most of those."

"Well, I'm kind of in the mood for some Byron Lucifer," Megabyte said.

"Who's Byron Lucifer?" Lisa asked.

"He's a singer who Megabyte and Jade are quite fond of," Adam replied.

"I'd heard the stage blew up before the concert," Greer said.

"Well, somewhat," Megabyte said.

"I take it that was part of your last adventure? Well, in that case, I think I can quite tolerate some of his music."

****

The party was over. Or at least, most everyone had left. Michael was writing, Greer was sitting in a chair, Lisa had spread out her sleeping bag, and Adam was making the couch ready so that he could sleep on it later that night.

Greer had been quite surprised to find out that Adam had wanted to sleep in London. He'd offered the use of his tent to Lisa, but she'd preferred to stay as well. Megabyte's sister was having a sleepover at their house with many of her friends, so there was no room for Adam. So, he was sleeping at Greer's flat tonight. Well, she mused, at least she would have some time to chat with him and try to find a suggestion on how to deal with his problem.

Some of Jade's tapes still remained, and Michael had left the Ace of Base album on. It was less annoying than she thought it was, and besides, the volume was down low enough that she barely noticed it.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Adam glanced up. "Hmm?"

"Are you okay?" she repeated.

"I think so," he said.

Greer looked up and met Lisa's eyes. Lisa was stared hesitantly at Adam, clearly torn between asking and staying silent. "Lisa, could you run into the kitchen and work with the coffeemaker? It doesn't like me very much."

"Well, it doesn't like me that much either, but I'll try," Lisa said. "Coffee or Tea?"

"Tea for me, if you can manage it. Adam?"

"Tea for me, also."

"'Kay, two teas, one coffee."

"Decaf, unless you want to be up half the night...and jet lag is bad enough as it is. By the way, you can ask Michael too."

"Will do."

After Lisa had left, Greer said, "Knowing our coffeemaker, it'll take her a while to make anything. I swear the thing only likes Michael."

Adam managed a small smile. "So, why did you send Lisa so surreptitiously out of the room?"

Greer stared down at the floor and gave him an embarrassed grin. "That obvious, eh? I got the idea that you wanted to talk to me."

Adam sighed, and blinked. He moved his hands around, gripping the arms of the chair, and looking everyplace but straight at Greer. "I don't know how to phrase this..."

Greer smiled, and folded her hands in her lap. "Well, try your best. I know some things are difficult to explain, so I'll just sit around until you can."

Adam tapped his fingers together. Then he got up and paced around the room, trying to speak, opening his mouth and then closing it again. Greer waited patiently while he tried to get himself together. "Well," the young man finally said, blushing. "I seem to have lost my abilities."

"That's impossible!"

"So's me killing. But I managed that fine."

"You think it could be cosmic justice that you don't have your powers anymore?"

"Could be."

"So you can't teleport."

"No. And I can't hear anyone. I'm as mindblind as you are."

"This is impossible. This really is impossible."

"Impossible or not, I'm not going 'home' tonight."

"Wonderful. I take it you haven't told anyone but me about this?"

"Nope. I don't know what to say to them."

Greer sighed. One problem on top of the other. It made her wish she was observing a nice, simple beheading. Why were all of her problems lately labeled 'Adam'?

"You'll have to tell them sometime. Especially since you're the leader."

"Megabyte could handle that. Or Ami. Or Lisa, for that matter."

"They could, I suppose, but everyone's used to you. Maybe Ami would do well, but I don't think Megabyte would. And Lisa would be most unhappy about it."

"Lisa could handle it," Adam said, craning his head in Greer's direction.

Greer nodded. "Possibly. She certainly picked a good time to visit didn't she?"

Adam nodded. "It was a good time. If my loss is truly permanent, she'd be the next oldest."

Greer sighed, turning the tape over in the player. "Well, where were we? You lost your powers, and are working on a successor without telling anyone that you've lost your powers. And how are you getting home without teleporting, by the way."

"It's called an airplane, you know. We do get air service in Australia," Adam said somewhat sarcastically. "But yes, I'll tell Lisa later on this evening. If she's still awake."

"If she has that coffee, she certainly will be."

"It occurred to me that all of you should have continual cases of jetlag, considering you go all over the place. How do you manage?"

"We manage."

Greer sighed. "Well, since you're a captive audience here, why don't I tell you a little problem I've been considering..."

****

"His name is Adam?" Adam said. He looked at the immortal, who for some reason was flushing. He gave her a comforting hug.

"Probably not his real one. And we've got to get him out of the Watchers fast, before he causes any more damage!" "Why? You're an ex-Watcher..."

