Disclaimer: Highlander belongs to Rysher Entertainment, Gaumont Television, and Davis/Panzer Productions. Stargate belongs to Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Products. No copyright infringements were intended. This story uses characters and situations from those shows for entertainment and not for profit. Blue Light Magic is copyrighted 1999 by me.

Spoilers and Timing: Takes place in late Season Four. Spoilers are for "What You Were Signing Up For," the prequel to this story, and for the Stargate episodes "There But For the Grace of God," "Point of View," and "Double Jeopardy."

Author's Note: This is the sequel to "What You Were Signing Up For." It would help if you read that one first, although it's not absolutely necessary. And familiarity with both TV series would help. Blue Light Magic is copyrighted by me, and is from an original fiction series I am writing ("Who's Driving the Bus?," "Love and Magic," etc., available for reading at my site and at original fiction section of fanfiction.net). I decided to advertise it by including blue light magic in this story. Let me know if you like it.

Summary: Jack O'Neill, Senior Commander of SG Team 1 and Second Commander of the Stargate Centre, goes on quite a trip when he accidentally stumbles on a device that transports him to an alternate universe. Once there, he meets Colonel Jack O'Neill, commander of SG-1, and the rest of the personnel at Stargate Command.

The Stargate burst to life and sent a cloud of blue plasma shooting into the room. Just as quickly, the cloud retracted and formed a blue liquid-like wall in the center of the Gate. A few seconds passed before five figures burst through the plasma wall and walked down the ramp. Almost as soon as they stepped through, the Stargate disengaged, and the wormhole winked out of existence. The five newcomers were dressed in fatigues with the Stargate Centre's insignia on their sleeves. Below the SGC patches was their team's designation, SG Team 1.

Their leader, a man with brown hair and youthful features, saluted the man waiting for them at the base of the ramp. "SG-1 reporting as ordered, sir," he said.

First Commander George Hammond of the Stargate Centre nodded and smiled at them. "I hope the locals didn't mind you leaving so unexpectedly?"

"Oh, it was nothing, sir," Jack said. "They didn't mind a bit."

"How was your mission?"

"Oh, you know, the usual," Jack said. "Daniel and Sam impressed the locals with their amazing talents."

"We cast a few spells to keep a bridge from collapsing," Daniel explained.

Jack continued, "I got a sprained ankle that healed thanks to my Immortality before Teal'c could say, 'O'Neill, there is a hole in the ground in front of you!' and Methos here taught us all to dance like the locals."

"I will forever regret it, too," Methos said, grimacing. If his teammates had tried to dance with any of the planet's ancestors, they would have been dead sooner than Methos could say, 'Stop dancing like you were born with a lame leg!' They were that bad.

"Anyway, sir," Jack said after glaring at Methos. "What's up? Why'd you call us back early?"

"A new terrorist group began attacking one of the norm embassies in Colorado not long ago. The State officials are asking for SG-1's help."

"Oh, Christ," Jack muttered. Not again. Ever since the existence of blue light mages and Immortals became public, the entire planet had been split into three groups: Immortals, blue light mages, and norms, the mortals that didn't have blue light magic abilities. Governments had been broken up, and the three groups rose in power and mass. The entire conflict between them had become so bad that it almost escalated into a planet-wide war. Thankfully, another group had been formed from the old governments. This group, whose members worked at the planet-wide Centre, showed the world that norms, mages, and Immortals could work together. The Centre had worked for years to lessen the tension between the racist groups on Earth. Now, most of the anger and fear was gone, but a lot of the diversity was still in place, and that would take several more decades to get rid of. Since he was an Immortal, Jack intended to be there the day that people were treated equally again. He knew that Daniel and Methos felt the same way.

The Stargate Centre was one of the Centre's top-secret divisions, but the people that worked at the SGC were well known to the public. Since they already had experience dealing with the extreme, the SG teams were the best people to help the Centre calm down riots and such.

"Who is it this time?" Sam asked. She was a blue light mage herself, but she knew many of the people at the norm embassies in Colorado.

"This time it seems to be a mixed group of Immortals and mages."

"That is most unusual," Teal'c said, as surprised as the rest of them. Mages and Immortals outside of the Centre tended to avoid each other the most out of the three groups. Jack wondered if the partnership was forced or agreed upon by both parties. He'd find out at the briefing.

"Okay, kids." Methos glared at Jack for that comment. He so despised being called 'kid.' "Let's hit the locker room. Looks like we've got a long day ahead of us."

"Off-world activation! Off-world activation!"

Methos groaned. He was really getting tired of hearing that, especially when he was trying to sleep. He turned onto his stomach and buried his head under his pillow, but even that didn't drown out the noise. The claxons continued to blare loudly. It felt as if they were blaring directly into his ears.

Finally, the noise stopped. Grateful, Methos rolled onto his back and glanced at his digital clock. He'd gotten only three hours of sleep. Unfortunately, the noise made him return to a fully awake state. He wasn’t going back to sleep anytime soon.

He sighed. He hadn't lied when he told MacLeod that he liked his new job, but sleeping in a military facility such as Cheyenne Mountain was never fun. He really needed a full night's sleep if he planned to start Daniel's training tomorrow. Methos needed to find an apartment, and soon.

Preferably before he had to live off coffee just to stay awake during the day.

To his amazement and relief, Daniel was learning how to fight with a sword fairly quickly. The archeologist had his doubts at first, but according to his teacher, he was doing very well compared to some of the protégés Methos had in the past.

A few weeks had gone by since Methos and Daniel's close encounter with Kneph Khons, a Goa'uld who held them prisoner because of their Immortality. Two days after SG-1 rescued them, Methos had begun Daniel's training. They practiced during the afternoons in Stargate Command's gym and it tended to draw a crowd. Regulations made them keep safeguards on their swords, but Daniel knew that whenever they started practicing elsewhere, Methos would take the safeguards off. Daniel wanted to learn as much as he could before then. That way, there would be fewer chances for the older Immortal to slash him with his blade.

