Clones, Stargates and Guardians, oh my! - Chapter 7

The Wraith scrutinized the young, nervous human.

The teenager fearfully stood just inside the doorway, ready to bolt at a moments notice. He lived with his mom and siblings in a rundown apartment building nearby and had seen this tall, weird lookin' white guy breaking in earlier. He would have been curious about the albino stranger anyway, but his drug dealer said to keep an eye out for a weird looking dude with this guy's description. 

What he didn't bargain for was the dealer telling him to go get him.

Because now he was getting weirded out by the stranger's freakish yellow eyes and abnormally pale skin, both of which stood out in the dimly lit decrepit room. 

The stranger wasn't budging, so he motioned to the door behind him, "Uh...these guys you don't wanna mess around with."

"Atlantians?" the Wraith purr-growled.

The teen looked puzzled, "No man, my capo Darius."

The Wraith just looked at him.

The teen shifted his weight, knowing that he would be in as much trouble as the stranger if he couldn't get him to go before the muscle outside got tired of waiting. "Please, we'll both be in a lotta trouble if you don't go." 

The Wraith pondered for a moment. He had zero care for the young human outside of him being food, but he did notice the sloppy clothes weren't typical human military uniforms. But this "capo Darius" apparently has other humans working for him, so he must be a local warlord. 

Just then, they heard the sound of several bootsteps walking down the hall. 

The teen turned back to the stranger and whispered urgently, "Please! They'll yank your ass outta here with guns and grips if you don't go!"

The Wraith stepped forward. He decided to go because these humans might have a way to contact others of his kind or at least know where the Stargate is since he lost his bearings after feeding on the tainted humans.

The teen smiled and carefully stepped into the hall, hands raised. "We're comin' out! He's goin' with you!" 

One of the 4 gunmen paid the teen as the rest escorted the Wraith to the limo. They all awkwardly squeezed inside. When the last door slammed shut, there was a collective scrunching of noses. "Dude, you need a fuckin' shower" one of them said.

*****

A large man in a suit hung up his smartphone, "They have him. No resistance. They're on their way."

Mr. Franks silently acknowledged the report and took a sip of brandy while gazing out his 15th floor penthouse window at the nearby skyscrapers and bustling city activity on the streets below. 

Another aide walked in the room. "Sir, we have reports of an increased Space Force presence in the city, and some homeless bodies have been found that look shriveled up like Red's."

Mr. Franks glanced at the man who delivered that report, then turned back to the window. He wondered that maybe an alien really *did* come through the Stargate. 

"Containment is ready?" he said without turning around.

"Yes sir."

*****

Rodney's voice broke the intercom silence, "Shepard, the police report about that altercation says a mob stooge was killed by a tall, white-haired guy, probably in a costume from ComicCon. I'm looking to see if there are any security cam feeds."

Shepard and Teyla looked at each other, "That's gotta be him," Shepard said. "Give us the address and we'll ask around."

*****

The limo parked at the loading dock of the hi-rise, and the gunmen escorted the Wraith inside, leading him to a windowless room with a single chair and a large TV embedded in the wall. The escorts left and locked the door behind them.

The Wraith stood and looked around, surprised it wasn't a typical human holding cell with bars.

The TV blipped to life and a middle aged white man appeared on the screen.

"My name is Mr. Franks. Rumor has it that you have an unique method for killing people. How do you do it?"

The Wraith just looked at him. His kind were never ones for chit chat. But it was now apparent this human didn't know about the Wraith.

Mr. Franks noticed his captive's strange yellow eyes, pale skin, and extra-long fingernails. "That's quite a outfit you're wearing. What the hell are you supposed to be?"

Again, the Wraith just stared back at him.

Franks squinted, "Did you come through the Stargate?"

The Wraith smiled, which showed his yellowish rows of pointed teeth. They know of the Stargate which means they could lead him there.

"I'll take that as a yes." Mr. Franks said. "I'll ask again, how do you kill people that leaves them shriveled up?"

Silence.

"Ok. I have ways of making people talk. This is your last chance for telling me what I want to know."

The Wraith said nothing. They'll find out how he kills soon enough.

"Fine." The screen blipped off.

About a minute later, the Wraith whirled around at the sound of the door opening. In walked a large, muscular white man, looking a bit nervous, but aggressive, as the door shut behind him. He was wearing jeans, boots, and a black t-shirt. He had a short black mohawk and a crisply cut beard and moustache. The tats on his beefy arms made it obvious (to earthers, anyway) that this was your typical tough guy. 

The Wraith figured this large human was there to make him talk by beating him. He smiled and readied himself to make him look like a fool before feeding on him.

The big guy was told to force the pale guy to tell him how he kills people, and if he did, they would wipe out his debt. But he was surprised the thin pale guy wasn't tied up to make it easier. And to make matters worse, he'd also heard about the shriveled up dead people and no one knew what killed them. Mr. Franks must think the pale guy is the killer and wants pale guy to kill HIM instead. Well fuck that! He didn't want to be the next victim! But there was no refusing Mr. Franks or you would definitely end up dead. So, killing this freak was his only way out. He clenched his fists and stepped forward to fight for his life!

The pale guy stood there as the big guy didn't break stride and punched him in the face. Hard. But his head whipped back to face him with a grin. The big guy's eyes were as big as saucers! How could a thin guy like that take that punch without at least staggering??

He punched him two more times in the face, with the same effect! He then tried punching him once in the gut. The only effect was a bigger grin from the prisoner!

The Wraith figured his point was made and he whipped his left had out and grabbed the big man's neck and lifted him off the ground!

Mr. Franks and his aids, watching the video feed, were stunned! This was definitely no ComicCon goer!

The big guy grabbed the Wraith's arm to ease the bodyweight pulling on his neck, and he kicked his legs to try to get free!

Satisfied that the big guy was sufficiently panicked and fighting for his life, in one move he quickly set him down and slammed his right feeding hand against the center of the big man's chest, causing him to scream as he felt his life force being pulled away!

Mr. Franks and his aides were speechless as they watched the Wraith growl aggressively as the big guy struggled and aged right before their eyes! After a few more seconds, the big man fell silent, shriveled into mummified-looking human as the Wraith victory growled! 

With no more life force to drain, the Wraith let him drop to the floor, then turned, teeth bared in a panting grin, to face the camera!

Franks' eyes were locked on the screen, "What the hell did I just watch??" The two aides behind him looked at each other. 

*****

Shepard and Teyla stood in the office with the Chinese restaurant owner looking at the security cam footage of the Wraith killing the mob guy in the alley. 

Shepard asked, "Who do they work for?"

"Mista Franks."

"Where can we find him?"

"I don' know."

"Come on," Shepard said, "Is there someone else who knows?"

"I know nothing." He was obviously afraid. He didn't even want to show them the footage, but finally agreed when they threatened to deport him and his staff.

Just then, Ronin, Techno, Recon and Lafe walked in. 

The restaurant owner did a double-take at seeing the two clones. And they were pale. Pale like the killer in the alley! Now, fear of being killed like the man in the alley took over, "Uh...talk to James Meeka. He know. He know."

Shepard and Teyla raised their eyebrows. "Well where do I find *him*?" Shepard asked.

"He own Davis Limo. Now go. Go!" He shoo-motioned for them to leave.

They left.

"Rodney, get us an address for Davis Limo." Shepard asked.

"I'm on it."

*****

After the initial shock of watching the Wraith's kill wore off and they collected the no-longer-big guy's body, Mr. Franks ordered his minions to find out anything they could on what the hell was in their containment room, including asking any sources they have in the government.

*****

Shepard, Teyla, Ronin, and a couple of local SFPD walked into Davis Limo with their sidearms but not their assault rifles. 

Shepard asked the receptionist, "We'd like to speak to Mr. Meeka."

She said, "Mr. *Meeker* is in a meeting right now. Can I tell him who's asking?"

The African American SPFD detective displayed his badge, "Detective Johnson. We need to speak to him. Now. It's urgent."

She glared at them, "I'll let him know," then stood and left through a door behind the reception desk.

Shepard looked at Teyla and quietly said, "It's Meek-ERRR, apparently." She grinned.

The receptionist walked in his office, "Mr. Meeker, there's a group of SFPD here wanting to speak to you. They said it's urgent."

He nodded, "Bring them back." 

She was surprised, but nodded and left. 

Mr. Meeker hoped this had to do with the man in Mr. Frank's custody so he could get some information.

A few moments later, the group arrived to his office.

"How can I help you?" Meeker asked while sitting behind his desk.

Shepard held up a generic photo of a Wraith. It wasn't one from the security feed to protect the restaurant owner's identity. "Have you seen this guy?"

Meeker shook his head, "No. Did he rent one of my limos?"

"You tell us. We've heard you're a man who knows a lot of things." 

"Well, I'd definitely remember someone who looked like that. But I don't personally see everyone who rides in my limos." He noticed their annoyance. "But I can let you know if I do. What agency are you with?"

Shepard didn't answer, "We'd also like to talk with Mr. Franks. Where can we find him?"

