Aberrant: Stargate Universe - Devin Jauntsen

[Mr Fox]

Devin Jauntsen sat on a bench in the school courtyard with his notebook in hand. His favorite pastime was sketching people. His art teachers all encouraged him saying that he had great potential and that he needed to go on to art school or major in art in college. Devin didn't want to think about that right now. It was his senior year and the future was the last thing he wanted to deal with at the moment.

This bench was a good spot, everyone wandered by eventually... there went Cindy Marshall the head cheerleader and her gaggle of followers... Tom Banner one of the band geeks... The were ok, but just not interesting enough. Devin's favorite thing was to do sketches just by glancing at a person once then building his picture from the memory. Janet Malcomson walked by and Devin shut his eyes burning the image in. Her goth makeup and the way her head was angled... that stood out, there was just something about it that would translate onto the page. He art teacher had talked about perspective and how the difference between the kind of candid snapshot that everyone did just wasn't art. Art was when you made the viewer see your subject in a different way. Sometimes it was about the lighting, sometimes it was about getting a scene from a different angle. This one would be one of his best. There was look on Janet's face that combined with the makeup and the way her head was turning right when he glanced at her. It would be Art. He could almost see the finished drawing even as his hands started to move making the first lines on the page.

He was focused so totally on the page and what he was drawing that he didn't hear the loud speaker the first time. He didn't hear it the second time either, but Ralph Walker punched him in the arm causing a dark streak of charcoal right across Janet's mouth. The picture was ruined. Devin wasn't really a fighter, but he was so furious he came to his feet ready to swing when he noticed the big jock standing over him.

"Dumbass. They called your name twice. They want you in the office. Sounds like yer in trouble." Ralph laughed at Devin, the thought of someone having a bad time seemed to please him.

It took a minute for Devin to cool down enough to do anything other than ball his fist and think of punching the bastard. Ralph just laughed and walked away. Devin looked at the sketch he'd been working on. It would have been one of his best. Real Art. He just ripped the page out of the notebook and tossed it in the trash on his way to the office. He hadn't done anything to get in trouble so he couldn't imagine what the could want.

When he arrived he was immediately called into the principle's office. Beside the principle there were two men in black suits. They looked like FBI or something. Principle Kauffman cleared his throat and asked Devin to close the door behind him. This was not good. Devin couldn't think of anything he'd done wrong, but just waited for them to speak. "Devin, these men are from the Department of Homeland Security, they would like to speak with you about something you may have witnessed. They assure me you are not in any trouble they just need to ask some questions."

Devin breathed a small sigh of relief, he wasn't in trouble at least. "Um, ok. What is this about?"

The man on the right spoke up, "I am Agent Crawley, and my partner is Agent Jones. We need to take you downtown to the police station if you don't mind. We need you to identify a suspect. You were recently taken to the emergency room at St. Elizabeth's for a minor issue, the flu I believe it was. We could clearly make out your face on the security cameras but while you were there the man we are looking for in regards to a very serious National Security matter was also there. The problem is he managed to avoid facing any of the cameras. We need you to identify him if you can. Your father was also present with you at the hospital and is on his way to the station as well. Unfortunately this matter is urgent and we need to bring you in right now. There are lives at stake and we have to be sure we have the right man."

Devin shrugged, not like he could protest, and besides he was so relieved he wasn't in any trouble that he didn't think to ask any other questions. "Sure, I guess."

The men led Devin out to a black SUV with government plates that was parked in front of the school. There was already a man in the driver's seat and one of the two took the front leaving Devin and the other man to take the back. Once they pulled away and were up the street a block or so, the man next to Devin casually reached into his coat and pulled out some kind of weird device that clicked open with a strange noise. He was just about to ask what it was when the energy bolt slammed into his nervous system shorting out his brain for an instant. As he slumped unconscious in his seat the man in the drivers seat laughed, "So gullible."