"'Scuse me, you folks may work on the principle of 'be fruitful and multiply,' but we work on the principle of 'be fruitful and behead.' With the information he possibly has access to, he could surprise anyone he wants, know all their weaknesses, and so on! That's why I don't want access, just because I'd be tempted to do just that."

"Could it be possible that he is just interested in the history?"

"Possibly. That's one of the reasons I'm hesitating. The other one being that he seems older than me, and I'm not too hot as a fighter."

"You're interested in history, too," Adam observed. In fact, he had never seen anyone quite as interested in history. Maybe she never got it all quite right, but she always looked to the past.

"We observe, we record, but we never interfere," Greer said thoughtfully.

"Huh?" Adam said succinctly. I know this, why are you saying it?

"I'm a recorder of history as it happens. A chronicler," she said, ignoring him. "You're quite right, he might not be interested in winning the game that way, just chronicling. He might even be like me, a Watcher who became Immortal and didn't want to leave what he knew. Wish I'd had the chance."

Adam thought he understood. "The 'what-if' situation," he said quietly. "You can't return to what you were. Maybe he doesn't understand either."

"If he's really a displaced Watcher, not someone out to use the Watchers for gain," Greer said. "I'm not even sure I can trace him to ask."

"Maybe you're not supposed to."

"True," Greer said. "Well, maybe I'll figure out what to do."

"You will."

Suddenly, Lisa appeared, holding two mugs of hot chocolate. "Did I miss anything?"

"Oh, just the usual heart-to-heart discussion," Greer said airily. "That for me?"

"No, it's for Michael, actually. Do you want me to get another mug?"

"No thanks. But next time you come by, remind me I need to get cocoa."

"Will do. I'm going to talk to Michael for a minute, see you both later."

"'Kay," Greer said. As Lisa left, she stared at Adam.

"I'll tell her," he said resignedly.

"You should. They depend on you, you know. They don't depend on me, or Michael, or Lisa. You're the one everyone looks up to, including me."

Adam blushed.

"For goodness sake, you haven't noticed that? None of us has ever seen you really down."

"I know," he said miserably.

"Maybe I'm going about this the wrong way," she said out loud. "You can't be without your powers because we need you. I need you. I need you sane and whole so that I can stop worrying about you while I deal with this other problem."

"Maybe you are going about this the wrong way," Michael replied from the doorway. "Let me try."

"Go ahead. Where's Lisa, by the way?"

"Oh, I asked her something and she went home to get some stuff for me."

"Well, at least she's getting the practice," Adam said.

Greer waved her husband to a chair, wondering what he was up to. He nodded, sat down, and got comfortable. "Let me tell you about something. A few months before Greer and I met up again in Sacramento, I was assigned to do a minor supervisorial role there. During that time, one of my people was murdered. She'd been assigned to this particular female Immortal. A lot of other Watchers who were observing this particular immortal had also been killed. The first was my aunt, two decades before."

"I'm sorry," Adam said.

Greer nodded. She'd never been told this particular story and was fascinated, especially since there was little about Michael's past that she didn't know about.

"Thanks. Well, I got the bright idea that I needed to talk to her. I did. We ended up pooling resources. Turns out that this businessman had a fascination for swordfights, especially deadly ones, and he'd fastened on her as a way of providing entertainment. So, in his twisted mind, he decided that he had to protect her from arrest, and so he killed every witness to the fight. Which happened to be the Watchers assigned to her and her opponents."

"We - this lady, her paramour, and I, went to confront him. He confessed to what he'd done."

"What happened to him?" Greer asked.

"I don't know. I was all set to kill him, and next thing I knew, her paramour, another Immortal named Fitzcairn who is now dead, God save his soul, was hauling me far away. They told me later that it was settled, but since she didn't want to deal with me again, she told me to let it be. I did. I didn't want to really deal with a pair of enraged, armed Immortals. And I was grateful for it later."

"Why?" Adam asked. "Because you didn't do something you would have regretted?"

"Yeah. Well, I realized what had happened could never change. Neither my aunt nor my friend would be brought back to life. That's the important thing, you know. You can't change the past, but you can go on in life."

"But what if you made a mistake, and it affected thousands of beings? What if you could be responsible for killing a large population?"

"I don't know, Adam," Michael said. "I'd have to live with it, even learn to put it behind me. It wouldn't be easy, of course, but I would try."

"Michael's right," Greer said. "What you do matters of course, but sometimes you've got to learn to forgive yourself."

"I hope you're right," Adam replied.

****

Adam looked out the window of Greer's flat. For the moment, everyone else was out: Michael to do some repairing of a computer somewhere, Greer out running errands, and Lisa to goodness knew where. Funny, he thought. That my misfortune would cause Lisa to use her powers again.