Today, Sam, Jack, and Teal'c were some of the few people who came to watch. Daniel appreciated their support, but they weren't being very helpful. They kept distracting him with comments like, "Watch out for that swing, Daniel!" or "Be sure to duck, Danny!" among other things. He ended up making more mistakes than he would have if they were quiet.

"Pay attention!" Methos chastised him. "You must learn to concentrate when there are distractions around you. Focus on me, your opponent, at all times."

Daniel turned his full attention on his trainer. This time, he saw the practice sword swing down, and had enough time to block it with his own blade.

Jack whistled. "Go, Danny!"

Ignoring him as best as he could, Daniel managed to block the next attack. Methos began to swing his blade at Daniel's left side. Daniel got in the right position to block it, but at the last minute, Methos switched directions, and he used his blade to slash at Daniel's legs. Even with safe guards over the blade, the powerful slash left a burning feeling on his legs, making him grit his teeth. He lost focus on what Methos was doing, giving Methos ample time to raise his blade and place it on the back of Daniel's neck.

"Next lesson: learn to endure the pain. If that had been a real cut, your legs would have healed eventually. Shift the weight off your legs and use the rest of your body until your legs heal, and never lose focus on what your opponent is doing. Mistakes like that can get you killed," Methos told him.

Daniel nodded, and Methos lifted his sword away. Daniel noticed for the first time since they'd begun the session that both of them were breathing heavily. "Let's take a break, shall we?" Methos suggested.

They wondered over to their towels and water bottles. Daniel thirstily gulped down some of the liquid. "Quite a show, Daniel," Jack said, grinning. Sam and Teal'c were also smiling at him.

"Indeed," Teal'c said. He turned to Methos and bowed his head. "You are perhaps the best teacher that I believe Daniel Jackson could have. Would you be interested in sparing sometime?"

Methos nodded. "I'd be honored."

"You can sign me up for lessons, too," Jack told him.

The older Immortal shook his head, smiling. "Maybe this weekend at my new apartment."

"You're getting an apartment?" Sam asked. "Where are you moving?"

"Not getting, got," he corrected. "I have a friend in the realtors' business. He owes me. He found me this great place that even has a small private gym."

"And just how old is this friend?" Daniel asked. He'd learned that most of Methos' friends tended to be much older than they looked.

"Old." Methos grinned. "We met in Tibet a while back. He made his own beer back then. Great stuff." He grabbed his gym bag and swung it over his shoulder, then put his swords in their cases. "Want to have dinner there tonight? I'll cook."

"You cook?" Jack asked. "Hmm, I'd love to see that. Count me in." The others also agreed to it.

"Great! Come on over at nine, then."

"Are you absolutely sure about this, colonel?" General Hammond asked. He looked at the man sitting on the other side of his desk.

Colonel Jack O'Neill nodded. "Yes, sir. I think that Dr. Pierson would be an excellent addition to SG-1. I've seen him in action, sir, and I know he can handle himself."

"Do you think he'd agree to it?"

"I think he has a personal agenda when it comes to the Goa'uld, sir. Daniel's hinted that he's really old, and that he was around when the Goa'uld invaded earth a few thousand years ago. If that's true, then we could really use his expertise out on the field."

Hammond nodded. "Well, if he has no objections, I see no reason why he shouldn't join your team."

"Thank you, sir," Jack said, smiling. He stood and saluted. "I'll break the news to him tonight."

"Very well," Hammond said, grinning at his second in command's enthusiasm.

Methos set the cranberry sauce on the table next to the dumplings, then hurried back into the kitchen when the timer on the stove went off. Dressed in his typical Adam Pierson garb, jeans and a sweater, it was hard to believe that he'd been wearing fatigues daily during the past two weeks.

He took the chicken out of the oven and, after covering it in barbecue sauce, set it on the table in the middle of the other delicacies he'd taken the time to prepare. It was a good thing that General Hammond had let him go home early that day, or he wouldn't have had the time to make all this stuff. He was glad he did, though. He wanted dinner with his new friends to be a good one.

In the little time he'd known them, SG-1 had grown on him. Perhaps it was his connection with Danny that allowed him to enter their little circle, but he was glad he did. Even though he never did like Jaffa very much, he could make an exception for Teal'c. Sam was a charming and brilliant woman, Daniel was still a close friend, and Jack was probably the most entertaining mortal that Methos had ever had the pleasure of meeting.

Finished with his preparations, Methos sat down heavily on his couch, which was placed only a few feet away from the dining table. It was one of the biggest apartments he'd ever owned, and it was located near the middle of downtown. In the back of the living area was a hall that led to the rest of the apartment. On the right side of the hall was his private gym, and to the left was the bedroom and bathroom.

Methos had noticed with satisfaction that his Immortal realtor associate had remembered include leading out his bedroom window. After all, he never knew when he'd have to make a break for it if an unfriendly Immortal made a house call.

He glanced at the clock. His guests would arrive at any minute. As if on cue, he felt the Buzz. A second later, there was a knock on the door.

Deciding to be cautious, Methos grabbed his sword, which leaned against the wall near the door, and looked through the peephole. Seeing Daniel standing there, he opened the door.

"Hey, Daniel! Come on in!" he greeted the younger Immortal. Three more people appeared behind Daniel.

"Hey, Pierson. Nice place," Jack commented as he took in the apartment.

"I like it," Sam said, smiling at him.

Teal'c nodded his greeting. "They are indeed very good accommodations."

"Oh, boy! You’ve really prepared a feast," Jack commented when his eyes fell on the food. Methos nodded with amusement that the colonel was almost salivating from the sight of it all.

"You're just on time," Methos told them. "I just took the chicken out of the oven."

"Great," Jack said, rubbing his hands. "Let's eat."

They sat down around the table, and soon were happily eating the delicious food the old Immortal had repaired. "This is really good, Adam," Sam complimented him. "Where'd you learn how to make all this?