"I don't know."

"Oh, I think you do."

"Do I look like his secretary?"

"No, you look like his driver, and drivers know where they drop people off. Where is he?"

"I don't know. I don't divulge client information."

"With a warrant you will." Detective Johnson said.

Meeker tilted his head, "Do you have one?" 

"Not yet. But we'll be back when we do."

Meeker looked at Shepard, "What agency are *you* with?"

"SFPD." Shepard replied.

"Hm. I don't recognize your uniforms."

The detective stepped forward and handed him a business card, "We'll be back with a warrant, but let me know if you hear anything."

The group turned and left. After they were out of the building, Meeker picked up the phone, "This is Meeker. Let Mr. Franks know the SFPD and some people from another agency were here looking for your guy. I'll send my security cam feed over."

*****

"We appreciate the assist in there, detective." Shepard said as they met up with Techno, Recon and Lafe outside.

"No problem. We want this killer out of here as much as you do. Meeker definitely knows something, and we've suspected him for a while of being close to Mr. Franks."

"Rodney, anything new?"

"Nothing. I've started searching for other security cam footage farther out."

"Well," Shepard said to the team, "we're in a holding pattern. Let's get something to eat."

*****

A few hours later, one of Mr. Franks aides walked in, "We have new information. Mr. Meeker said the SFPD and some other personnel stopped by his shop asking about the... "man" we have in custody. We don't know who the other personnel are yet, but we suspect they're Space Force. We're analyzing his security cam feed. Also, our Space Force contact sent us this." He put a flash drive in the wall mounted screen. A moment later, several windows popped open showing images of a Wraith, their feeding hand, and their fighter aircraft. There were also text boxes with descriptions of the images as well as what the Wraith are and where they're from.

"Holy shit," Franks said. "He *is* a freakin' alien."

He read that the Wraith are not only capable of killing by draining life force, they're also capable of stopping and even *reversing* the damage. He grinned. He may have found the perfect torture device, and a way to make an INSANE amount of money renting his life giving abilities, AND a way for he himself to stay alive indefinitely!

"This is the fuckin' jackpot!"

Just then, another aide walked in with a file folder, "Sir, we have new information on the people who visited Mr. Meeker earlier." He set the folder down on the desk in front of Mr. Franks, who opened it. 

The first document was an image of the team in the parking lot. 

The aid pointed, "These two are SFPD. These two are Space Force. This one-" 

"Looks like Jason Momoa?" Franks interrupted.

"He does. The other two-"

"Look like the Thompson Twins?"

The millennial aide quizzically glanced at the other millennial aide who also didn't know who those twins were. "Um, actually," he pulled couple more pages from the folder, "they look to be part of a commune of clones and non-clones a few hours from here in ."

"A *commune* of *clones*?" Frank asked astonishingly as he held up photos in each hand. In one hand was an image of some Kai clones at a party. The clones were smiling or talking and in various poses with their loved ones. The other page had a few different views of The Castle. "And they *live* in a *castle*??" Franks asked, just as astonished.

"Yes sir."

"And this isn't some A.I. shit?"

"No sir."

Franks parted the papers and looked down at the file folder, "What else do we know about 'em?"

"Not a lot. We do know that this one isn't in the Castle very much. His name is ReconKai. And these folks who saw Mr. Meeker," he pointed at the non-SFPD people, "were seen exiting ComicCon. But we have no footage of them *entering* ComicCon. So they're most likely Space Force personnel who came through the ComicCon's Stargate."

Franks squinted, "Even these two?" he pointed to MyKai and Dgre.

"Yes sir."

"They don't look military."

"This one doesn't either." the aide pointed at Ronin.

"Think he's a Jason Momoa clone?"

"It's possible."

"Hm." Franks thought for a moment. "Ok. Get more intel on these clones. They're pale like our freaky alien guy, but they look more human. See if they're also aliens and if they have any 'unique skills'. Other than looking alike."

*****

Mr. Frank's spy squad parked their two vans off the road a couple of miles from The Castle, and the eight of them gathered their bags of laptops, cameras, drones, scopes, and sound recording devices and headed into the forest to setup their hidden positions.

In The Castle, VisionAri, Dgre, MyKai, Doffy and CowboyKai (CK) were outside in the courtyard enjoying the day.

Tyrathca walked up, "I heard that MyKai was attacked."

Dgre: "Yes! It was awful! Whatever it was mangled his chest and I had to give him protoblood to revive him!"

MyKai added, "Yes. The Space Force team Lafe, Techno and Recon are working with said it was a Wraith. An alien that feeds on life force."

Ty looked puzzled.

MyKai continued, "It obviously couldn't take any life force from me, but I passed out after the damage to my chest caused too much protoblood loss."

"Did they capture it?" Ty asked, flexing the fingers on his metal arm.

"Not that we know of. They think it escaped the base and is in San Francisco. They've been looking for it."

Ty asked, "What did it look like?"

MyKai: "It was our height. Pale skin..."

**

Out in the woods, one spy with headphones held a parabolic mic while his buddy, also with headphones, monitored the recording they were getting of MyKai's description of the Wraith.

Several yards away, a couple of other spies had launched a drone and were hovering it out of hearing range. Well, *human* hearing range...

**

Up on The Castle's battlements, KillerKai was alone on his watch, taking in the view of the surrounding woodland and enjoying the solitude. After a few minutes, he heard a faint buzzing sound. He initially didn't think much of it. It was probably an insect of some sort.

But the frequency seemed off. As he focused on the sound, it whined more than he thought an insect should. And it's frequency wobbled, occasionally sounding like yeeeer-yeeeer instead of a lower frequency steady insect's buzz.

He listened closer. It sounded like it was somewhere above him. He looked up...

**

One of the spies saw KillerKai look up, "Davis. I think that one on the battlement can hear your drone. Move it."

"Copy that." He was surprised, but did as he was told. He had been keeping his drone at least 50 yards above the castle, which should be well out of hearing range.

**

The whining sound trailed off as KillerKai squinted into the clouds. He searched the sky a few more seconds, then returning to scanning the forest. Then he heard Kai21's voice over his commlink, "KK, I was hearing a whining noise a few moments ago. Did you hear it?" Kai21 was on the battlements on the opposite side of The Castle.

"I did. But it seems to be gone now."

"Same here. I don't hear it any more either. Kinda sounded like a drone."

"Stay sharp." KK said with steely eyes. "Tyrathca, we think we heard a drone overhead a few moments ago. But it seems to be done now."

"Understood." Tyrathca replied.

The group of clones and ladies looked at Tyrathca as he said, "KK and Kai21 thought they heard a drone a few minutes ago. I'm going to have a look around."

As he walked off, Dgre said, "First a crazed alien, and now drones overhead?"

MyKai and CK shared a concerned glance. VA said, "Well let me know if we need to move The Castle."

CK said, "I don't think we're at that point yet." Teleporting The Castle is a big deal. It means putting friendships made in town on hold and finding new friends and places to go. On the one hand, it can be exciting, but it can also be stressful.

**

Logan was in the ground floor rec room rummaging through some stuff she pulled out of a closet when something at a nearby window caught the corner of her eye. She darted her eyes to the window. She could have sworn she saw someone's head just outside, so she walked over, like anyone in a horror movie would, and looked around through the glass. She saw nothing. After a few more glances at the outside surroundings, she said, "Hm. Maybe it was a bird." Satisfied there was nothing to worry about, she walked back and sat down at the pile of stuff she created.

The spy hiding just below the window heard their team leader over his comlink, "Ok Jones, she's gone." He relaxed a little. But on the flip side, he did enjoy the adrenaline rush of these kinds of missions - getting right up to the target without them knowing. He had 10 more micro-cams to install at various windows around the castle, and the castle wasn't exactly small, so there was a lot more time to sneak around...

**

A half hour later, Jones had 3 more cameras to place, but the one he placed earlier at the castle's weapons training area was starting to bear fruit.

The team lead saw on that camera's feed 3 clones walk in the training area. He listened to their conversation. One of the clones set up wooden A-frame bullseye targets, and another setup several bottles and cans along a couple of railings. The third clone hung 3 humanoid dummies from sturdy rings protruding from the top of their heads, like punching bags, under a rack nearby. They swung slightly in the breeze.

They chatted during the setup:

Clone 1: "Do you think they'll vote to teleport The Castle after what happened to MyKai?"

Clone 2: "Maybe. This is a nice area, though."

Clone 3: "Well *I'd* like to see the wraith thing in person first."

The other two clones looked at him. Clone 2: "Really? Why?"

Clone 3: "It's an *alien*. I mean, I know our Original saw aliens, but *we* haven't."

Clone 2: "True."

After that, the targets were all setup and they walked several yards away.

Clone 1: "I'll take the dummies."

Clone 2: "I'll take bullseyes."

Clone 3: "Heart breaker, I mean, *glass* breaker for me then."

**

The spy leader and his buddy focused on the video feed...