Lisa was the most phobic of the group, and had pretty much isolated herself from the rest of them. While her assignments in the Watchers had stabilized her life, she must have decided to act like a Watcher, suspending her powers in order to live a more "normal" life. But this crisis had pushed her into thinking like a Tomorrow Person again, instead of what she was not.

Greer had done some genuine good in sending Lisa off; she was wiser than she thought, and more insightful than she believed. He wondered what advice to give her, what could work to calm her fears.

The door opened, and Greer walked in, nodding to Adam and moving to the kitchen to put her packages down. Once done, she came back in. "How's everything?"

"I told her, as you suggested. She talked to the others. I'm the only one without my powers."

"You mean, neither Megabyte nor Jade was affected?"

"No. Why should they be? I was responsible."

"Megabyte was responsible too, yet he has his."

"He's not the one expected to be responsible."

Greer sighed, throwing her hands up. "Joy. Not this 'divine retribution' thing again. I feel like I'm talking to a telepathic ghost. You're not listening to anything I'm saying."

"It's happened. As your husband said, I can't change what I did. And I can't regain what was lost."

Greer was toying around with part of her coat. "Just so you don't kill yourself. I suppose now you could do it, hang yourself or overdose or something like that."

"How? I don't think I could do any of those things, even now," Adam said.

"Good question. I suppose not being able to kill precludes suicide, if you still have that instinct. Even if you're able to kill off parts of yourself."

"Yes, I do, and I think it does."

"Okay," Greer said thoughtfully. She gazed at him, blinked, and then continued, "But if you still can't kill, you still might be a Tomorrow Person."

Adam looked momentarily away, squeezing his eyes shut. Why can't she understand?

"You've been given a gift! Something that so many people would love to have. Just with your instincts left, you're forced to be more peaceful than most people would ever dream of."

Adam groaned. "It didn't help, did it? I killed hundreds, thousands of intelligent beings. My instinct was not enough to save their lives."

"They're parasites!" Greer exclaimed.

"So what?" Adam said miserably. "They were intelligent, thinking beings. Just because they weren't human and invaded people didn't mean that I had the right to kill them."

"Adam, your powers didn't make you any less human! You still hate, you still love. You still get angry. Are either of us less than human because we have these feelings? No. Being human, we have both the capacity for good, and the capacity for evil. It's just that we have abilities most people don't."

Adam looked into Greer's hazel eyes. The Immortal was gazing at him sadly, her hands folded on the table in front of her. They both were silent for a minute, and then Adam said, "I just don't rate this gift anymore. I had a responsibility, and I fouled it up."

"And what are you going to do as a mere mortal, Adam? Turn to crime? Lisa's been pretty much living without her powers, you can too without turning into a self-pitying quivering idiot! You're moaning, and you still have to go on with the future whether you've got your powers or not."

Adam looked at an increasingly upset Greer. He couldn't find a way to express what he felt, and he sincerely wished he had his powers back so that he could make her understand. She was fiddling with her coat, which she had left on. He stared down at the table, barely noticing when Greer stood up.

His inward discussion was interrupted by a loud thwack. He looked around to see Greer's rapier slightly imbedded in the table in front of him. "Greer, what-"

"I'm tired of hearing you moan on about something that you want everyone to feel sorry about! It's no bed of roses on my end, may I say."

He had risen up from the chair, and was backing away slowly, holding his hands out. "Greer, wait-"

But it was no use. The maddened Immortal was swinging at him again. He backed away even further. She kept sweeping her sword at him. He started running towards the door. "That's not an out, Adam! You've got to own up to what you've done and go on with your life."

"But I don't have my powers-" Adam said, desperately seeking something to hide behind.

Greer swiped at him as he tried to get behind his chair. He could tell that she'd narrowly missed him, but had gotten his clothing. He ducked, and grabbed the chair, trying to hit her with it and knock her out so that she didn't harm him or herself. She glared at him, and then said. "Live with it, Adam!"

He tried to hit her, but she deflected the blow and got possession of the chair, tossing it away from her.

Adam kept jogging around the room, narrowly escaping Greer's sword. Finally, Greer had him backed up to a corner. He looked at the maddened look in her eyes, closed his own, and waited for the fatal blow. And then, suddenly, there wasn't a corner anymore.

Water didn't have corners.

****

Megabyte had come to the island to suntan and to try to forget what had bothering him. He couldn't believe that Adam had lost his powers. Just when you thought everything was okay, the impossible happens.

He could barely remember what it was like when he couldn't teleport. He tried to reconcile that with Adam's current status, and got even more depressed at the notion. What would it be like, to have your powers and then not have them? To suddenly not be able to hear the others? or not be able to teleport, but have to rely on planes and actually have to walk everyplace?

He had no answer.

