Immortals

Title: Immortals
Author: Kelsie B.
Email: [email protected]
Status: Complete
Category: Answer to Challenge 941, Humor/Drama
Pairings: None
Spoilers: None
Season/Sequel info: Season Four or After
Rating: PG
Content Warnings: Minor language
Summary: SG-1 finds the fountain of youth - or rather, it finds them....

Disclaimer: Stargate Sg-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.

Immortals, Part 2

Jack leaned back in his chair, looking around the library in sheer, utter boredom. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd been to a library. Sam and Daniel had given him directions to this one.

As soon as they'd arrived, they'd both went to work immediately, Sam on the computers and Daniel pulling texts for studying. All he'd managed to find out is that this library didn't stock Mad magazine or anything remotely like a comic book. He got up again, going to where Sam was working.

"Need any help?" Jack asked hopefully.

"No - I'm almost done here. Go check on Daniel, and let him know we're almost ready."

"Good - well, you just let me know if you want my opinion on that research, or anything," he said, going to find Daniel.

On the other side of the library, Daniel was busy putting books in his backpack when he looked up and saw another boy reading quietly at a corner desk. As Daniel finished zipping up his backpack, two other boys surrounded the boy he was watching.

"Whatcha reading, Tyler?" one asked, snatching the book from him.

"Hey!" he said, grabbing for it. They laughed, holding it out of his reach. "'Egypt's Mysteries - like King Tut?" one said, leafing through the book.

"Give it back," the kid named Tyler made another grab for it, and one of the boys stuck his foot out, causing him to fall.

Daniel felt his face turn red, and without thinking, he went over to them. "I think you should leave him alone," he said.

Tyler looked up at him, grateful to have an ally - even one smaller than he was.

"Or you'll do what?" the bigger of the two boys said to him. "Nerd."

That was all it took. Daniel launched himself at the boy, bringing both of them down in a pile. The boys watched in amazement as Daniel managed to pin the larger boy's arm behind his back. He yelped in pain. "Are you going to help me out here?" he said to his companion.

The other boy went to grab Daniel from behind, but Tyler swiftly pushed Daniel's bookbag between him and the fight, and he went down as well. It didn't really matter; the larger boy had finally struggled loose and thrown Daniel off his back. As he did, Daniel's forehead connected with the side of the desk, momentarily stunning him. The boy came at him again, grabbing two fistfuls of his shirt and lifting him off the ground. In response, Daniel kicked him in the stomach.

This was the scene that Jack came upon, and he ran quickly to the fight. The boys, seeing him coming, dropped Daniel. Once he was free, Daniel only stopped a second to adjust his glasses before going for the larger of the two of them again. Jack grabbed his arm and pulled him away.

"That's the last time you're going to Starbuck's, Daniel!" Jack said. The two boys ran off, noticing that behind Jack, the librarian had seen the whole thing and was coming their way.

"I've always wanted to do that," Daniel said, breathing heavily but smiling for the first time all day.

"What - get killed by a twelve year old?" Jack replied.

"Fight back," he said. "Kick some bully's ass."

"It kind of looked like a draw to me," Sam said as she joined them. She'd seen the whole thing from across the lobby, and came as soon as she could.

"Daniel, this is not why I taught you hand-to-hand combat," Jack sighed. He looked over at Tyler. "You okay?" he said, picking up Daniel's bookbag in one hand as he continued to hold onto Daniel with the other.

"Yeah - I am now," Tyler smiled. "Thanks," he said to Daniel. Daniel smiled at him before Jack hauled him away.

"You can let me go now - I'm not going to make a break for it," Daniel said. Jack let go of his arm. "Thank God I didn't break my glasses."

Sam looked at Daniel's forehead. "You're bleeding. How are we going to explain that?" she said to Jack.

"I don't know - you were in charge of explanations," Jack said to her. "Doesn't look so bad to me," he said, taking a look at Daniel's forehead. "He's had worse."

"Thanks for your concern, Jack," Daniel said, taking his backpack from Jack.