**

Clone 1 clicked open his wrist brace, then whipped his arm up and fired it. It zipped forward, untethered, at the targeted dummy. It struck the dummy in the neck with a "thwack" and effortlessly decapitated it, sending the body section falling to the ground as it boomeranged back to his wrist.

Clone 3 nodded, "Nice. Your accuracy has improved."

Clone 2 adjusted his stance briefly, then whipped his arm up and fired his tethered brace at the target. It firmly embedded in the wood and the tether cable instantly started to reel itself in. When it tightented a second later, he took a step back and yanked it hard, sending the target flying towards them about 15 feet. It flopped in front of them, kicking up some dust in defeat. He flexed a muscle in his arm that caused the brace to release the target and reel back in to his wrist.

The other two nodded in approval.

"Allrighty then." Clone 3 looked at the row of 5 bottles and readied his stance. He also whipped his arm up, as all Kais typically do when firing their brace, and sent it untethered towards the bottles and cans. His brace, though, opened after it was fired, and then opened a *second* embedded set of claws, making it twice as wide as it flew. With the extra weight spread out like wings and causing additional wind resistance, it rotated counter-clockwise slightly, plowing through 4 of the 5 bottles on the top row, but missing the 5th bottle, and embedded itself in the wooden backstop.

He scowled, "Damn. I thought I had the aerodynamics worked out."

Clone 2: "It was a lot closer this time, though."

Clone 1: "Maybe it needs rear stabilizers."

"I think you're right."

Clone 2 added with a smile, "Hey, put a couple of motors on it and it could be a drone."

Clone 3's wheels turned, "Hm, that's a thought."

Clone 1 spoke, "Ok. Switching targets." He aimed for a wooden target this time...

**

Tyrathca and Kai18 split up and walked the grounds right around the castle but didn't see anything unusual. They missed Jones hiding in some bushes near one of the castle's walls, but he was helped by his teammates in the tree line warning him someone was coming.

Ty and Kai18 met back up near the castle entrance. 

Ty: "Let's check the perimeter." He tapped his commlink, "CK, can you take a ride down the entrance road and check things out?"

CowboyKai: "Will do." 

Ty: "KK and Kai21, keep an eye on the perimeter for anything moving during our sweep."

They walked down the entrance road until they got a few yards past the tree line, then split up and headed into the woods in opposite directions.

A few moments later, CK left the castle on his e-bike. He would have taken his horse, but it would have taken a lot longer to get the horse from the stable and tack him up.

**

Franks' spy team leader watched the clone and the man with the metal-looking arm walk away from the castle. He figured those two walking the grounds was probably just a routine security patrol, but it made him nervous now that they were heading down the road. He mumbled, "This isn't good." But he wanted to get as much intel as he could before leaving, so he gambled and stayed put, shifting his eyes from his laptop's video feed and the castle grounds.

Finally, he decided they had waited long enough and were probably going to be spotted. "Team, code black. We're leaving."

The spy teams in the tree line swiftly began stuffing their equipment in their bags and recalled their drone...

Jones heard the code black evac command, indicating they were probably compromised and whispered in his commlink: "Am I clear?" He needed his buddies to let him know it was safe to bolt to the woods.

No response.

Mild panic began to set in. He whispered again. "This is Jones, am I clear?"

Still no response.

He looked through the bushes he was in and considered making a run for it, but thought better of it. Instead, he decided to lay low and wait for nightfall, then walk to town and call for a pickup. In the meantime, he kept watch on the woods to see if his teammates were in trouble...

**

The Kai clones had innate stealth abilities, which came in handy as Kai18 slinked quietly through the woods. After a few minutes of slinking, he paused behind a tree. He spotted a couple of strangers, one with what looked like a parabolic mic pointed at the castle and one with binoculars.

He glanced around to see if there were any other strangers nearby, then tapped the blue button on his commlink to silently signal he sees something.

Ty, Kai21, and KK all heard the automated "Kai21. Code blue." in their earpieces. 

Ty quietly kept searching, but with more urgency, as KK and Kai21 on the battlements watched with extra steely eyes.

Kai18 got a thrill using all his stealth to step closer to the black-clad strangers. As he moved, he planned to tie up the binoculars-wielding guy with his brace, then threaten the mic-wielding guy, figuring the mic-wielding guy was more geek than a deadly agent.  

Finally, he felt close enough and raised his brace arm -

But just then, the spies got the evac command and quickly turned to stuff their equipment in the bags, but froze when they locked eyes with a pale clone 15 feet away, pointing his arm at them...like Spiderman? (They hadn't seen the video feed of the clones using their braces.)

Kai18, also startled, froze for a moment too, totally surprised they turned around!

Kai18 broke the ice with a quick, "Whatareyoudoing?"

The spies dropped their equipment and grabbed for their pistols!

Kai18 fired his brace, and it perfectly wrapped its cable around binoculars guy! He yanked the cable hard and stepped forward, sending the tied spy to the ground. But that gave the other spy time to grab his gun, and he fired twice!

**

Everyone outside the castle was startled at the two gunshots!

MyKai narrowed his eyes, "Everyone inside."

Doffy: "Those were gunshots!" The group on the patio scurried for the patio door. 

Dgre: "My love, what's happening??" She knew all the clones had security commlinks. 

MyKai: "There are intruders in the tree line around the castle."

Doffy, alarmed, "What intruders?? What do they want??" VA and Dgre started asking question as well, but he couldn't make sense because they were talking over each other.

MyKai followed them inside then attempted to speak but was drowned out by a gaggle of, "How many are there??" "Who sent them??" "Are they aliens??" "Are any Kai's hurt???"

Finally he raised his voice, "Calm down!" which halted their questioning, since MyKai has rarely raised his voice.

He continued in his normal voice, "All I know is Tyrathca and Kai18 were performing a manual sweep of the perimeter, and Kai18 saw something. We don't know what yet, but moments later, we heard the gunshots."

The ladies erupted with a flurry of questions...

MyKai scowled.

**

The spy froze, wide-eyed, as he watched the bullets that blasted through the pale man's bloodless chest and cheek healed, leaving only a scowling clone. Then in two more steps, Kai18 punched the cowering spy in the face, sending him to the ground as well. His tied-up, flabbergasted teammate on the ground watched this pale weirdo with a bun ziptie his buddy's hands behind his back.

The clone glared at them and tapped his commlink, "I've captured two men that look like spies. They were responsible for the gunshots. I need help bringing them in."

 

**

MyKai held up a hand, "Kai18 captured two men that fired the shots, and a two of Logan's clones are helping to take them to the dungeon."

The Ladies peppered more questions over top of each other, "Why were they shooting?" "Who were they shooting at??" "Who sent them to shoot at us??" "Is Kai18 ok??" "Are they dead???"

MyKai glanced away to minimize his eyeroll...

**

On the other side of the castle grounds just before the gunshots, Tyrathca spotted two intruders with a parabolic mic and a laptop. He glanced around to see if there were any others nearby.

Satisfied there weren't, he was about to take a step forward when the two spies abruptly turned and started stuffing their equipment in bags. He watched them for a few seconds, thinking it would be way more convenient that they pack up their stuff instead of him.

Then the two gunshots from Kai18's direction cracked the air!

The spies froze for a second, looked at each other, then quickly finished stuffing their gear and hoisted them on their shoulders. They scurried off into the woods. 

Ty decided to follow them and tapped his commlink. He spoke softly, "CK, two spies possibly headed your way. I'm following to see where they go."

CK: "Copy that." CK, slowed his ebike and continued glancing left and right through the woods. Just then he barely saw a van, tucked behind some trees. CK tapped his commlink, "There's a van parked off the road a mile or so from the castle. What would ya like me to do?"

Ty: "Do you have any tracking devices on you?"

Ck smiled, "Always!"

"Tag it, but don't let them see you."

"10-4."

**

MyKai briefly debated if he should give the ladies an update and decided yes, he should update them. 

The ladies were all sitting in the well-furnished lounge area looking concerned, and MyKai was standing near the doorway, just as a precaution.

"Ok," he said, causing them to stand or scootch to the edge of their seats, "Tyrathca found 2 more spies, and he's following them to see where they go. CowboyKai found a van parked off the road a mile out and is going to put a tracking device on it."

The ladies peppered themselves with comments this time, "I don't like that they're in the castle." "I wonder who they're working for?" "Or what do they want?" "Or what do they know about us already?"...

**

The two spies hauled their gear duffels as quick and as quiet as they could towards the van. The leader spoke through his commlink, "Steven, start the van. We're almost there."

** 

CK parked his bike in some brush a few yards down the road, pulled a couple of small tracking devices from its saddlebags, then jogged back towards the van. 

He stealthily moved through the brush, looked to make sure no one else was around, then slinked to the back of the van, tiny tracker in hand. He crouched and reached under the van - but just then, the driver started the van! 

"shit!" CK mumbled! He quickly reached inside the rear bumper, stuck the tracker, and dashed back into the brush. He thought the engine start meant he'd been spotted, so he slinked a few more yards into the woods. 

But then he realized the van hadn't moved. So he stopped and turned around, still crouching, and watched to see what was going on. He tapped his commlink, "Tracker placed. I'm in the woods near the van."