He was momentarily startled by a loud splash coming from the ocean nearby. "Great," he murmured. (I think we have someone new!) he announced to the rest.

(Who?) Lisa wanted to know.

(I don't know. Lousy timing, though.)

Lisa popped into existence beside him. "Adam's at Greer and Michael's, so we don't have to worry about him."

"I guess I train this one too," Megabyte said. He watched as a form came out of the water. His eyes widened, and he looked in disbelief.

Lisa beat him to speaking. "Adam?"

Megabyte looked at his wet friend, trying to comprehend what his eyes saw. But he can't teleport. He told us he couldn't!

(This is impossible,) Lisa thought to him.

(You're telling me,) he replied.

Adam, who was rather wet after his unexpected salt water bath, looked at them, bewildered.

(Adam?) Lisa repeated a second time. (Can you hear me? If you can, tell me.)

"Of course I can hear you," Adam said.

Megabyte looked in astonishment at his friend. "You're back!"

"Huh?"

"You've got your powers back, Adam," Lisa chipped in.

Adam took a look around, as if realizing that they were at the beach, and then stared at the above ground portion of the spaceship. Then he shook himself. "I must have," he replied, apparently stunned.

"What happened? Last I knew, you were at the Gardner-Lewis apartment," Lisa said.

"I was. And then Greer came back from errands. And then, well, she attacked me."

Megabyte looked at his friend skeptically. "Greer. She attacked you? Come on, Adam, she goes after other Immortals, she doesn't attack us!"

"She just did. Put a gouge in her table, chased me around her flat with her sword. She had me cornered, and then I arrived here."

"Are you sure you didn't imagine it?"

Lisa was looking at Adam's arm. "That's quite a cut."

Adam and Megabyte looked at the area she was indicating. Indeed, Adam was bleeding from a small wound, bigger than a cut, but not too serious looking. Then Lisa snapped out of the momentary trance she had been in. (Someone get me a blanket please!) she said.

"Why?" Megabyte asked.

"He might be suffering from shock, you idiot! He just got attacked, was injured and bleeding in salt water, and he's shivering."

"This what you wanted?" Jade asked, holding a heavy blanket. She'd popped in when everyone else's attention was focussed on Adam.

"Thanks, that's just what we needed," Lisa said. She wrapped the blanket around Adam.

"So, what happened?" Jade asked.

"Greer attacked me," Adam said, bewildered.

"Could she be possessed?" Jade asked.

"Come on, Jade, we took care of those things. They can't be back."

"Are you sure?" Lisa asked.

Jade looked miserable, but Megabyte was able to answer. "If they weren't, do you think that Adam would be acting the way he is?"

"I don't know." Lisa said. She turned to Adam. "Did she say anything? Did she seem normal?"

"She was ranting on about being tired of hearing me moan and feel sorry for myself."

"Sounds pretty justified to me," Lisa said. "The rant, I mean. You have sounded pretty awful."

"That's still not the was she normally operates," Megabyte said.

"She wasn't herself. We owe it to her to find out what's going on," Adam said.

****

Michael came into the flat with an armful of groceries. He stopped, suddenly aware that something was not quite right. He looked at the overturned furniture, the damaged walls, and finally at his wife, who was in one corner of the room. "Greer?" he asked.

Greer was sitting in a chair, looking at her unsheathed rapier, which had a bit of blood on it. She didn't look up at him as she replied, "Hi, Michael."

"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

"I think I'll be fine," Greer said slowly, sounding confused and guilty. "Right now I'm feeling very fragile and very stupid. Very human. What's up with you?"

"Well, I fixed the problem, and I got that information on that Pierson fellow right here. Address, phone, and such. Found out what he does, too."

"Oh?" she perked up slightly.

"You've heard of Methos, of course."

Greer nodded thoughtfully. "Of course. Who hasn't heard of him?"

"Well, this guy is the historian assigned to him. And he was somehow involved in the brouhaha in Paris several years back."

Greer kept nodding to herself. Michael thought she looked like a kindergartner in a dream world. "Okay."

"What happened here?" Michael asked, concerned. He leaned on the wall and folded his arms.

"Um. I found out that Adam didn't lose his powers. But I'm worried about him, I think I wounded him," she said, indicating her blade.

"Are you under the impression that you're making sense?"

Greer shook her head, as if she was disappointed that he couldn't understand. "Never mind. Call the Damon household, see if anyone's heard anything about Adam. I'm going out for a walk."

"Why don't you go over there?" Michael said. "Adam can tell you himself."

"I don't think he'll want to talk to me after this mess. I'm not sure anyone will."

"What?"

"I just did something really terrible," Greer said, standing up. "I could have killed him. Look, I need some fresh air. I need to think, take care of some things."