"Oh, here and there," Methos answered, grinning.

"Yeah, Daniel mentioned you'd been around," Jack said. "Exactly how old are you, anyway?"

"He's around five thousand," Daniel said before Methos could even open his mouth. The older Immortal glared at him. "What? I knew you wouldn't tell them."

Methos sighed and gave him a look, letting Daniel know that they'd talk later.

"Five thousand years is a long time," Jack said, getting over his shock.

"Indeed it is," Teal'c agreed. His eyes were filled with awe and a new respect. "Never have I known someone so old who was not a false-god."

"Hey, I'm no one special," Methos told them. "I'm a little older than most, but that's all."

Jack cleared his throat and pushed his plate away. "Well, whether or not that's true, we'd like to ask you something, oh old one." He got serious. "We want you to become the fifth member of SG-1."

Methos' mouth fell open. Shock was slowly replaced by wonder. He smiled. "Thank you," he said genuinely. "But…why?"

"Other than the fact that you're over five thousand years old?" Jack asked. "It seemed like you'd met the Goa'uld before, and now that we know your age, you probably did. We could use your expertise."

Methos nodded. He could see the logic behind that. Excitement overtook him. As much as he hated the Goa'uld and Jaffa and everything related to them, he'd wanted to go back through the Stargate ever since SG-1 rescued him and Daniel from another planet, and he was glad that he would get the opportunity. "I'd love to join your team."

"Well, in that case, welcome to SG-1," Daniel said.

"Great!" Jack said, smiling. "And now that that's done, why don't you bring out the desert, and then you can tell us all about yourself while we eat."

"Yes, sir!" Methos said, jumping up and heading for the kitchen.

There were several different embassies for the state of Colorado. First of all, there were the older embassies for foreign nations. Many of them had been split amongst mages, Immortals, and norms that were traveling to America from another country or continent. Then, there were the newer embassies. These were meant for the mages, Immortals, and norms that lived in the vicinity around the embassy. The Colorado State Embassy for Norms - its official name was something more impressive sounding - was located two hours south of Colorado Springs, and three hours away from the Cheyenne Mountain Complex.

SG-1 was currently on the road, heading down to the scene. Carter was driving the van and Jack sat next to her in the front passenger seat. Behind them, in the back two rows, were Daniel, Teal'c, and Methos. Jack glanced at the members of his team. They were certainly an interesting bunch.

Doctor Samantha Carter, formerly Major Carter of the US Air Force, was the brightest person Jack had ever known. She excelled at astrophysics and at using all her thingamajig machinery. She wasn't bad at blue light magic either, and even though she wasn't the best at it, she'd used her skills to beat some Goa'uld ass on more than one occasion. Carter was also the best Junior Commander of SG-1 Jack could ask for given the circumstances that presented themselves over the years.

Teal'c came next. The stoic Jaffa stared out the window, oblivious to Jack's stare. Not too many people outside the Stargate Centre knew about him, thank God. They had enough problems without adding a dislike of aliens to the mix. His warrior ways had contributed greatly to training the members of SG Team 1, not to mention other SG teams. Even though Earth wasn't his planet, Teal'c had been there every step of the way while the Centre had tried to restore peace. Jack couldn't help but notice that his alien friend had wrinkles around his eyes and had a few gray hairs mixed with the black color of the stubble on his chin. He realized, a little shocked, that Teal'c wasn't a hundred years old anymore. Jack worried that, one day, Teal'c would be too old to carry ol' Junior the Symbiote anymore, and then they'd lose one of the best men Jack had ever known. Sam was also not as young as she once was, but she still had a ways to go. It was about time she got a promotion.

Doctor Daniel Jackson was an Immortal like Jack. He was probably one of the youngest Immortals still alive. The racist response to Immortality on Earth, along with SG-1's many confrontations with the Goa'uld, had hardened him quite a bit, but Daniel still tried to look for the good qualities in an individual. It was one characteristic that Jack would never quite understand, especially in the world they lived in where hatred presided over everything.

Daniel was also a blue light mage. It didn't happen often, but occasionally, an Immortal could be born with the powers of a blue light mage. It was pretty rare, but when it did happen, you ended up with an extremely powerful Immortal mage. Jack knew for a fact that Daniel could heal faster than even Methos, the oldest Immortal still alive. Jack had even seen Daniel get hit with a bullet once. The Immortal had been knocked to the ground, but the shot hadn't even had time to kill him; the wound healed faster than his heart could stop beating, believe it or not. His skills as a mage were also pretty spectacular. He could perform all spells better than other mages, and sometimes he didn’t even require a spell to do some things. If it had been anyone besides Daniel, Jack would have been afraid that all that power would be misused.

Jack tore his gaze away from Daniel and looked over at Methos. The five thousand plus elder had the largest tolerance for beer that Jack knew. Sure, it didn't seem as impressive compared to Daniel's skills, but when it came to winning in a beer-drinking contest, Methos was the guy Jack would bet for. His experience from the Goa'uld's invasion three thousand years ago had helped them out whenever they ran into another System Lord, and his experience with racist and diverse communities had helped them all out whenever there was a situation on Earth.

Then there was himself, Jack. Back before the Centre took over the old governments, he was known as Colonel Jack O'Neill, leader of SG-1 and 2IC of Stargate Command. Now, twelve years later, he was Jack O'Neill, civilian official, Second Commander of the Stargate Centre, and the Senior Commander of Stargate Team 1, a.k.a. SG-1. Like Methos and Daniel, Jack was Immortal. He'd died for the first time over thirty years ago during his black ops days. He still looked like he was in his mid-thirties and looked about the same age as Daniel. In reality, Jack was 62 and Daniel was 47. Daniel was about the same age as Carter, who at least looked it.