Ty smiled slightly, "Perfect." He decided to make his move. 

Disregarding noise, he bolted towards the two spies, hopping over dead trees and dashing through branches.

The spies, still trying to be somewhat quiet, thought they heard something behind them and turned to see the black-clad man with the shiny arm sprinting towards them!

They both switched their jog to a run! 

But they were loaded down with gear, so Ty, an assassin himself, caught up to them in seconds!

Ty grabbed the first spy he came to by the hair of the head and without breaking stride, shoved him to the ground face first, then continued on to the second one! He grabbed that one by his jacket, planted his feet and yanked hard! The leader managed to slide out of his jacket, pulled his pistol and fired! 

The bullet passed through Ty's chest but it had no effect, as he was also an undead. He grinned slightly. The leader bolted for the van! 

Ty let him go and picked up the escaped spy's bags. He then turned and walked back to the second spy and tossed the bags at him. That guy was now laying on his back among a pile of gear bags and a bloody nose from his fall.

Ty stood over him, "You are going carry all this shit back to the castle and tell us what's going on."

The spy, still breathing heavy, winced and blew some blood off his lips.

**

The leader scrambled in the van right behind the two who had deployed and recalled the drone, "Go-go-go!!" he quipped as he slammed the door shut.

The driver spun the tires backing out of the spot, then sped off down the road. CK watched them go.

The driver spoke, "What the hell happened, Remmy??" One of the drone team guys added, "And where's the rest of the team??"

"You wouldn't believe it." Remmy panted. He glanced in the rear view mirror. "Dammit. We gotta regroup and go back for the gear." 

Drone guy: "Wha- You weren't streaming it??"

He waved his hand in frustration, "We weren't able to stream it because there was no signal at the castle! The clone freaks took all our gear and have either killed the rest of the team or have taken them prisoner." He rubbed his face in nervous exasperation. Franks would have him killed for failing!

"We can't tell Franks yet. I'm serious."

Everyone nodded. They didn't want to be part of a failed mission either. 

**

Meanwhile, Jones was still sitting in a bush by the castle waiting for nightfall, dying to know who was shot earlier. Then his heart sank when he started seeing his teammates being led to the castle. First, the sound team: one had his hands tied behind his back, and the other was tied all the way around his torso. They were escorted by 3 clones carrying his teammate's gear bags. 

Then several minutes later, he saw Biggs, who had been running sound for their leader Remmy. Biggs was a little overweight, and Jones sadly watched him wobbling down the road carrying 4 gear bags, escorted by the guy with the metal arm and a clone on an ebike.

But on a good note, he didn't see Remmy or the drone team, so they must have gotten away.

Jones pulled his smartphone from his pocket. Still no signal. He leaned his head back against the castle wall. Should he try to break his teammates out, or head to town and call Remmy?  

Clones, Stargates and Guardians, oh my! - Chapter 6

As they walked up to the roof to meet the puddlejumpers, Ronin said to Recon, “Man, I’ve been in some strange places, but Earth is the strangest.” 

Recon grinned.  “Ronin, you have no idea.”

**

Mr. Franks was not a large man.  He was, in fact, a dwarf, but no one ever mentioned his height in his hearing.  Not that he would have cared if they did, because he was the most powerful, if the most unknown, man in San Francisco.  This fact was hidden from the city government (to those who weren’t on his payroll anyway) but the most suspicious among the general public suspected.  They were powerless to do anything about it, however, and City Hall too often dismissed their concerns.  Mr. franks was unpredictable, and 

thoroughly vindictive when it served his purpose.

“I swear, Mr. Franks, you won’t believe the story Johnny told me,” his aide and cousin Freddy said.  “This guy looks like some messed up ghost, or skeleton, or something, and he sucked the life out of Red with his hand!”

“You’re right, I don’t believe it,” Mr. Franks said, adjusting g his lapels.  He was a very natty dresser, and being a dwarf, and rich, his suits were all custom made out of the very finest materials.  He viewed everything with a critical eye.  “And if you weren’t my cousin, Freddy, I’d beat that gullibility out of you.  The guy was just some ComicCon idiot in costume gone wild and stabbed Red.  Johnny just didn’t see the knife.”

“B-b-but, Mr. Franks,” Freddy stammered.      “You know there’s a Stargate at 

ComicCon this year.  Something could have come through.”

“Hmmm.”  Mr. Franks had heard about the Stargate, but he had assumed it was 

just for show.  Some of his informants had informed him that there had been 

some unusual activities there.  And he knew the gate was a doorway to other

worlds.  He had in fact been pondering how to use it to his advantage.  What 

if something had come through?  If this ghost-thing was real, wouldn’t that be

a handy weapon to have?

“You say Johnny was shot?  Is he dead?

“I don’t think so, not yet.  He’s in the hospital.  Critical, last I heard.”

“See if you can get in to see him.  If his story’s not crap, I want to know more

about what happened.”

**

One of the puddlejumpers took the Atlantis team to the site of the dead homeless, 

and the other, loaded with Space Force personnel, circled over the area, searching

 for a sighting of the Wraith, or any disturbance indicating he might be near.

**

Rodney spoke up as Shepard and the team examined the bodies.

“John, there’s another body, shriveled up like the homeless.  It’s over on Market

Street, heading toward Union Square.”

“Another homeless?”  Shepard asked.

“I don’t think so,” Rodney replied.  “There was some kind of altercation and the

cops are there.  They can’t seem to figure out what happened, but the dead guy

is known to them.  At least they think they know him.  It’s kind of hard to tell.”

Teyla grimaced.  “Wraith,” she said.

 Shepard nodded.  “Most likely.”  He looked at the rest of the team.  “We’ve got to get him before he gets out of the city.”

**

The Wraith caught up with the escaping thugs and finished them off.  It occurred to him that he was leaving too many bodies behind for this vast population to find, and that would alert whatever security this strange city had.  But the targets were so plentiful and so richly satisfying.  He had to find a way to let his people know and bring them over.  There would be no starvation here.

After all the feeding, however, he became aware that he was becoming satiated and needed a rest period.  The life power filled him, but even a Wraith needed some down time.  All this was something he wasn’t used to.  Now he should search out a place away from prying 

eyes.  So he began to explore.  People avoided him, probably thinking he hand wandered away from that festival place, and it amused him to think so he had.  After a while, down some side streets, he encountered a neighborhood that looked to be largely empty.  People were thinning out on the street and darkness was again falling.  Some of the buildings appeared to be empty.  glinting beyond, he could see what appeared to be water glinting in the setting sun, and boats docked in rows.  That was worth checking out later.

**

Shepard was beginning to lose hope that they would find the Wraith before he was turned loose on the rest of the nation.  There was a barrier between the populated parts of California, a wide p, barren desert, but there were people even there, and towns beyond to plunder.  Worse, what if the Wraith found his way back to the Stargate and alerted his kind to the wealth of food to be found here?

Teyla seemed to sense his doubts.  “ Don’t worry, John.  We’ll get him.  He made a mistake coming through the gate.  There are many dangers here that the Writh is not prepared for.”

“Besides,” Recon smirked and nudged Ronin with his shoulder, “I’ve got some unfinished business in this city to take care of before I go home.”

Techno snorted, and both Lafe and Ronin rolled their eyes.  

“We’ve got a job to do,” Lafe reminded them.  “Heads on a swivel.”

Shepard put his hand to the mic at his throat.  “Rodney, anything new.”

“No, but Col. Carter informs me that it’s getting more difficult to keep this thing under wraps.  People are asking questions about the Soace Force being here, and the authorities are agitated about the bodies.”

“Because there are so many?”

“Because of the state they’re in, human rage dolls.  They can’t explain it, and they’re beginning to suspect it’s tied to the Stargate.”

Ronin grunted.  “ Tell them to relax and go to the panels at this Comical place.  Tell them that guy Jason Mommy is there.”

**

The Wraith selected an empty looking building and found it was easy to get into.  Earth security was lax, he decided.  The faint light coming from windows set high in the wall was enough for him to make his way around.  There appeared to be furnishings where he could stretch out and relax.  Small creatures rustled and squeaked in the darkness, telling him that the building had been abandoned for a while.  The dust and smells were another problem, but he ignored that.  He lay back and emptied his mind.

Some hours later when the darkness outside was complete, he sensed something moving, something larger than the small creatures.  His senses went on alert, and he slowly rose to his feet, prepared for battle.

“Uh…”. A hesitant voice, ah! A  mere human.

“I am here.”

“Uh … Mister?  I hope I’m not disturbing you, but … but there’s somebody who wants to meet you.”

Clones, Stargates and Guardians, oh my! - Chapter 5

Shepard, Ronin, Teyla, Lafe, Techno, Recon, and four Atlantis soldiers followed by MyKai and Dgre quickly poured through the gate. Rodney stayed behind to tap into the city's local emergency services feeds to search for any unusual activity.

Shepard ignored the curious con-goers and approached the gate guards Marcus and Davidson, who were nervous to see the serious-looking, armed team quickly pile through the gate. 