Without another word, Greer wiped the blood off the sword, sheathed it, and went out. Michael chased after her, but she ignored him. This makes absolutely no sense. Nearly killed who? Adam? He went to call the Damon household to figure out what was going on.

****

Adam, Megabyte, and Lisa watched as Jade bandaged the wound, since Adam's healing talents didn't seem to apply to himself. They were sitting in Megabyte's room at the Damon household, wanting to talk before they confronted Greer. It was a good thing that Adam had a spare set of clothes in the spaceship, even though most of them were dirty. He'd also been fortunate not to really be in shock.

"That should help," Jade said.

"So, what do we do now?" Megabyte said.

"We go back. We've known her for three years, there's got to be a reason that she did that," Adam said.

"Of course she had one," Lisa said. "This is Greer we're talking about."

Adam nodded. Now that he was over the shock of having a sword swung at him, he realized that she had helped. He had his powers back, the group was working together, Lisa and Megabyte were handling things quite well.

"Marmaduke! Phone!" came a female voice from below.

The redhead looked up, annoyed, and called back, "Just a moment."

"Maybe it's Greer, apologizing," Jade said.

"Might be," Megabyte said, and then walked out of the room. There was silence for a moment, and then Lisa spoke up.

"It does sound like to me that she was provoking a reaction. I don't seriously believe she would hurt you."

"Could be. Has it happened before?"

"To Greer? I don't know. Immortals are about as predictable as most people."

"As in, we'll never know."

"Not as long as they're human."

Megabyte came back in. "Well, that wasn't Greer. It was Michael."

"What'd he say?" Adam wanted to know.

"Well, he wanted to know how you were, and did we know why Greer kept calling herself stupid and then wandering off. And then he asked us to come over."

"Sounds good to me," Adam said.

****

Michael dropped his coffee when the four teens materialized, and tried futilely to quickly clear up the stain. "Thanks for coming," he said.

"We're as confused as you are," Adam said.

"Yeah, well maybe if we put our wits together, we can figure out what's going on. Adam, if I knew why she wanted to check up on you, maybe things would make more sense." Adam nodded.

Michael saw the bandage on his arm. "She hit you with her sword, didn't she?"

Adam nodded again. "I'm not sure why," he said.

"Adam got his abilities back," Lisa said.

Michael nodded. "Now I understand."

"I don't," Megabyte said.

"It's simple. You've heard of various scenarios where a man walks into a drugstore or a bar, talks to the druggist or bartender, and the other person pulls out a gun, and the man thanks him?"

"Because he's got the hiccups, and the other person is trying to scare him out of them," Jade said. "It's a common brainteaser."

"Right," Michael replied.

"And in this case, she was trying to scare me back to my senses," Adam said.

"Or, at least your teleporting problem," Michael said. "But I'm sure she thinks she's goofed, and you'll hate her forever."

"Why?" Adam asked.

"Good question," Michael said.

"Where did she go?" Lisa asked.

"I haven't the slightest. Probably indulging that suicidal streak of hers."

Adam nodded grimly. "We better find her, then."

****

She wondered how long it would take Michael to realize that she had snagged the paper with the phone number on the way out. He worries far too much. Of course, I wouldn't call possibly challenging an Immortal thousands of years older than I am exactly sane. Maybe he has a reason to worry.

As she reached the gardens, she sensed another Immortal's presence. He came into view and she nodded. As she reached where he was, he said cordially, "Good Morning."

"Good morning," she replied politely. No use in blowing her temper in vain, she thought.

"You wanted to talk to me," he said.

"We seem to have this little problem," Greer said, looking for a place to sit down and finding none.

The other Immortal nodded, smiling apologetically. "I realize I must have scared you when I did the trade with your husband. I'm sorry, I knew about both of you, I've studied your record but somehow it slipped my mind that you were married."

"You know, you have your nerve, being in the Watchers," Greer said angrily.

Pierson smiled wider. "I do. But it is a safe haven. No one thinks to look for an Immortal in the Watchers. What would you have done, had you not been discovered?"

"I was planning to leave the Watchers, anyway," Greer said, more than a slight bit irritated at this problem in her life. "But I can understand the temptation," she continued. But not forgive it.

"It's not completely a temptation," Pierson said, calmly examining a leaf and then pausing thoughtfully. "I've been with the Watchers for over a decade now, and so I'll have to leave. But I like the Watchers. Some of them even know what I am."

"I find that hard to believe. Do they know who you really are?" Greer challenged. You sneaky old rat. "You're Methos, aren't you?"

Greer knew she was guessing at that point, but was somehow gratified and unsurprised when he nodded, a rueful look on his face. "It's not that hard to figure out, once you know. But the Watchers, although they know I exist, wouldn't dream that there's an Immortal in the Watchers, much less that it's me. And most of our kind don't think I exist."