"Hold it right there," the librarian walked up, blocking their way out of the building. "I need to see the three of you in my office - now."

"I say we run for it," Sam said, pushing past the librarian with Daniel in tow. Jack had no choice but to follow.

The three of them sprinted for the parking lot, rounding the corner as Jack pulled out the keys to the car. They stopped short when they noticed that a police officer was checking out the car very carefully. He looked at them as they skidded to a stop.

"Going somewhere?" the officer asked. They didn't answer. "Shouldn't all of you be in school?" he continued. The librarian finally caught up with them.

"Yeah, I knew you were going to ask us that," Jack said, running a hand through his hair.

"I am very disappointed in your behavior today." Teal'c walked around Jack, Sam and Daniel menacingly. "I was entrusted with your care and you deceived me."

Teal'c had not been happy to receive a call from the police department reporting that the three minors under his care had stolen a car, picked a fight in the library, and then tried to run. He had said nothing to them until he had them back at Jack's house.

"We were trying to find a way to correct this," Daniel said.

"By picking fights with minors?" Teal'c asked.

"They started it," Daniel said.

"Oh, come on Teal'c - cut us some slack, okay?" Jack said. "It's not like you're our father."

"No, O'Neill - I am not. And despite your appearances you should not need the guardianship of a parent. I can only hope to attribute this behavior to the disruption of your body chemistry caused by the transformation you have undergone. For your own protection, you will all remain underground for the rest of the week."

"Underground? That's a little harsh," Jack said.

"I think he means we're grounded, sir," Sam replied.

"You can't ground me - I'm your commanding officer!" Jack said.

Teal'c leaned over him. "Or, I can take you back to the infirmary at the SGC."

"We'll stay grounded - thank you, Teal'c," Sam said, leading Jack away.

"Nothing?" Jack asked Sam as she poured over her notes later that day.

"I don't have a clue," she sighed.

"How 'bout you, Daniel?" he said hopefully, as Daniel continued to work on the translation.

"Ah - no, nothing yet. And I think I need a break from this," he said, pulling off his glasses and rubbing his eyes wearily.

"Well, if we don't find a way to fix this, I guess it could be worse. Nobody gets the chance to relive their childhood, you know," Jack said.

'My childhood isn't something I want to relive," Daniel said, picking up a book and flopping down on the couch.

"Come on, Daniel - look on the bright side. You'll be the smartest kid in your class."

"I was the smartest kid in my class, Jack," he replied, returning to his book.

"Well, for at least one of us it would be kinda fun," Jack finished. "What are you reading?"

Daniel didn't look up. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire."

"Harry Potter....that's what you checked out at the library?" Sam asked.

"No - Jack had it. And I've always wanted to read it. He has the others, if you want to read one of those."

"Let me get back to you on that one.....Colonel, you're reading Harry Potter?" she asked.

"Actually, they're Teal'c's," Jack said, "He let me borrow them - said I should read more....where is Teal'c, by the way?" he finished, changing the subject.

"Back at the SGC - hopefully having more luck than we are at figuring this out," Sam said.

Jack hoped she was right. "Want to check on his progress?" he said.

"Jack," Daniel warned as he got up.

"He took the keys, remember," Sam said.

"Hey - but he left the car. Who says you need keys?" Jack smiled.

Teal'c was in fact listening to a briefing from the team that had gone back to the planet to study the technology. They had confirmed that the equipment could be dismantled and brought back to Earth. What they couldn't confirm was that it could be made to work again.

"You cannot bring this technology back to your world," Teal'c interrupted. Colonel Robinson turned to him.

"Why not? Think of what it would mean. The best and brightest would have the chance to prolong their lives, to continue learning and contributing to our civilization. We would advance by leaps and bounds."

Teal'c thought for a moment. "You mean the best and brightest - who have wealth." When no one answered, he continued. "You will, of course, exact a price for this service."

Robinson sputtered. "In some cases, yes - to support its use. But there will always be exceptions to that. This isn't about money."