Shepard asked, "Have you seen any unusual activity around the gate recently?" 

"No sir." Marcus replied. "Just scifi weirdos walking by, but nothing through the gate."

"Ok, radio me immediately if you see anything." He walked back to the team. "Ok, let's split up. Teams of two. Remember this place is crawling with civilians in costume, so check your targets." 

He turned to MyKai and Dgre and in a serious tone, "Don't tell the authorities yet. Col. Carter is handling that."

Dgre: "But they-"

"Understood." MyKai interrupted. His goal was to get his Queen out of harm's way and back to the Castle, so he gently put his arm around her and turned them towards the exit hallway.

Dgre complied, but said, "People need to know!" MyKai quietly said, "Let's let *them* deal with the authorities. We'll warn The Castle."

Everyone else split up:

- Shepard, Teyla

- Ronin, Recon

- Lafe, Techno

- 2 pairs of Atlantis soldiers went to the second floor

------

It was mid morning and the Wraith didn't know what to think. Literally. Each time he fed on the filthy humans in the alleyways, his thoughts scattered or floated away. And even though it was disturbing to see objects distort or shift colors before his eyes, he never experienced "good" feelings before. Before, things were always intense. It was always do as the Queen ordered. Do as superiors ordered. No questions asked. Hunt humans. Feed. Drain their life force... 

Suddenly, a homeless man a few yards away who was sitting on pieces of cardboard and surrounded by some puffy trash bags grumbled, "Hey buddy, if you talkin' to me, ya need to speak up."

The Wraith then realized he was lying on his back in an alleyway staring up the side of a multistory building. He slowly turned his head and looked at the homeless man.

The man grimaced at seeing the Wrath's yellow eyes, pale skin and the pit on each cheek. "Man, I dunno what the fuck you're on, but you look like shit."

The Wraith slowly turned his nose skyward again. And enjoyed seeing a few black birds fluttery-land on the top edge of the building. "Flying creatures..." he mumbled. He watched something fall from the back of one. 

The poop landed on his leg, but he didn't care.

------

The Atlantis teams walked throughout ComicCon, checking behind display booths, staging areas and even the bathrooms. 

Ronin, 6'4" and Recon, 6'1", were often stared at by con-goers, with some women staring for an extended period. They also heard a cosplayer say to his friends as they passed, "Hey, that guy looks just like Jason Momoa." 

So of course, word spread that Jason Momoa was at the convention.

While walking down one wide hallway, a group of cosplayers in random Jedi attire rushed over and stopped them, eagerly asking, "Hey are you Jason Momoa?? Can we get a selfie with you?" And one of the women smiled at Recon, who was sporting his bun and dangly lock. "I *love* your hair," she said as a jedi guy behind her nodded approvingly and smiled at him more than approvingly. 

Recon kind of enjoyed the compliments, saying, "Thank you," and added a small Kai-smile, prompting their pulses to quicken. Ronin uncomfortably said, "Uh, no. I'm not that guy," and started to walk around the robed group with Recon in tow. Some of them raised their phones and snapped photos of them as they passed.

However, they didn't get much farther before more con-goers pointed and approached them, asking for selfies or just taking the selfies without asking, all while a gaggly mix of questions and comments about shows and movies Jason Momoa had been in made it nearly impossible to tell who was saying what.

Ronin tapped his ear comlink, "Shepard, we have a problem. We're near the Autograph area surrounded by citizens thinking we're famous people." Recon added, "Yes, there's about 50 people around us now."

Shepard and Teyla stopped, "What? Seriously?" he asked.

Recon added, "And many are taking photos and selfies." He found this and Ronin's discomfort amusing.

Lafe and Techno giggled.

Shepard started walking, "Ok, if you two are people magnets, that means they're not in danger from the Wraith. Everyone, finish your sweep and head to the Autograph area. Rodney, any word yet from the emergency services feeds?"

Rodney: "Nothing unusual, but we're talking San Francisco. A city that's going to have a bunch of crime and death anyway."

-------

Finally the effects of the drug-laden humans started to wear off, and the Wraith sat up. He looked around. He saw the male that spoke to him earlier still nestled amongst his bags as well as a few other humans laying about farther down the alley. 

He stood up to his full 6'4" height. The male across from him just quietly and nervously glared, afraid to speak, seeing how big the white haired, long fingernailed freak really was.

By this time, it was getting dark again so he decided to walk around. He wanted to learn more about these humans before taking another one, wondering about the differences between the lifeless one on Atlantis and the ones he preyed upon in this city. 

He still felt woozy, though. So he took a couple of steps and stopped just inside the alleyway, inspecting what was going on outside the alley. 

Random people walked by but paid him no mind. He glanced at the shops and vehicles on the street. A few moments later, a group of younger adult humans saw him as they walked. One of the males smiled, pointed at him and said, "Awesome cosplay dude!" 

The Wraith just watched them as they walked by. He heard them saying things like, "Epic contact lenses" and "Awesome makeup"

He was still surprised the humans here didn't fear him. And also surprised that normally, their lack of fear would anger him. But he didn't...feel anger. 

Just then he saw another large group of...humanoids approaching. They were a lot more colorful, with various colors on their faces. Many had various headdresses, some with full helmets. A couple of them carried staffs with crystals in the top. A couple carried swords, some looked like robots, one looked like a large green barbaric brute. 

A few saw him as they passed, giving him thumbs up, and that "Great cosplay!" phrase again. One of the females said, "Hey, we're going to Frankie's Pizza! You should come!"

He just watched them pass by.

This was by far, the strangest place he'd ever been.

He decided to follow that group, but not too close. 

After a few blocks, they all started entering the restaurant. He had no interest, especially smelling  the smells coming from the place, so he kept walking.

After a few more blocks, he noticed there were the messy looking and smelly humans in the alleyways and the less messy humans walking around and driving vehicles. And no signs of pale humans with buns, thankfully. Maybe that was a race from another planet.

He decided to find a non-messy human to feed on...

------

Shepard reported in, "No signs of Wraith activity at the convention. He must be in the city." The rest of the Atlantis team completed their sweeps and headed for the Autograph area. 

Shepard and Teyla got there first, seeing Ronin's head and Recon's bun sticking up a little higher than the surrounding throng of con-goers. 

"Oh jeez," Shepard said. He and Teyla pushed through the crowd as the rest of the Atlantis team arrived and watched. 

Shepard finally got to the glaring Ronin and subtly-smiling Recon who were still being randomly photographed (since their selfies were free, as opposed to the other celebs at nearby tables). 

Shepard raised his voice and hands, "OK, EVERYBODY. THEY'RE DONE. THEY HAVE TO GO NOW. THEY'RE DONE."

It took a few minutes, but the crowd dissipated enough for them to head towards the gate.

Lafe asked Recon, "Are you smiling??"

Recon, still smiling, "Yes."

Lafe: "My flabber is gasted."

Techno: "See any hot babes?"

Recon: "Many. And I got some phone numbers."

Techno: "Score." They bumped fists.

Lafe chuckled. She and Techno were still a couple, but Recon had moved on long ago. 

Rodney's voice suddenly sounded over their ear comms: "Shepard, I found a couple of police reports of homeless men found dead of what they describe as 'extreme aging' and 'extreme dehydration'."

Shepard: "That's gotta be our guy. Where at?"

McKay: "Around Turk and Leavenworth streets. Roughly 6 blocks due west of your location."

Shepard: "Ok, send us a couple of cloaked puddle jumpers to the roof of this convention center and have the local Space Force meet us there for backup." 

Rodney: "I'm on it."

------

Even though the humans were being very tolerant of him, he still didn't want to feed on one in front of others. So he glanced down the alleyways as he walked, searching for prey. 

Finally, he spotted four non-messy human males a few yards down an alley harassing another male. One of the aggressors had the target male pushed against the wall by the throat and were speaking aggressively to him.

"Good," the Wraith thought. These humans are aggressive, which means they're stronger, and that means better feeding!

He quietly marched down the alley.

The group was focused on the guy they had pinned to the wall, so they didn't see the Wraith walk up behind them in the dim light.

The one grabbing the throat growled, "That's not good enough, Chang!"

Chang stammered, "It's all I got, I swear!!" Then he looked past them, wide eyed, as the pale figure with yellow eyes emerged from the darkness. He tried scrambling, but the thug held tight.

"What are you lookin' at Chang?" They turned their heads and saw the Wraith glaring and smiling with pointy teeth!

"What the FUCK are you??" He let Chang go and the Asian scrambled back through his shop's door.

The thug's three buddies moved to surround the Wraith.

The Wraith didn't mind. His eyes were on the alpha of the group. That one should be the strongest. Then without a word, he grabbed the guy and slammed his palm against his chest, growling as he extracted his life force! 

The other humans grabbed the Wraith, trying to pull him off, but it was no use! The alpha guy screamed! "AHHHH!!" One of the thugs let go of the Wraith's left arm, pulled a gun and fired! 