She nodded, feeling somewhat victorious. "I have the advantage at that point. Being familiar with the proof of your existence."

"Yes- you have the training and the ability to tell. It makes you unique, you know," he replied. On his face he looked regretful. Really. Yes, I know who you are, and I could hack your head off in an instant if you let me. I hope you're not going to want me to help you commit suicide.

He had his hand up against a tree and was leaning on it, looking like he was having a casual, earnest discussion. Of course, since they were on holy ground, he wasn't worried about her going after him at the moment. "I'm terribly sorry that you didn't choose to go into research instead of field. I could have found you sooner. I've been trying to keep an eye on you, tried to be there when you became one of us. I kept trying to get you into research so that I would be ready when it happened. You had such an interesting background."

"Because I'm a Watcher?" she asked tensely. For a moment, she wondered if he really was on the level. Not all Immortals are evil, she reminded herself. He could really be a good guy. They do occasionally keep an eye out for those that have yet to be. Goodness, I could have had him for a teacher.

Pierson sighed, bringing her out of her musings and making her remember why she was there. "You're the only Immortal to come from the Watchers, to come into your Immortality during your time as a Watcher."

"And how long have you known about me?" Greer asked, somewhat curious, but also enraged. He knows so much about me, why doesn't he just demand a duel, take my head. That would preserve both his secrets.

"For about a decade, now. We never formally met, but I was in Houston on business and I went to a get-together that you were at. I knew what you were going to become right away. I've been keeping tabs on you ever since. I tried talking them to take you out of field, put you in as a historian. They refused. You had too good a record, it was felt. And, as I said, you didn't want to go."

Pierson's face was a study of innocence, mingled somewhat with curiosity. I wonder. Is he really interested in me? Is he really a good guy? Can I trust him?

"'Keeping tabs'?" she asked.

"As I said, you're the first one that I know of, and I like the Watchers. I was planning to hook up with you when I left."

"Riiiight," she said, deliberately drawing the word out.

Pierson studied her calmly, although a flicker of sadness showed through. "You don't believe me."

"You apparently know my record, do you expect me to believe you? " Greer snapped angrily. "You're over five thousand, and you didn't get to live that long by staying your entire life on holy ground."

"No. But I also didn't die because I feel that I have enough to live for. Maybe not the end of the Game, but close. There was too much to see, too much to do. Too much to live for. You're young, you can't understand what it is to live millennia."

Greer tapped her foot. I'm not a fool, you stupid idiot. "You have a lot of convincing to do, Mr. Pierson."

"Adam," he said, holding his hands out in a conciliatory gesture. "Or Methos, if you prefer."

"Mr. Pierson," she said tightly. Don't expect me to regard you as a friend. She almost wished he were telepathic so he could pick her comment up.

Pierson sighed. "What do you want me to say? I know everything that's been recorded about you, both as a Watcher and an Immortal, from your reports."

"I'm not interested. Just leave me alone," Greer said, turning away.

A hand gently touched her shoulder. She jumped, turning around to glare at Pierson. "You don't even know why I'm in London, do you?" Pierson asked gently.

"I don't particularly care, really," Greer said, taking a step back.

"Because of you. I'm leaving the Watchers, and I wanted to meet you before I changed identities. I figured you'd be curious enough to seek me out. I do admit, I didn't expect you to be so alarmed. When I read your records, I was sure that they had exaggerated, that you weren't hurt so badly."

"'Alarmed' is an understatement," Greer said. And that's all you need to know.

Pierson paced around, and then looked up at her. "It's your friend's problem, isn't it? That's why you're so tense, so ready to fight. I wondered why an Immortal one foot off of holy ground would want to do so."

"That's none of your beeswax."

"Obviously, the Watchers don't think so. They're very interested in his problem and why you're involved."

"It's really none of their beeswax either."

"You've reached the point where you're finally divorcing yourself from the Watchers?" Pierson asked quietly.

Greer jerked her sleeve up in frustration. "I can't even get rid of the tattoo, why should I be able to get away from my affiliation?" she muttered, mostly to herself, but loudly enough so that he could hear it.

"You could try cutting up that area until the ink is gone," Pierson said dryly. "You'll heal with no tattoo. I've done it before."

Greer growled. "I'll get rid of it when I want to."

"You're as lost as your friend Adam."

Stop being so patronizing! she straightened up and said, "I am not that lost."

"You're living in the past."

Greer glared at him. Fine comment for you to make! He leaned even harder against the tree, looking suddenly afraid of her. "I am not."

"Do I have to chase you around with a sword to make you see the truth?"

"It wouldn't be as effective in my case. I'd have to chase you right back."