"Many of your world's tyrants have wealth in abundance - will they be refused? And to prolong the life of a tyrant? What effect will that have on your world? Would it not undo precisely the type of advancement the "best and brightest" seek to make?" He continued. "Who makes the decision of who should become immortals?"

"It's human nature to want to extend one's existence, to fight death as long as possible," Robinson said.

"It is not only human nature - it is what drove the Goa'uld to take hosts. To prolong the life of their 'best and brightest'. Do this, and you are no better than they." He shook his head. "I will have no part of this mission to bring back this technology."

"Fine - we'll do it without you," Robinson said. "You're dismissed."

Teal'c walked out of the room, meeting up with the rest of SG-1.

"You are not supposed to be here," Teal'c said. "You were to remain at Colonel O'Neill's until I returned."

Only Sam looked guilty. "We wanted to see how things were going," Jack said, falling into step beside him.

"They are not," Teal'c said.

"No leads on how to fix this?" Jack ventured.

"They are more concerned with how to bring back this technology and use it here on Earth."

"Well, they can't do that - think of the moral implications, the...." Daniel started, but Jack interrupted. "I'm assuming you argued against that?"

"It seems I could not persuade them otherwise."

"Well, time for plan two," Jack said.

Teal'c looked at them questioningly.

"Damn - I thought these were empty," a tech hauled the storage crates onto FRED with a grunt.

"They're reinforced - you're getting soft," his companion replied.

Inside one of the crates, Daniel braced himself, hoping that Sam was getting knocked around less than he was. As much as his conscience warred against destroying what was probably a priceless artifact, he agreed with Teal'c - the implications it would have back on Earth made it too great a risk.

Sam, next to him in another crate, was thinking similar thoughts - but hers were tempered by the fact that they still had not found a way to get themselves back to adulthood - and were now planning to destroy what was probably their best shot at reversal. Even though all evidence pointed to the fact that the device didn't go in reverse, she still harbored the nagging feeling that she was consigning herself to puberty all over again.

Jack and Teal'c watched from the control room as the SG teams went back through the wormhole. "Think they'll be okay?" he asked Teal'c. He was still uncomfortable with not going with Daniel and Sam, but there was no way they could sneak him inside a storage crate.

"They will be fine, O'Neill," Teal'c said reassuringly. "Remember that you are not truly sending children to do this task."

"Yeah, I keep telling myself that," Jack said.

On the planet, Daniel and Sam worked their way out of the storage crates and crouched in the hall, waiting for their chance. As the men bedded down for the night, they eased toward the room, each of them carrying a zat gun.

"Ready, Sam?" Daniel asked.

"Let's do this," she said. Together, they activated their weapons. Before the men on the team could react, the zat guns' blasts had sent energy crazily dancing along the glass and metal panels. One more blast, and the panels shattered, sending a rain of glass shards to the floor of the room.

Daniel felt himself being hauled off the floor, and the zat gun taken from him. He found himself face-to-face with Major Griff.

"Dr. Jackson - do you realize what you've done?" he said.

"Absolutely," he replied.

"You've destroyed not only a priceless piece of technology but probably any chance for you and the rest of SG-1 to be returned to normal."

"We did the right thing," Daniel said. He looked over at Sam, who gave him a small smile as they were taken into custody.

"Why is this taking so long?" Jack said, looking over at Daniel, who was locked in the brig at the base. They'd wanted to throw Jack in with him, but Daniel and Sam were very persuasive in convincing Robinson that they'd acted alone.

"They didn't believe my translation - they're having it checked out by the other SGC linguists."

"Well, how many damn linguists does it take to check your work, Daniel?" Jack said.

Daniel gave him a blank stare. "I don't know, Jack - how many linguists does it take to checkk my work?"

"That wasn't a joke, Daniel - I was serious..." he stopped as General Hammond came in the brig and stood beside Jack.

"Daniel - how are you doing?" Hammond asked.

"I've been better, sir, thank you. Was my translation accurate?" he said. Jack looked at Hammond expectantly.