The Wraith winced slightly as the bullet passed through his torso and into his friend's stomach! The shot human staggard and collapsed! The human behind the Wraith kept trying to pull him off their leader, but the Wraith kept feeding, reveling in the energy of this hunt!!

The man with the gun fired three more times! All three rounds hit the Wraith, but since he was in the process of feeding, his wounds healed almost instantly! 

The alpha human screamed, "STOOOOP! NOOOO!" His buddies froze, horrified at seeing their leader rapidly aging!

The one with the gun took a staggery step back, "Come on Tony, let's get outta here!" he said to the man behind the Wraith! 

Tony let him go and they both dashed down the alleyway while the Wraith extracted the last of their leader's life force and let his shriveled body collapse to the ground.

The Wraith looked up and growled - nearly howling - with the quality of the life force in that kill!! No "strange" feelings like after feeding on the messy humans. This one was just pure, replenishing energy like he remembered!!

He stalked off down the alley in the direction the other two ran. 

The shot human, still on the ground, blurry eyed but saw the whole thing. When the Wraith stalked off, he dug his mobile phone out of his pocket with a shaky bloody hand and called their boss. 

Struggling to talk, he said, "Hey...it's Johnny. I've been shot. <breathing heavy> I need to tell...Mr. Franks what happened."

"On our way."

Clones, Stargates and Guardians, oh my! - Chapter 3

The Wraith bared his pointy clenched teeth and growled aggressively at the mild pain of the weapon piercing his chest! His innate regeneration had no problem keeping him alive, but he was regenerating slower than usual since it had been ages since he fed on a human. And astoundingly, he wasn't getting ANY life force from the steely-eyed pale man with his hair in a ridiculously large bun! So he aggressively held MyKai close with his left had and kept his right hand on MyKai's chest, trying to extract any inkling of life as they both spun and struggled in the hallway, like a couple of angry dancers!

On the flip side, MyKai's flabber was also gasted at the weird, leech-feeling suckers from his attacker's palm that was latched on to his chest! He instinctively grabbed its wrist and tried to pull it off, but the lithe, white-haired, yellow eyed freak was a lot stronger than he appeared! So they spun, struggled, and grunted while trying to get the advantage over the other!

----

Down the hall in sick bay, Rocket's superhuman hearing faintly picked up the sounds of struggling and growling in the distance. His ears perked up and his face scrunched as he strained to hear what was going on. Recon, Techno, and Ronin, keeping an eye on Rocket from a few steps away, saw him scrutinizing the doorway.

Dr. Keller noticed Rocket peering around her while she was making notes in a digital pad, so she glanced back at the doorway, saw nothing unusual, then turned back around and looked at him. "What?"

Rocket kept his eyes on the doorway, "Sounds like a fight. Yall harassin' more innocents?"

Keller wondered where he was going with this, since she heard nothing. "A fight?" She prompted, and glanced at Ronin.

Ronin glanced at the door then back to Rocket, "I don't hear anything." He wondered if Rocket was trying to distract everyone to make an escape, so he stopped leaning against the wall and moved his hand closer to his blaster.

As Kai clones, Techno and Recon have excellent hearing as well, so they perked up and started listening intently...then looked at each other. Recon asked his brother, "Do you hear that?"

Techno squinted, "Barely. Like he said, it sounds like a struggle. And someone...growling?" He looked at Recon quizzically.

Ronin tapped the commlink in his ear to make sure it was working since he heard no security alerts, "Gate room. Ronin. Comm check." An officer in the gate room replied, "Roger." Comms were working...

----

Back in the hallway: Even though the wraith wasn't extracting any life force from the pale man, he kept aggressively attacking him not only out of hunger, but anger that he had no life force to take! Normally, the wraith LOVED an aggressive prey, especially one as physically strong as this one, because that meant it had a lot of life to feed on. But this...THING?? Nothing!! Even the paralyzing venom from his feeding hand was having no effect!

But he was starting to get weaker, and oddly nauseous?? Something he hasn't experienced since he was a child!

Wraith are born able to gain nutrients from eating food, but after puberty, gaining nutrients that way fades, and they have to extract life force to survive.

But this humanoid thing is just making him sick!! Maybe the brace weapon lodged in his chest was poisoned! He briefly let go of MyKai with his left hand, keeping his life sucking palm where it was but also digging his fingernails deeper into his jacket and chest, then tried yanking the brace out...

MyKai continued to struggle valiantly, but it wasn't enough! And he was really starting to worry that he couldn't get his attacker's palm off his chest, because their struggling was ripping his flesh and causing his grayish protoblood to spill down his torso. He could already feel himself getting weaker! So he struggled harder, and angrily said through his own clenched teeth, "What the HELL are you doing??"

Techno and Recon heard just enough of their brother's question and said simultaneously, "MyKai!" And they dashed for the door!

Ronin followed them and yelled at Rodney, "Keep an eye on him!" and pointed at Rocket.

Rodney stood there and glanced at Keller with his trademark look of surprise and fear. But he was also glad there were a couple of Atlantis guards in the room who looked better prepared to keep an eye on someone.

Rocket shook his head and folded his arms, "You people are jumpy."

----

The wraith heard running boots approaching down the hallway as the pale man's knees buckled! Finally!! The humanoid's weakness was just enough for him to dislodge the brace from his chest and roughly shove MyKai to the ground. He then glanced in the direction of the bootsounds. He *could* feed on one of them - but then decided he was too weak to fight that many for food, so he clutched his stomach and injuredly dashed off in the opposite direction...

MyKai struggled to at least sit up, but his strength left him and he flopped over onto his back. His vision blurred as he turned his head in the direction of the bootsounds and saw a group of people running towards him. Then he passed out.

Techno and Recon quickly hunched over their fallen brother, both concerned at the amount of protoblood on his torso and the floor. Techno gently shook his shoulder, "MyKai!"

MyKai's eyes were open but they saw nothing.

Techno looked at Recon, "Let's get him to sick bay."

Ronin scrunched his face and paced slightly. He really wanted to pursue the attacker, but he also wanted to find out what the gray stuff was first in case it was a bio weapon. "What's that stuff all over him?"

"Protoblood." Recon said while lifting MyKai's shoulders.

Techno lifted MyKai's feet and figured Ronin didn't know what that meant, so he added, "You have red blood. We have nanite-infused protoblood. It's what keeps us...alive." He motioned his head towards MyKai as they started to walk, "Basically, MyKai's bleeding out and needs more protoblood."

Ronin nodded. He glanced down the hall, but saw nothing. He tapped his commlink, "Someone just attacked MyKai. He's unconscious and being transported to sick bay. We're searching for the attacker now." He looked at the two security guards, "You're with me." He pulled his blaster and the three of them tactically glide-stepped down the hall, weapons drawn, in the direction the wraith ran...

----

Techno and Recon briskly hauled the limp MyKai through the sick bay doors. Techno looked at Keller as they hurried in, "Where do we put him?" Keller pointed to an empty bed, "There!" as she donned new medical gloves.

They gently placed him on the bed so as to not squish out any more protoblood. Then Techno tugged MyKai's ripped jacket apart to reveal the wound as Keller stepped in. She started dabbing some of the protoblood mess from his chest and leaned in for a closer look, "Torn lacerations 2-3 inches long, puncture wounds in a radius..." she said out loud. She dabbed more protoblood, "It's similar to a Wraith wound...but there's a lot more damage."

Rodney moved closer to the bed, "A *wraith* attacked him!?!"

Keller glanced at him, "I said it looks *similar* to a Wraith wound." She looked back at MyKai's chest and pointed, "The length and orientation is consistent, and there *are* hints of surrounding punctures on the chest where a Wraith's fingernails would be. But there's a LOT more tearing damage where the tendrils and suckers would be. We should know more after I run some tests."

Recon looked at Techno, "I'll get Dgre." Techno nodded. They knew Dgre has always carries spare protoblood on her as well as having the recipe to make more.

Rodney urgently tapped his comlink, "This is McKay! It's possible a *Wraith* was the attacker!"

Rocket thought about escaping in all the hullabaloo, but saw the two security guys staring at him, actually doing their jobs, instead of being easily distracted meat sacks. "So. What's a wraith?"

----

Ronin tensed up after hearing McKay mention the Wraith. He knew from his extensive background fighting them that it would be tough to find it and kill it before it kills someone on the base.

----

In the gate room, Col. Carter and Shephard shared a concerned glance at McKay's message. Shephard tapped his comlink, "This is Shepard. Intruder alert. Lockdown protocol." He looked at comm officer, "Get Teyla back here."

"Yes sir." The comm officer punched in a command to broadcast an alert to Teyla's comm badge. They all knew that Teyla's DNA allows her to sense the presence of the Wraith, so she'll be invaluable in helping them track one if there is one.

Doors across Atlantis began to slide shut as Shepard grabbed his P90 machine gun and jogged out the door with 4 security guards. As they left, another team of soldiers arrived to protect the command center. Col. Carter spoke to the comm officer, "Get me Stargate Command." "Yes Colonel." Carter was not looking forward to telling them a wraith might be loose on the base.