Jack leaned back in his seat and stared out of the windshield. His thoughts turned to the day's mission. Blue Light Mages and Immortals working together, outside of the Centre, was very odd. Blue Light Mages were mortals, or Immortals, with naturally altered DNA. They possessed an energy that they could control. They made the energy appear as small spheres of blue light above their palms. Whenever the spheres were activated, the mages could perform spells by doing series of hand motions. The hand motions were different for each spell. One of the easiest spells didn't require any hand motions at all, and that was telepathy. Blue light mages could project their thoughts simply by activating their blue light spheres. Hand motions were required for all other known blue light spells, however.

Immortal mages like Daniel could make exceptions. For instance, Daniel didn't even have to activate his spheres in order to communicate telepathically. It could be eerie at times, but Jack was used to it. He wished the rest of the world would also get used to it, and not in a terrorist-group-attacking-an-embassy kind of way.

The drive that led up to the embassy was packed. The norm embassy was located at the end of a long driveway bordered on both sides by the Colorado Forest, which was just as thick as it was on either side of the highway SG-1 had been traveling down for two hours straight. The driveway was packed with police cars. Further down, Daniel could make out a crowd, probably the terrorists, surrounded one side by the wall of the embassy and by the police on the other side.

The chief of police spotted them and headed over. "SG-1," he said, sounding unhappy to see them. His disdain had nothing to do with the fact that most of the people on the squad were norms or very weak mages. Police Chief Carl Ferguson was a proud man, and hated asking for the Centre's help. However, Ferguson knew when to be professional and set aside personal feelings to get a job done, and this was definitely one of those times.

"Ferguson," Jack said in greeting. "What's the latest?"

"The whole thing's a mess, Senior Commander. We tried to send a chopper into the building to get the norms inside out, but the terrorists used a pretty powerful blue light spell to knock it down. The chopper crashed into part of the embassy and set it on fire. Condition of survivors in the embassy is unknown."

Ferguson sighed and shook his head. "So far, we've held the terrorists out of the building with a few barriers my mage constructed, but the terrorist groups' mages are too powerful. The mages on the squad have constantly had to reconstruct the barriers, and the terrorists have already killed five of my men. Guns aren't working well, either; the Immortals in the group are protecting the mages from our bullets. Very soon, the terrorists will get into the building and we won't be able to stop them."

"All right," Jack said, thinking. "We'll get the embassy workers out. Dr. Jackson can help you keep the terrorists out of the building." He turned to Daniel. "Think a sleep spell should do it?"

Daniel glanced back at the scene further down the drive and nodded. "It'll work."

Ferguson asked, "How exactly do you plan on getting over there?"

SG-1 smiled secretly at him. "We won't have any problem with that," Methos assured him.

Ferguson gave them a look, but didn't say anything else about it. He was perceptive enough to know that he wouldn't get an answer. "Good luck." He left and rejoined his own squad.

"Shouldn't we take some of the cops with us, sir?" Sam asked. "We could use the extra manpower."

Jack shook his head. "We're under oath not to tell any civilians, policemen or not, about the transporting spell. Remember, Junior Commander?"

"Right, sir. Sorry."

"We just have to hope that two Immortals, a mage, and myself are enough to convince the norms to leave the building with us," Teal'c said. Most people didn't know him as well, but after working with him for twenty years, SG-1 knew when the Jaffa was being sarcastic.

"Teal'c has a very good point," Methos commented, glancing back at the embassy. "Not all norms like folks like us."

"It'll work," Jack said firmly, leaving no room for an argument. "Let's go, people. Into the woods where can one can see."

"Why, Jack. I didn't know you felt that way," Methos said, feigning shock. Jack just rolled his eyes and pushed the older Immortal toward the treeline.

Once in the woods, Daniel remarked, << I didn't think Ferguson had that many mages on the squad. Didn't he have only one last time we saw him? >>

His voice resounded through his teammate's minds. Jack hardly noticed it; years of hearing Daniel that way insured that. Daniel was the only mage who could do that without activated spheres. Daniel would speak that way more often if he and Sam weren't the only members of SG-1 who could project their thoughts. It the others wanted to answer Daniel, they had to speak out loud.

Methos answered him this time. "I think he got the message that mages were useful when Sam saved him last time."

"That would do it," Jack agreed. Getting back to business, he motioned toward the two mages on his team. "Daniel, Carter, do your stuff."

The two mages nodded. In order to perform the transporter spell, they needed to activate their spheres. Sam went first. She clasped her hand together and closed her eyes, putting her entire concentration on willing her spheres to appear. Jack saw a blue light appear between her closed fingers. When Sam opened her eyes and hands again, two identical glowing balls of pure blue energy were floating only millimeters above both of her palms. They lit up the surrounding area, casting a soft blue glow over everything.

The spheres were the center of every mage's power. If they weren't activated, mages had trouble accessing their own blue light magic.

Sam activated her spheres the normal way. Daniel, however, because he was not a normal mage, did not have to. He didn't even have to concentrate as much as Sam was required to make his spheres appear. Jack watched as Daniel clasped his hands into fists at his sides. When the Immortal mage opened them, his spheres were activated. They added even more blue light to the dark forest.

"Daniel, you go first," Jack said. Daniel nodded and started to cast the spell. He swung his arm back at his side then swung it in the underground. The move was similar to the underhand through of a baseball, only Daniel wasn't throwing a baseball; he through a blue light sphere. A copy of the one in his right palm flew out of it and sailed through the air. It unraveled into thousands of pieces as fine as bright blue-colored dust. The dust floated through mid air and formed a door.

The doorway was the transporter portal they would walk through. It glistened and sparkled in all the shades of blue, similar to a Stargate's event horizon and still very different. Unlike the Stargate, this doorway did not appear to be a vertical pool of rolling waves; the transporter portal was completely calm.

This was why they needed privacy. The transporter spell could be used to travel through time, space, or even to other realities. Not many people knew this spell, and for a good reason: if they did, mages could go anywhere they wanted at any time, and it would be hard to prevent any damage they might cause.

<< Don’t forget this >> Sam said, handing Daniel a handgun.

<< Thanks >> Daniel put the gun in his belt, then turned toward the portal and walk through it. A second or two later, the portal winked out of existence.