"Yes, son, it was. You were right about what the text said. It was a warning."

"You mean he wasn't kidding about the UV rays..." Jack started.

"It was a warning about the effects of the treatment. Like a sarcophagus, Jack, there were dangers in its overuse. As the people of the planet realized, but unfortunately it decimated their population before they stopped using it." Daniel said.

"Did those warnings say anything about how to reverse this?" Jack asked.

"We're hoping that Major Carter's research will be able to turn something up." General Hammond motioned to the guard. "Release him."

"I'm free to go? What about the trial, the whole 'robbing the world of a priceless piece of technology' thing?" Daniel said as he was released.

"The military has agreed that you are not at fault," General Hammond said.

"But I am at fault - I mean, I blasted it..." Daniel started.

"Daniel, that's as close as the military is going to come to saying they were wrong - take it and leave," Jack said, pushing him out the door.

SG-1 gathered around Sam's computer in her lab, and listened as she briefed them on her theory about reversing the "youthening" process, as Jack had called it.

"So this will work?" Jack said, eyeing the research Sam had done.

"Well - I'm sure it will work. I'm just not sure..quite...how," Sam finished.

"Oh - that's all," Jack said.

"I mean - it is a weapon sir. We're modifying a zat gun to release a pulse at a certain frequency. If we get the power wrong on this, then we could fry whoever tries it first. Or we could zap them ahead one hundred years."

"Fifty wouldn't look so bad, then, huh?" he said with a wince.

"I'll do it," Daniel said. They stared at him in surprise. "I mean - I'm the youngest. There's more room for error."

"I don't like phrases like 'more room for error'," Jack said.

"We need to do more tests, Daniel - make sure this is safe..." Sam stuttered, but he silenced her. "I'll risk it, Sam. I trust you - I'm sure you've run this through all the possible tests you can."

She turned to Jack. "It's your call."

"Okay," Jack said reluctantly. "Let's try to unshrink the kids."

"You might feel a little pressure when I give you this shot," Dr. Fraiser said, walking up to Daniel with a syringe.

"I hate when doctors say that - you mean it's going to hurt," Daniel replied, as she gave him the shot.

"Yes, I mean it's going to hurt," she said, annoyed. "He's all yours, Teal'c."

Teal'c walked up with the zat gun, his face unreadable. Daniel felt like running, but reminded himself that he had volunteered - and that this was their best shot - no pun intended - at returning to normal.

"So, is this going to cause me to feel a little pressure, too?" he tried to joke as Teal'c raised the gun.

"No, Daniel Jackson - this is going to hurt," Teal'c said as he fired.

The gun's energy enveloped Daniel, and he cried out, sinking to his knees. Jack started forward, but Sam grabbed his arm.

Daniel clutched at his head, crying out again as he doubled over in pain. As they watched, stunned, his arms and legs began to grow, stretching and popping as they rapidly aged. Daniel's body continued to grow for a few moments until the effect stopped, and he slumped quietly to the ground, curled into a ball and gasping for breath.

"Daniel?" Jack said, coming to his side and laying a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

"This gives new meaning to the phrase 'growing pains' ," Daniel said with a groan.

Dr. Fraiser bent down and checked him briefly. "It's working. I'd say he's aged at least ten years. Just so that we don't overshoot his real age - I'd say adjust the intensity and let's try two more shots."

"Yes, adjust the intensity, please," Daniel said, covering his eyes.

"I'm next, Carter, and - think you could do anything about the gray?" Jack asked.

Epilogue

"Will you blow out those candles before the sprinklers come on?" Sam said, laughing as Jack was faced with a cake with fifty candles.

"Yeah, yeah - remember, Carter, paybacks are hell." He blew out all the candles, to the crowd's applause. Practically everyone at the SGC had shown up for Jack's party, if for no other reason that to give him a hard time.

"So how does it feel to be 50, old man?" Feretti said, slapping him on the back.

"You have never met a man more glad to be 50 than me right now," Jack returned, smiling at his team.

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