----

The wraith had been silently jogging down the halls of Atlantis, hoping to run into a wayward human to feed on, but none were to be found. He was still rattled by the pale man he attacked. Why couldn't he feed on his life force?? Are ALL humans like that now?? And that sick feeling in his stomach was getting worse - and now pain was spreading from his feeding hand up his arm and into his shoulder! His breathing grew rapid as his eyes darted around, looking for any prey!

But suddenly, the hallway doors a few meters in front of him slid shut. He stopped. Then he whirled around at the sound of the doors several meters behind him sliding shut. The only way out was a hallway to the left! He darted forward and took it, but instead of simply jogging down the hall like before, he started waving his hand over the door locks, hoping to find one that would open. He tried several. No luck! The humans must be aware of his attack and initiating security protocols. He needed to find someone to feed on to regenerate! He dashed down another hall...

----

Teyla was sitting at a table at Comic Con with 3 other Atlantis soldiers enjoying some french fries when they heard the security alert in their comlinks to return to Atlantis. Their relaxed smiles quickly faded as they shared a worried glance, then they swiftly stood and headed for the Stargate...

----

Carter finished up her briefing with Stargate Command, "...We have several teams searching for the attacker as we speak. We'll keep you posted." She tapped her commlink, "Dr. Keller, what the status of MyKai?"

"Still unconscious. I'm still waiting for the forensic test results and will let you know if we find Wraith DNA or not."

----

Lafe, even though she, Techno and Recon were on the base on special assignment, wasn't assigned a commlink, and neither were the two clones. So she didn't know what was going on when an armed female soldier approached her and Dgre in the cafe and said, "The base is on emergency lockdown. Please come with me." They worriedly got up and followed her to a nearby lockdown room where several other non-soldiers were being led. Both women scanned the room to see if their clones were in there. No luck.

Dgre wrung her hands, "Where's MyKai? Where are Techno and Recon??"

Lafe thoughtfully frowned. She hated being locked up not knowing what was going on. "I'm sure they're fine. I'm definitely going to ask for some kinda comlinks after this is over." She sighed irritatingly.

----

Teyla and the 3 Atlantis personnel she was with arrived at the ComicCon gate. She nodded to one of the soldiers who had the DHD on his wrist, "Send the confirmation code."

Stargate Command implemented a new protocol that in emergencies, away teams could send a confirmation code to verify if it was ok to dial the gate in the event opening the gate would cause a problem at the destination site.

----

Back in the Atlantis gate room, the gate officer spoke, "Teyla's team just sent the confirmation code."

Carter tapped the gate room mic, "Gate security, stand by." The 10 armed soldiers near the gate moved near the gate, making sure to stay out of it's burst radius.

Carter: "Send the reply code."

He did as he was told...

----

The soldier told Teyla, "Reply code received." Teyla nodded, "Dial the gate." He punched the coordinate in the DHD and the gate began dialing. Specialists Marcus and Davidson, eager to not mess up again after allowing Rocket through the gate earlier, stood nearby to ensure no other con goers entered the gate this time...

----

Back on Atlantis, Recon stopped a couple guards in the hall, "Where are non-military personnel being taken?"

"Just down the hall on the right. You'll see a couple of guards outside."

"Thanks." He jogged in that direction...

----

Shepard spoke softly through his commlink as they continued to quietly search the halls: "Teams. Status."

One by one, all teams reported "Clear." Still no signs of the attacker...

----

The wraith rounded a corner and smiled, he found a way out AND humans to feed on!!

He ran forward...

----

The Stargate whooshed open, and as soon as the gate's opening burst collapsed back into the shimmering ring, the gateroom soldiers jogged forward and created a semi-circular perimeter in front of the gate with their bodies, weapons drawn in case the attacker decided to make a run for the gate...

----

Teyla and her team jogged into the gate from their Comic Con...

----

The wraith, now at a full sprint, jumped.....and dove off a balcony into the ocean 11 stories down!

----

Teyla's team emerged into the Atlantis gate room behind the soldiers.

Carter ordered the gate officer, "Close the iris when they're through."

As soon as the last of Teyla's team emerged, the gate officer entered the sequence to engage the gate's interlocking panels, preventing anyone going through it in either direction.

Teyla looked up at Carter in the control room and nodded...

----

The Wraith surfaced from the deep dive and smiled. Even though he was in pain, it shouldn't take him long to swim to the large city that rose from the shoreline. He hadn't heard of a human city this developed, but he had no time or energy to wonder about that now. All he knew was a city THAT large would DEFINITELY have a human to feed on.

He ignored his pain and nausea and started swimming...

Behind him, the setting sun case a beautiful glow across the Golden Gate Bridge....

Clones, Stargates and Guardians, oh my! - Chapter 1

Hi all!

This is a fan fiction thread, written by me (nickname lafemmenikta) and a good friend, nickname dgrequeen. It's a crossover between Stargate, Guardians of the Galaxy, non-canon characters of Lexx (specifically, clones of Kai that have various personalities), and our own personas (lafe and dgre) that we invented while having fun back in the day writing on the scifi.com forums. 🙂

We started writing this one last month via email, but thought it would be easier and better to post it online, so here it is!

We haven't written in a while, so bear with us as our writing styles adjust while getting back in the swing of illustrious alliteration!

We hope you enjoy!


------------------------------------------

Intro - Dgre and MyKai stumble into Comicon

Writer: dgrequeen

Dgre: Is the right place? I feel like we just walked through milk.

MyKai: It was a portal, my queen.

Dgre: A portal? At ComicCon?

Ronin, standing guard at the stargate: Who are you and what are you doing here?

Dgre: My, you're a specimen, aren't you?

MyKai: *growl*.

------------------------------------------

Chapter 1

Writer: lafemmenikita

Ronin heard that growl and eyes MyKai suspiciously, especially since that pale man who just stepped through the stargate looks just like the cammo-clad pale man walking up behind him.

ReconKai, cammo-clad and looking serious: Dgre. MyKai. How did you get here?

Dgre, relieved to see a familiar face: Recon! We haven't seen you in ages! We were just at ComicCon and was told this doorway was a shortcut back to the panel wing. But we walked through and...now we're here. Wherever "here" is?

She glanced around, then her eyes widened as four armed soldiers took position behind Ronin and Recon, machine guns pointed at the floor but ready to spring to action. MyKai also saw them, which further escalated his protective tendencies, so he moved a little to put himself more between Dgre and the congregation of strangers.

Then another pale man walked up in grey BDU pants and a black tshirt.

TechnoKai, half-smiling, as he's more laid back than his cloned brothers: Hey, wow, it's MyKai and Dgre! Did I hear you say you got dumped here from ComicCon?

Dgre: Techno! Yes, we did!

MyKai eased a little and nodded in acknowledgement at Techno: Brother. The portal we walked through at ComicCon brought us here.

Recon glanced at the soldiers to indicate all was ok, and they walked back to their posts.

Ronin: What's a "comma con"?


------------------------------------------

Chapter 2

Writer: dgre

Meanwhile, back at ComicCon:

Rocket Raccoon was basking in the adulation of his fans, after having delivered a panel lecture about his fellow crew members (“Drax is a diva.”). Something was happening in the back of the room causing his fans to stretch their necks and turn away to see what was causing the hullabaloo.

Someone shouted, “By the Celestial, it’s a portal! A genuine portal!”

Rocket’s ears pricked up. “wha …?” He bared his teeth in pure raccoon irritation, but if anybody had dared to say that in his hearing, they’d risk a serious mauling right around the ankles.

“Hold on, I gotta check this out!” He picked up his beloved Large Lazar Armament (well, not really “beloved”, because he had just stolen it the week before), and stalked through the crowd. Before him, he saw a giant vertical ring with a shimmering pool of what looked like water, and people were oohing and aahing all over the place.

“What the everlovin’ is that?” He demanded.

“It’s a portal,” someone said. “Some people call it a Stargate. It’s a gateway to other worlds.”

“Pfft!” Scoffed Rocket. He lifted his LLA and fired at the middle of the portal. The lazar beam passed through without damage, but suddenly three men dressed in black (two of them in black BDUs), one dressed in what appeared to be a black rug, another man dressed in rough leather, and all of them with a lot of hair, burst through the portal.

“Hey!” One of the men screamed. “What do you think you’re doing? You could have hurt somebody!” After giving warning scowls, all of them turned and went back through the portal.

Rocket stared in open-mouthed astonishment.

“Oh, hell no,” he said. Hefting his LLA, he marched toward the portal. “I gotta see what this is all about.” He gave a raccoon-like grin, all teeth bared, hefted his stolen weapon, and marched toward and through the portal.

------------------------------------------

Chapter 3

Writer: lafe

Specialist Marcus, a newly minted E-4 Specialist of the U.S. Space Force, turned the corner with his loaded hotdog and bottled water just in time to see Rocket step through the stargate that E-3 Davidson and he were supposed to be watching. A few con-goers were starting to collect around the gate, but his buddy Davidson was nowhere to be seen.