Daniel stepped back out of the transporter, and immediately felt an intense heat. Looking up, he realized that he was only a few feet away from the burning part of the embassy building, just where he'd planned to re-appear. Looking at the fire, he could make out the remains of a helicopter frame.

It was amazing that the fire hadn't spread to the rest of the building. A minute later, he could see why. The mages on the police squad had obviously built a barrier between the fire and the rest of the house.

He quickly told the others this by projecting his thoughts. Sam answered back, << Can you put it out? >>

<< Think so, >> Daniel answered.

He held his left palm up above his head, then slowly swung it back down. At the last minute, he pushed the palm out and away, toward the building.

Blue light dust flowed out of his left sphere in a stream. The dust spread out and surrounding the fire completely, forming a shell around the blazing flames. Daniel quickly lowered his hand to his side and dust stopped flowing out of his sphere. The blue cover surrounding the fire completely disappeared. It was replaced by rain, which drizzled down onto the fire, putting it out completely.

<< Done, >> he sent over to Sam. He glanced at the rest of the building. Spotting a dark figure against one of the windows, he added, << Sam, I see a guy in one of the second story windows. It's on the other end of the building. >>

He sent her a metal image of the shadow's location. << Okay, that's where we're headed, then. Good luck. >>

<< Same to you. >>

Daniel turned around and looked at the embassy's walls. He could hear the shouts from the terrorists on the other side, but he couldn't feel any of them yet; he was too far away. He spotted a painter's stand. He quickly pushed it against the brick wall and climbed on top of it, then glanced over the top of the wall.

The buzz of forty Immortals hit him immediately. They were closer to the police line, clearly protecting the mages from the squad's bullets, while the terrorist groups' mages cast the counter-spells.

He decided to send a message to the minds of the terrorists. << This is Daniel Jackson of SG-1. By order of the Centre, you must surrender and prepare to face charges. >>

He saw one of the Immortal terrorists turn and look in his direction. He walked over to one of the mages and told him something. A second later, the mage was projecting his own thoughts in Daniel's mind. << These are the leaders, Henry Nostrum and Charles Barracks. We will surrender to no one. These norms are hiding something in their embassy, and it belongs to mages and Immortals. You should understand that since you belong to both groups, Jackson. >>

Well, if they weren't surrendering, he would cast the sleep spell. He began by placing his palms flat against his side of the wall. Then he closed his eyes. He imagined a box about eighty feet wide, two hundred feet long and about seven feet high.

While he was casting the spell, Barracks, the leader with blue light magic, told his companion, << He's going to try something. I'm going to take care of him before he does. >> Nostrum nodded, showing his agreement.

Barracks cupped his hands, forming a bowl in his palms. He brought them up to his lips, then concentrated on an image of the embassy's walls in his mind. Slowly, he blew at the spheres floating above his palms. Some of the blue light energy parted from the spheres and turned to dust before floating away on a breeze that wasn’t there. Barracks kept blowing and more of the blue dust floating off of the spheres and toward the embassy. Barracks could see the blue dust settle onto the brick walls in his mind's eyes, and knew without opening them that the same thing was happening in reality. Only when enough dust covered the walls did he open his eyes.

The blue dust now covered the entire wall like a new coat of paint. In one spot, near the top of the wall, the blue dust seemed to be in a darker shade than the rest. The dark spot was in the form of a crouching human being, presumably standing on something on the other side of the wall.

Smiling, Barrack's Immortal companion, Nostrum, turned to the other mages. "Fire at will!"

The mages closest to the wall immediately fired at the darkened spot on the wall. Blue light spheres shot out from their palms, striking the spot.

Sam cast the transporter spell after Daniel left, then she, Jack, Teal'c, and Methos stepped through the portal. When they stepped back out of it, they were inside the embassy.

The first thing Jack noticed was a group of men and women, all norms, pointing guns at his team.

SG-1 put their hands up. The leader of the norms asked, "Who are you?"

Jack answered, "Senior Commander Jack O'Neill of SG-1. We're from the Centre."

The leader relaxed and motioned to his men to lower their weapons. "Ambassador Henry Armstrong. Thank you for coming. We could certainly use your help."

"No we don't," one of the norms said. "They're SG-1, Henry! They're all Immortals and mages, the same kind of people who are attacking us!"

The Ambassador gave him a steely glare. "Anderson, not all mages and Immortals are terrorists. Haven't you learned that already?"

Anderson folded his arms and turned away.

"We're here to get you people out," Jack went on. Seeing Anderson sulk, he added, "Or you can stay here and die. It's your choice."

"Let's go," the ambassador ordered. Sam cast the transporter spell again, and the ambassador's people stepped through it. Armstrong was the last. He through an angry look at the ambassador and SG-1 before stepping through the portal. They followed him through it.

It all went too fast for Daniel to stop it. One minute, the walls had turned blue. Daniel knew what spell made it do that. He looked over the wall and saw several blue fireballs heading straight toward him.

Oh, crap, Daniel thought. The fireballs hit the wall, knocking the wall and the painter's stand to pieces and sending him flying through the air.

He hit the ground with a bone-wrenching crunch. He felt his neck, skull, back, and what felt like every other major bone in his body break from the fall and from the bricks that hit him continuously. He let out a scream of pain as he felt his body begin to mend.

Anyone other Immortal would have died from all of this. But Daniel was too powerful. His wounds always healed before either his heart stopped beating or before he passed out. This was definitely one of those times that he wished he would lose consciousness.

When he knew his wounds had healed significantly, Daniel slowly stood up. The wall was half-gone now. He had to cast the sleep spell quickly if he wanted to survive this battle.

"Shit!" Captain Simmons remarked to Police Chief Ferguson when they saw half of the wall around the embassy practically explode.

Ferguson barked into his radio, "Where the hell is that blue light barrier that was supposed to protect the walls?"