He nodded. "I thought that would be the case."

"You keep up with me that much?"

"I wanted to stay prepared," he said. "I didn't live this long by being caught unprepared."

"I noticed," Greer said. "And you didn't live this long by being friendly to young, inexperienced Immortals, either."

"Contrary to popular belief, I am not all that awe-inspiring. Don't you think that I could be doing this because I like you? Besides, you're interesting, and your friends are interesting, and I also wanted to talk to you about them." He looked to her for a response, but she remained silent. The older Immortal nodded to himself, and then spoke. "You're responsible for a young woman named Lisa Davis going into the Watchers?"

There's no use in denying that. "Yes."

He quit leaning against the tree and stepped over to her, continuing in a low voice, "Would you care to explain to me how a young woman in Virginia checks in, makes sure her assignment's covered, and is then placed at your residence two hours later, without using the front door?"

Greer raised an eyebrow, making a mental note to warn Lisa about that. "I'd say that the Watchers are becoming sloppy."

"I would, too, because they're continually going insane trying to get stable times on when your friends enter and leave. Your reputation being well known, they assume that you've taught your young friends how to get past observation, slip the loop like I assume you've done today."

"I did. I wanted privacy. But how come you're so sure that that's not happening? That my friends are not sneaking in the back door and the Watchers misplaced Lisa Davis?"

"Because I think I know what they are."

"Oh? And what, pray tell, are they?"

He shrugged. "I don't know what they're called. But I think I've encountered their kind before."

"Oh, really? And what is 'their kind'?"

"To hazard a guess? Telepathic, precogniscient, teleporters."

Greer was stunned, although she tried not to show it. "I guess five thousand years of experience and you do meet everyone," she said quietly.

"Yes," Pierson said. "Being a student of history, are you also acquainted with myth and folklore?"

"Of course. I'm also familiar with what Immortals have been considered over the years. Faeries. Elves. That such."

He nodded. "Do you believe in extraterrestrials?"

"I do now. Why?"

He leaned into the tree again. "A thousand or so years ago, I was living in what is now southern England, over towards Bath. It was a small village, like many I have lived in over the years. What was so amazing is that we had a woman in this village, unmarried and old, who could see into the future, and could read people's minds as well. I've also heard that she could travel around, but I wasn't too sure of this. But one night, we had visitors to the place."

"Extraterrestrials?" Greer asked, wary but absorbed in the tale.

"Yes. Anyway, the whole village was thinking that they were being visited by unearthly spirits. The aliens must have been quite amused. But they talked a lot to this woman, mostly not using their voices. And she was able to answer. Anyway, she was told she was a 'tomorrow's child' and that there would be more like her. And she foretold later that there would be a 'long-lived one' who would take care of her kind. I would have been happier if she had indicated that you would be in the Watchers, it would have made my life so much easier."

Greer ignored his last comment. "So, what's the importance?"

"Well, the legend was later corrupted. When you hear folktales of elves taking care of human children, at least some of them were inspired by that visit. No one remembers that visit taking place. It was just that one woman, and the tales told to her that she remembered. But I knew she was special."

"That could easily be faked," Greer said casually.

"Several thousand years before that, I met a young Egyptian pharaoh with the same abilities. And I know that he wasn't faking them, and neither was she."

"So, now I'm the 'long-lived one' who will take care of 'tomorrow's children'," she said, sarcastically.

"It seems that you are. I know what they are, I guessed about Lisa Davis. I remember the coverage a few years ago when she disappeared."

"Now you're running circles around the topic, pretending to be interested in me, when you're really interested in them," Greer said defensively.

He raised an eyebrow. "Actually, I'm interested in both. You, for the background and the responsibility you've taken on, and them for what they are."

"Maybe I should disassociate with them, for their safety."

"It's too late, especially with your Chronicle. The Watchers been keeping track of them ever since you befriended them. As I mentioned, your friends drive the Watchers nuts."

"Obviously."

"In fact, they're under suspicion as possible Immortals."

Greer cracked up hysterically. She couldn't help it.

"Did they tell you about an incident at the London Forum last week?" Pierson asked.

Greer paused, considering whether or not to tell. "Yes, I believe that they did."

"The green mist happening above the roof of the Forum?"

"Green mist?"

"You missed it?" Pierson asked.

Greer looked at him. "Yes."

"Well, there was a green mist above the London Forum last week, just before the Byron Lucifer concert. Somebody had the sense to dash over there and take pictures."

"And got three of them."

Pierson smiled. "Yes, they did. I'll leave it to you to deal with that."

"Lovely. So, what happens next?"

"It's up to you. I'd like to meet them some time, but I get the sense that now is not a good time."

"It's not."