Marcus, wide-eyed, "Wha- no!" He flipped his wrist over to access the DHD (dial home device) strapped to his wrist and pretty much dumped the hotdog toppings all over the floor. He fumbled with the water bottle in his other hand, trying to poke the buttons on the DHD to keep the gate open, but in a crescendoing zhooooooop, the shimmering stargate portal closed. And without it open, he wouldn't be able to see what address had been dialed. "Oh crap." His eyes and mouth both said.

Meanwhile, Rocket appeared on the other side of the gate, LLA in hand, and took a couple of steps and stopped. He glanced around at the blue and aluminum hues of a futuristic-industrial room as the gate zhoooped closed behind him. "What the hell is THIS place?" he said with a stank face.

The group still at the gate turned to see who said that. Recon, surprised but looking stern as usual, turned to face him, "No, the question is, who the hell are you?" Ronin saw the LLA and pulled his blaster, but kept it pointed at the floor, while the stargate guards moved into defensive positions behind him.

Rocket and Techno both started to speak but Dgre stepped forward and cut them off, "Oh my! Look at the puppy!!" She smiled walked towards him, hands out to give him huggles and cuddles.

"Hey-hey-hey, hands off!" Rocket stepped back and pointed the LLA at her.

Dgre stopped and jerked her hands back, startled at having a weapon pointed at her, "Oh!" But MyKai was absolutely NOT having anyone pointing a weapon at his Queen, so he snap-fired his brace and latched on to the LLA to yank it from the short furry creature's hands. But instead, Rocket didn't let go and MyKai zip-reeled it in with Rocket still gripping it!

Rocket, nearly nose-to-nose with a scowling MyKai, growled, "And hands offa this too!!" Then he tried to bite MyKai in the face, which MyKai dodged, but the clone loosened his grip and Rocket and activated his jetpack. The escape strategy partially worked, and Rocket and his LLA started to lift away, but Techno deftly grabbed the jetpack and awkwardly hung on while Rocket lifted him a few feet off the ground and started to carry him across the large, tall gate room.

At this point, Ronin and the stargate guards all had their weapons pointed at Rocket and were ready to fire, when Techno got lucky and inadvertently disconnected something in the jetpack to deactivate it. They both thumped to the floor.

Rocket rolled to put Techno between himself and the rest of the armed gate squad and pulled the LLA's trigger, but it just clicked and didn't fire. MyKai's brace must have broke it! He gave it a shake, but the status panel was still dark. "Damn!" So he threw at Techno, who caught it and sternly said, "Rocket, stop!"

Rocket, small and incredibly agile and fast, took off across the gate room!

Dgre peeked from behind MyKai and pleaded with everyone, "Oh please don't shoot the puppy!!!" Recon, trying to aim his brace at Rocket without hitting friendlies snapped, "It's a raccoon, not a puppy!"

Rocket one-hop jumped on the handrailing of some nearby stairs then hopped up to the second floor, then yelled over his shoulder as he bolted down a hallway, "I'M NOT A RACCOON!!!"

Ronin, Recon, Techno and some other guards raced up the stairs after him. While running, Techno said over his com device, "Don't kill him, he's one of the Guardians! I'll explain later!"

Lafe, in her quarters, heard the intruder alert and put her earbud com in her ear just in time to hear Techno's comment about not killing a Guardian. "What the hell??" She quickly grabbed her glock off the counter, holstered it, and bolted out the door - right as Rocket was zig zagging across the hallway! He roughly collided with her and they rolled several feet to a stop.

Then Ronin popped around the corner and shot "the puppy".

Techno, jogged to a stop and looked at Rocket laying motionless on the floor. "Stunned?"

Ronin, "Yeah."

Lafe, getting up slowly, "Ow."


------------------------------------------

Chapter 4

Writer: dgre

“You can’t keep me here!” Rocket yelled, working his arm to get the stiffness out. “I’ve escaped from better places than this, and if I find out which one of you morons shot me …”

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” Ronin growled.

John Shepard, who’d been roused from a deep sleep and who had a severe case of bed hair when he was called down to the brig, decided to step in just in case Ronin decided to get physical, “More to the point, what are you?” He glanced at Ronin and added, “And … yes … what are you doing here?”

“He’s one of the Guardians of the Galaxy, we told you that,” Techno said, lounging outside the cell. He and Recon exchanged sardonic looks.

Shepard shook his head. “ I don’t even know what that is, and that doesn’t explain why he’s here. You are a ‘he’, aren’t you?” He rounded on the two Kais. “And by the way, how long are you guys going to be here? This is a classified facility, you know. I don’t know who left the Stargate open …”

“Rodney used it,” Ronin said. “There was some kind of party going on he wanted to go to. Comical something. The gate’s closed now, but I think he’s still over there.”

Shepard sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Where’s the puppy?” Dgre’s anxious query echoed outside the door to the brig, and she rushed in, swatting away MyKai and Lafe who were trying to calm her down. “You haven’t hurt it, have you?”

Rocket clenched his fists on either side of his snout in aggravation, and hissed, “Puppy! First they insult me by calling me a raccoon, and now …”

“Whatever he is,” Dgre said, “he’s cute. Look at him! He’s so small and fluffy!”

“He fired a weapon at us through the gate!” Ronin insisted. “And he came through carrying that thing, threatening all of us.”

Rocket sneered. “Yeah, my Large Lazer Armament! Which you broke! I’ll be submitting a bill for that!”

Dgre knelt beside the cell. “Aw, look at him. He didn’t actually hurt anybody, did he? How can you keep him locked up like this? You won’t hurt anybody, will you, pupp… er, Mr. Guardian?”

Rocket, sensing an advantage, tried to look innocent, although he had absolutely no talent at puppy-dog eyes. “No, of course I won’t. I’m a peaceful fella, you can ask all my friends.”

Shepard sighed, “Oh boy.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 5

Writer: lafe

The door to the brig whisked open and in walked the tall, short-haired blond base commander, Col. Carter, and the shorter but longer-haired chief medical officer, Dr. Keller, who had a medical bag over her shoulder and a nurse in tow.

Col. Carter had already seen Rocket's show in the gate room, but this was the first time Dr. Keller had seen him, so she approached his cell, wide-eyed and mouth agape.

Col. Carter walked up to the horizontal bars on Rocket's cell and no-nonsensely asked him, "So your name is Rocket. Why did you fire through the stargate?"

Rocket growled back, "I shoot first, ask questions later."

Carter: "What if it was a friendly?"

Rocket waved a small black hand, "I don't know no friendlies with gates like that."

Carter continued the interrogation, "What planet are you from?"

Rocket paused and looked at her, then decided to tell the truth because most of these folks - aside from the clones - seemed like they were from Earth, like his teammate Quill. "Halfworld", he replied. He also figured no one would know where that was anyway, since that quadrant was sealed off from the rest of the cosmos.

Carter glanced at everyone in the room to see if anyone knew where that was, but everyone shrugged "idk" in their own way, confirming his assumption.

Dr. Keller took the moment of silence to ask, "What species *are* you?"

And like he's said at other times of his life, "Ain't nobody like me, 'cept me."

Carter glanced at Techno, then back to Rocket, "I've hear that you're part of a team called The Guardians of the Galaxy. Is that right?"

"Yeah." He stood a little taller.

Shepherd squinted a little in doubtful scrutiny, "So you're one of the *good* guys?"

Rocket squinted back, "Depends on who's askin'."

Just then, Rodney McKay burst through the door, and everyone turned to look. "Oh wow, you arrested him??" He asked, wide-eyed.

Shepherd replied, "He shot through the gate! Lucky no one was hit."

McKay, with his anxiety meter always running in the red, argued back, "Rocket's one of the Guardians of the Galaxy! He's not a threat!"

"Hey now--" Rocket took offense to not being a threat,

Techno interrupted, "I can second that. Aggressive. Mouthy, apparently. But not a bad guy."

Dgre smiled and agreed, "And just look at him!"

Rocket annoyingly looked at her, then rolled his eyes, figuring that arguing would hurt his cause.

Carter and Shepherd exchanged a glance, then she looked at McKay, "So you're saying we should just let him go?"

McKay: "Yes! If nothing else, once his team finds out where he is, we would have a big problem."

Carter considered that warning, then turned to Rocket, "Ok. I'd like Dr. Keller to run a couple of scans, then you're free to go."

Rocket bristled and clenched his fists, not wanting anything to do with medical anythings after his torturous past in the hands of researchers who medically turned him into who he is today, "Ain't nobody cuttin' on me." he snapped.

Keller, "Oh! It's non-invasive! I promise. Just a blood sample and a body scan."

Rocket's natural reaction was a "hell no", but instead, he mulled it for a moment, then figured he'd agree, since that would get him out of the cell. "Fine."

Carter turned, "Shepherd, Techno, McKay you're with me." She wanted to chat with them about what Rodney said would be a "big problem" with Rocket's team.

Shepherd followed and glanced at Ronin, "Keep an eye on him."

As the three followed Carter to the meeting room, Shepherd annoyingly said to McKay, "Why'd you leave the gate open?"