The voice of another one of his captains filtered through the radio. "Sorry, sir. They managed to get past it. We're putting it back up now."

Ferguson heard his name being called. He turned and saw SG-1, accompanied by at least ten others, appear from the forest. "What the hell is going on, Ferguson?" O'Neill asked him.

"The terrorists have managed to get past our barriers that are protecting the embassy," Ferguson said.

SG-1 looked at him, eyes wide. "Daniel Jackson is still in there," Teal'c said, alarmed.

Daniel once again placed his hands in front of him with the palms facing outwards. His mind filled with an image of the box again. Then, Daniel clapped his hands as quickly as possible.

Light flowed out of his palms. It went through the hole in the wall.

Ferguson and SG-1 watched while a large blue box formed around the terrorist group. When this was done, the terrorists were completely sealed it. They watched as the walls moved inwards, passing through Immortals and mages as it went. When a terrorist was touched, he or she immediately passed out and dropped to the ground.

The box disappeared. All that was left were sleeping terrorists. It was over.

"So, *Methos*," Jack began. They'd just gotten out of Methos' first mission briefing. He and the old Immortal were walking down the hall toward SG-1's locker room. "How do you enjoy being apart of SG-1 so far?"

"Great, although I'm really hoping that the rumors aren't true."

"Rumors? What rumors?"

"That SG-1 gets into scrapes within the first ten seconds after they step out of the Gate onto a new planet."

Jack looked offended. "What! I thought the rumor was that we got into scrapes ten minutes into a mission! When we get back from PX1-780, we should set the record straight. They're getting it all wrong either case. We get into scrapes only five minutes after we step onto a new planet."

Methos stared at him. He suddenly felt very unsure about all of this.

"You doing okay, Danny? You did take quite a beating yesterday," Jack commented to Daniel on their way to SG-1's locker room at the Stargate Centre.

"Yeah, being thrown to the ground and pounded by tons of bricks was definitely fun," Daniel said, wincing at the memory. "I'm glad it's over."

"Me, too." The terrorists had been arrested and were being held without a trial or parole. Jack was glad they were. Their attack on the embassy certainly hadn't helped ease the tension between Immortals, mages, and norms all over the planet. He was glad they wouldn't be able to do anymore harm.

"There was one thing, though," Daniel said. "It slipped my mind, but one of the leaders told me that the embassy had something that both Immortals and mages would want."

"I'll tell Hammond about it before we go to PX1-780," Jack promised. "It's probably nothing."

"Yeah, hopefully," Daniel said.

Jack hoped so, too. They definitely didn't anything else to feed the fire of diversity already on the planet Earth. Weird analogy, Jack, he thought.

The elevator stopped on the right floor, and the two Immortals stepped out and headed down the hall. Suddenly, they felt the Buzz.

Methos stuck his head out of a storage room. "Hey, Methos. What's up?" Jack asked him.

Sam appeared in the doorway. "Sir, Daniel, you're going to want to have a look at this," she said. Jack could see the excitement in her eyes, and knew that whatever his teammates had found in there it would be some cool scientific gizmo.

He and Daniel entered the storage room. First Commander Hammond, Teal'c, Methos, and Sam appeared to be a mirror. The mirror was framed by stone and looked like it was really heavy.

"Nice mirror," Jack said. "What's it doing down here?"

"It appears to give off no reflection," Teal'c told him.

"What do you mean by that? I can see the room in it."

"Er, Jack, he's right. The room's being reflected, but we aren't," Daniel said. He peered closely at the mirror's surface.

Jack looked closer at it. Daniel was right. He couldn't see any of them in the mirror, but he did have a full view of the storage room. "Any ideas?"

"SG-5 brought this back from a mission, but so far we haven't been able to figure out what it is. I thought Junior Commander Carter and Dr. Jackson would like to have a look after SG-1's mission before we sent it to Area 51."

"Thank you, sir," Carter said, smiling. "I'd really like to run some tests on it, see why it's reflecting the room but not us."

Jack wanted a better look at the mirror and took a step forward. His foot impacted with something on the ground. He didn't know what it was, but it made him slip.

He fell forward and held a hand out to steady himself against the weird alien mirror. When he regained his balance again, Jack looked down and saw another alien device, probably a remote control, resting beneath his foot. He'd slipped on that.

"Hey, what are alien remotes doing on the floor?" Jack asked his friends. He bent down and picked up the remote or whatever it was.

No one answered him. "Guys?" Jack asked, turning around.

No one else was in the storage room. It was as if the rest of his team and his commanding officer had decided to scadaddle when he lost his balance.

Jack looked back at the mirror and got the shock of his life.

There they were. He could see them reflected in the mirror. They stared back at him.

Jack turned to look at the storage room, but he was still alone. Yet for some reason, he could see Methos, Daniel, Teal'c, Hammond, and Sam in the mirror, as if they were trapped inside it.

He felt the Buzz. It was coming from the hallway.

Jack and Methos were about to walk past the Quantum Mirror room when Methos felt the Buzz. He reached out a hand to stop the colonel. "There's an Immortal in there."

Jack looked at him, alarmed. Then they turned and entered the Quantum Mirror Room.

Methos gasped, and Jack was pretty sure he was 'doing his impression of a fish,' in Daniel's own words. The guards that were always stationed in front of the mirror twenty-four/seven were pointing guns at someone.

Standing right in front of the Quantum Mirror, holding the remote control device necessary to travel between realities, was an exact copy of Jack.

Only he was younger. Much, much younger. It was as if Jack was looking at the twenty-something version of himself that went on classified missions to Iraq. There wasn't a single gray hair on his head, and there weren't very many wrinkles on his youthful face, either.

Jack looked behind the newcomer at the mirror. If this guy came through it, his reality wasn't visible in the mirror's glass. It must have shut off after this younger version of himself came through.

Or is he really young? Jack wondered. Methos had felt a Buzz, and since this newcomer was the only one who came through the mirror, that meant…this alternate Jack O'Neill was Immortal.