Pierson nodded. "I understand."

****

"...So, all we have to do is find her somehow," Michael said, worried. "Or wait for her to come home." He looked around at the worried faces and sighed. "If she does."

"How are we going to span all of London?" Megabyte wanted to know.

Adam shook his head. "I have no idea. But we have to talk to her, tell her that she's wrong."

All heads turned as the door was opened. "My, what a meeting," Greer said.

"Well, we were worried."

"I didn't mean to make you worry so much. There was just something I had to take care of."

"Well, aside from a few white hairs, I'm fine," Michael said. "But we've got to have that suicidal streak of yours looked at."

"What suicidal streak?"

"Going after Immortals centuries older than you are just because you think you wronged a friend. Come on, this isn't the first time you've done this."

"That's not a suicidal streak."

"Right," he said skeptically. "But we're fine."

"Good," Greer said. She turned to face Adam, her words coming out in a rush. "Adam, I'm sorry for what I did. I made a stupid plan, and I didn't mean to hurt you, and I hope you'll forgive me."

"I already did," Adam said. "I knew you weren't trying to hurt me permanently."

"But I scared you!" Greer replied, amazed.

"Yes, but it helped," Adam replied. He wondered why Greer was apologizing so much.

"Oh, and I have some possible news."

"What?" Megabyte wanted to know, echoed by Michael, Lisa, and Jade.

"Well, I was trying to solve a problem of my own. I met up with another Immortal that I was having problems with and pretty much negotiated a peace deal."

"That's good news!" Adam said happily. "I knew you could do it."

"Thank you," Greer said, smiling back. "Although I was happy to get away with this news. There was this light show or mist above the London Forum last week and we can probably all guess what the Watchers thought it was."

Jade, apparently puzzled, asked, "What? What did they think it was?"

Michael grinned at Jade, then turned to Greer. "Let me guess - a beheading."

Greer grinned back. "They thought it was a beheading, right enough."

Adam was growing more excited. "You mean, they escaped?"

"They might've done. If not, that's an awfully big coincidence."

"Wait a moment," Megabyte said. "Why is that a good thing?"

"Because that means probably that we didn't kill them," Adam said patiently. "That we are not responsible for the deaths of thousands of intelligent beings."

"Probably," Greer said.

Michael smiled. "I have no problems getting on the horn and checking the date and time on that, if you'll hold on," he said.

Greer smiled in reply. "Well, looks like we have a few less worries."

Michael nodded and left.

****

A few days later, Greer said, "I'm sure this is in some kind of 'News of the Weird' somewhere."

Adam looked up at her from his sunbathing. They were both sitting on the sands of the island. He sipped at a glass of lemon iced tea, while she drank an iced mocha. "I'm glad he checked."

"Well, he's one smart, wise fellow, my husband is."

Adam chuckled. "So, what are you going to do?"

"Well, Adam Pierson is not in London anymore. He sent me a note from Paris. Apparently, that's where he lives. I don't know what to make of him, but he seems an honourable man, and I'm not interested in taking a head when I don't need to. And I've made enough dumb mistakes to last me a while. But you live, you learn, and life goes on."

"I wish I'd learned that earlier," Adam said.

"Well, I'm glad it turned out not to be as bad a mistake as you feared. I mean, you goofed. You made a tough choice, we all do. Myself included exponentially."

"Yes, well, forgiving yourself is not an easy thing."

"Not an easy thing to learn, is it? But take it from me, you don't want to spend the rest of your life depressed. You don't have time."

"No."

"And please, next time you almost kill, don't guilt yourself out of your powers."

"You think that's what happened? That I didn't want my powers, so I suppressed them? But why hasn't Lisa done that already then?"

"Lisa doesn't want her powers, but there's something in her that overrode her and prevented her from trying to burn her powers out. On the other hand, you really wanted to burn them out subconsciously, and because of your instincts supporting that, you nearly did, permanently."

"If that's your guess, it's as good as anything."

"So, you're going to go on?"

"Well, I have to. Jade's got most of it down, but there's still a little she has to learn, and we're all encouraging Lisa to stay in touch this time."

Greer smiled. "Things are back to normal."

"And you? Are you going to follow his advice, remove your tattoo?"

Greer rolled her eyes. "I don't know. It's like removing part of what I am. A part that I still am. I can't get away from it, it's like my nickname. But I am half inclined to get rid of both, because it's something that I should be part of my past. But somehow, I am loath to become just Georgina Lewis, Immortal."

"Become normal, you mean."

"'Normal' hasn't described my life since 1980. Normal for a supernatural being, I guess that's so. Not fun, but normal."

"Well, as normal as it's going to be."

"As long as we're all human, who needs normal?" Greer smiled.

End.