"Hell-o…" the Immortal Jack said. He looked pretty spooked in Jack's opinion.

The guards were looking back and forth between him and the colonel. The colonel knew they saw the resemblance. "Sir…?"

Jack sighed. "Better get General Hammond down here."

SG-1 and General Hammond sat around the briefing room table at Stargate Command. They watched video footage of the younger Jack O'Neill, who was now pacing back and forth in one of the SGC's holding cells. Afterwards, Daniel remarked to Jack, "He certainly does act like you."

"And you're saying he came through the mirror?" General Hammond asked Methos and the colonel.

"Yes, sir," Jack said. "He did seem pretty surprised. I don't think he knows he's in an alternate reality, sir."

"I'd have to agree," Sam said. "Although I'm kind of curious how he wound up with a remote controller."

"Wait, let me get this straight," Methos said, confused. "The mirror was something called a Quantum Mirror, which can be used to travel to parallel universes. The younger Colonel O'Neill came through the mirror from an alternate universe."

"That's about it," Sam said.

"Yeah, last time this happened, Carter's double came through," Jack remembered. "It was certainly an interesting time."

"I think it's about time we found out why he's here," Hammond said. He turned to the door and called, "Send him in."

The door opened, and Jack's younger double, accompanied by a few guards, walked into the room. Daniel and Methos felt his Buzz. Both thought it was odd that it was coming from Jack.

The younger Jack stared at them all before taking a seat across from SG-1. "I'm General George Hammond of the SGC. Who exactly are you?" Hammond asked him.

The younger Jack cleared his throat. "Jack O'Neill, Centre official, Senior Commander of SG Team #1 and Second Commander of the Stargate Centre."

"Pretty long title you've got there," Jack commented.

The Senior Commander, or Second Commander or whatever, looked at him. His confusion was apparent. "I'm sorry. Exactly why are there two of me?"

"Sir?" Carter asked, looking at Hammond. He nodded. Carter turned back to the Senior Commander. "You're in an alternate reality. The mirror you traveled through, the Quantum Mirror, can be used to travel between parallel universes. That's what happened to you."

Much to their surprise, the Senior Commander groaned. "Great, just great," he muttered. "Not *another* one of these trips to a parallel universe."

"Are you saying that you've traveled to other realities before?" Daniel asked, his interest and his excitement peeked.

"Yeah, I have," he said, sighing. "But it wasn't through the mirror. We didn't know what that thing was for."

"So…how did you travel to other realities?" Sam asked.

"Blue light magic," he answered. He saw their blank faces. "You don't have that in this reality, do you?" He asked, surprised. He looked from Daniel to Carter. "So…neither of you are mages?"

SG-1 and the general exchanged confused looks. "Um…what exactly is blue light magic?" Methos asked.

"I'll be happy to tell you all about it," Senior Commander Jack O'Neill promised. "But first, can you tell me your names?"

Daniel took up the introductions. "That's General Hammond. I'm Dr. Daniel Jackson, this is Major Carter, Teal'c, Dr. Pierson, and Colonel Jack O'Neill."

"Colonel? Major?" Jack asked, surprised. "You mean…in this reality the Air Force still exists? And the US government? Everything?"

"Do you not have the same government in your reality?" Teal'c asked.

"Er, no. They all kind of collapsed about eleven or twelve years ago."

"What happened?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah, good question," Colonel O'Neill said.

"Uh…that's a long story," Jack admitted.

"Might as well start anyway," Methos said, leaning back. "Some of us can even spare extra time."

"For one thing, exactly how old are you?"

He smiled. "Sixty-two."

"Woah," Sam said. "Immortality sure has its perks, doesn't it?"

The Senior Commander looked at all of them. "Exactly how long have all of you worked together, if you don't mind me asking?"

"A few years," the old-looking Jack answered. "What about your…SG Team #1?"

"We call it SG-1 occasionally. We've been together a few more years. More like fifteen. Three years at Stargate Command, the rest at the Stargate Centre."

"Exactly how did it get that way?" Sam asked.

"Well…I guess I need to fill you guys in on what blue light magic is. Back in my reality, there are accounts of blue light mages as far back as the Middle Ages. Basically, mages are born with a unique energy very unlike an Immortal Quickening. They can use this energy to perform spells that range between fixing instant meals to stopping nuclear weapons traveling at thousands of miles a minute."

"You mean there are people gifted with the ability to do actual magic?" Hammond asked, uncertainty in his voice.

"I’m sure it must sound pretty crazy to you people, but bare with me. Maybe when you let me go back to my reality, you can get Daniel or Carter to demonstrate a few spells. But let's get back to the history lesson. About sixteen hundred years ago, there was a war between regular people and mages. No one knew about Immortals back then, so they usually weren't included in the battles. But things got so bad then thousands of people died on both sides. Finally, a few mages got together and decided to put a stop to it. Together, they came up with a spell that would wipe all memory of blue light magic from everyone involved in the fighting. Since most of the fighters were eighteen or up, they made sure the spell worked on that age group. The result was that no one remembered blue light magic except for a few kids and the spell's casters. The casters made the children swear that they wouldn't tell anyone."

"Isn't that overkill?" Hammond asked. The colonel had to agree.

The other Jack winced and shook his head. "No, it wasn't."

He took a deep breath. "Anyway, let's skip ahead, shall we? Around twelve years ago in my reality, the world learned about the existence of Immortals." He met Methos' eyes. "A group called the Watchers had developed a CD containing all sorts of information of our kind, but one of them was killed by a particularly bloodthirsty Immortal before the CD could be finished. His wife, Katherine ____, found the CD and decided that she was angry enough at Immortals in general to tell the world about them."

Methos' jaw dropped. Something similar had almost happened in this reality, but he, MacLeod, Amanda, and Joe had managed to stop Katherine and Kalas, the "bloodthirsty Immortal," in time. Obviously that hadn't happened in the Second Commander's reality.

"So what happened?" Methos asked.

He continued, "The world found out about us, and it scared a bunch of people. It hasn't been a great time to live in. They found out about blue light mages not long afterwards. One group of mortals had captured a few Immortals and were executing them on international television. It started off a few powerful Quickenings, though. A few young mages had to perform a few big, noticeable spells to keep a few buildings from falling on hundreds of people. Afterwards, people were afraid of mages, too, and mages blamed the Immortals because they forced them out of hiding. It resulted in bloodbaths across the globe. Everywhere, new prejudice feelings had sprung up. Immortals put aside the Game and teamed together instead. They fought against mages and norms, and so on and so forth." He shook his head, remembering. "The local governments tried to calm it all down, but they couldn't even agree with themselves and started to fall apart. It was all this huge mess."

"Not all of us wanted to fight, however. We got together and formed the Centre, and have slowly gotten the riots and wars and anger to calm down. We still have a lot to do, but we're getting there. The Centre is basically the new planetary government infrastructure. The Stargate program was incorporated into it, and all SGC personnel were allowed to stay in the new Stargate Centre if they promised that they could work with Immortals, mages, or norms."

"Wow," Sam said.

"I second that," Daniel said.

"I also agree," Teal'c chimed in.

"So, now that I've filled you in, what do you plan to do with me?"

"We intend to send you back to your own reality," General Hammond told him. "We've had experience with alternate versions of SGC personnel, and it never worked out very well."

"Right, entropic cascade failure," the Second Commander said, nodding.

The other Jack's jaw dropped. "You mean you remember what it's called?"

The Immortal smiled and tapped his head. "Immortal eidetic memory."

"Oh, come on!" Jack said, looking at Methos and Daniel.

Methos shrugged. "We can remember things pretty well, probably better than mortals do."

"Most of them," Daniel clarified.

"Just to get back on topic," Carter said, "we have a problem concerning the Quantum Mirror."

Second Commander O'Neill's smile faded. "What's that?"

"It shut down after you stepped through," Sam said, giving him an apologetic look. "It'll take some time to find your reality again, but it's possible. Hopefully we'll find it before cascade failure begins."

"Great," he muttered. "Well, I'll be happy to lend a hand."

The General nodded. "You're welcome to do so." He addressed all of them. "Until Second Commander O'Neill is returned to his own reality, SG-1's mission to PX1-780 will be postponed."

That startled the alternate Jack. "PX1-780? That was the planet my team was scheduled to visit today."

"So…you work at the Stargate Centre? You don’t help out on Earth or anything?" Daniel asked.

"I do both, actually."

"We'll talk about it while we're working on the mirror," Sam said.

Hammond nodded. "Everyone is dismissed."

SG Team #1 and First Commander Hammond sat around the briefing table. "Dr. Carter, have you been able to determine what happened to the Second Commander?"

The Junior Commander nodded. "I think so, sir," she said. "I’m pretty sure that Jack was transported to an alternate reality."

"An alternate reality? Like a transporter spell?" Daniel asked.

Teal’c raised an eyebrow. "No spells were performed while we were in the storage room."

Sam nodded. "I have reason to believe that the mirror is some sort of transporting device that allows people to travel to alternate dimensions. When we looked into it, we were seeing the storeroom in an alternate SG Centre."

"And when the Second Commander touched it, he got sent over there," Methos said, nodding. They all had experience with alternate realities, so none of this was new except for how the actual dimension traveling was done.

"So how do we get him back?" Hammond asked.

"I’m not sure, sir," Sam said. "There was a device that controlled the mirror, but I think Jack took it with him." She winced at that. It would be difficult to try to get him back without that device. "Daniel and I could try casting some spells, but I’m not sure if they’re going to work."

Hammond nodded. "Then you and Daniel should work on that. Methos, Teal’c, I want you two to go back to the planet where the mirror was found and look for clues. You’ll leave within the hour."

Later on, Daniel and First Commander Carter were staring thoughtfully at the Quantum Mirror. Behind and to either side of them were four guards assigned to guard the strange mirror.

Daniel and Sam were trying to figure out how to do this. Sam had no idea, and doubted Daniel did either. Although he was much more powerful than she was, he knew only as many spells as she did. Her scientific knowledge was bringing up blanks, too. It really looked like Jack would have to find a way to bring himself back.

"I just don't get it," Daniel finally said.

She had a fairly good idea what, but she asked anyway.

Daniel answered, "How come Jack always gets into these messes?"

Okay, that wasn't what she expected to hear. "Huh?"

"I mean, it's either me or him. Why can't it ever be someone else? Not that I want anyone else to get into any trouble," he added hastily, "but doesn't it ever seem a little odd to you?"

The Junior Commander looked at him, amused. "Well, no, it doesn't. You two are just perfect targets for those sorts of things."

He gave her a look before turning back to the mirror. He sighed. "I've got nothing. How about you?"

Sam shook her head, frustrated. "Let's look in the Centre's records. I think I have enough clearance to all of their information on the kind of spells we're looking for."

"Sounds good to me. I hope Methos and Teal'c find something."

They left the room and headed up to Sam's lab.

After a few hours, Colonel O'Neill decided to check on Daniel, Carter, and his double. When he entered, he found the usual guards standing a little ways away from his friends.

"Hey, kids," he greeted them as he entered. "How's it going?"

"Well, we've managed to eliminate several possible choices. After we get some lunch, we plan to backtrack and see if we missed any," Daniel said.

The Immortal Jack rubbed his forehead. "All of this is giving me a headache," he told the colonel. "Listening to Sam and Daniel here talk about scientific jumbo has never been one of my favorite past times."

Jack smiled at that. For some odd reason, they were actually getting along. It was a very strange experience compared to his encounters with the robot SG-1 in the past.

They headed out of the room, a one-man escort falling into step behind them. The Immortal O'Neill eyed him distastefully before sighing. He doubted there would be any point of voicing his complaint. They weren't sure enough about him yet to let him go anywhere alone.

INCOMPLETE