*****

When Devin awoke he was strapped to a chair facing an old stone thing that was glowing, or part of it was at least. Without thought he reached out to touch the pretty light. That was the last thing he remembered for a while, he was vaguely thinking about wishing he was somewhere else when the pain and light exploded in his head sending him back into unconsciousness again.

*****

When he awoke again at last it was to the sound of alarms. He went from a deep sleep to wide awake in an instant. He was strapped to a bed and couldn't sit up or move and there was an IV in his arm. The memory of being abducted came back just as the door opened and two black uniformed guys with machine guns walked through and pointed at him. Hell no! They were not going to shoot him while he was strapped down like this!?!

Devin init: 15

BG init: 1

[Jaunt]

As the men took aim the red beads shimmered in his eyes for a moment before locking onto his head. He tensed and clenched his fists and shots rang out.

At least death would be swift.

Not!

((Cue the awesome fight scene music!))

(( Awesome Fight Scene Music! ))

((Thanks!))

With a snap the bands broke and he slid off the bed and gripped the railing on the far end where his hand was secured to just a moment ago. With a grunt he flexed and gave it everything he had, rolling the bed over his back and throwing it towards the two men in the door way in the cramped doorway.

Click to reveal..

Throwing the bed, I'm hoping its width is enough to hit them both. Factoring bed as 'lamp post' (p. 274, Core)

Strength + Might

(Jaunt) rolls 9d10 and gets 7,5,1,5,5,8,2,7,3. (3 Succ)

Raw Damage - [5]+13B

[Mr Fox]

The bed flew across the room striking both men in the chest sending them slamming into the padded wall of the old VA psychiatric observation room. The padding did very little good. The sheer mass of the bed cracked ribs and drove all breath from the men. They were not out of it yet, but Devin had a clear path to the open door and it would take the men at least a few seconds to untangle themselves from the bed and get up from where they'd fallen.

((Round 2.))

[Jaunt]

He was stunned for only a moment. Ho-ly crap! I just... grabbed... and now they're... oh, this rocks.

The bed fell a bit and rattled as it slammed back onto its legs, rolling slightly. The frame was tore all to hell and it sure wasn't going to be slept in for quite awhile.

"Nice hotel. Keep the bed, I'm just here for the breakfast." He mused. Hell, they did it in the action movies, why should he be denied the right?

He winced as he tore the IV from his arms and ripped the trodes from his chest, arms and legs, and sped off for the door as fast as his legs would carry him.

His feet slid on the waxed tile as he entered the hallway. Omar and Caine looked at the scared young man with an atrocious case of bed-head and tangles of trodes hanging from off his body where he'd snapped them from the machines.

Different uniforms... must be commanding officers, or elites. I never thought all that Metal Gear Solid would pay off...

Only one way to go, and he went there. Devin ran straight towards the two men like a bat out of hell. His face contorted in a mask of adrenaline bravery and out right fear. He got within ten paces and knew if he could just get to other side of them, he could veer off down the intersection and hopefully be home free.

With the simple act of desire there was a shift in the air currents as is a tunnel had been exposed to vacuum. With a stream of wavering air currents that lead directly to the two soldiers, Devin was gone.

They whipped their heads around in time to see him dashing towards the intersection, having reappeared just behind them a few paces.

Click to reveal..

Teleport, stressful situation.

(23:05:02) ChatBot: (Jaunt) rolls 6d10 and gets 4,3,8,8,8,6. [3 successes]

[Jaunt]

End Chapter

[Jaunt]

Devin sat across from Dr. Jackson, a man whom, before today he’d never met a day in his life. Although a legal adult (which made his situation a bit wose), he still had a lot of growing up to do. Occasionally the man would type input into the laptop in front of him, like he was doing now. It made Devin feel like everything he was doing, or might say was going to eventually be used against him.

“Glad to see you finally woke up.” Dr. Jackson said finally, his voice carrying with a small echo around the sealed interrogation room. “That’s good.”

Devin rubbed his neck. He was still half asleep and whatever that guy back at that place with those guys with all that stuff happening hit him with, it sure did a number on every muscle in his body. “Yeah, just ducky.” We said, barely able form the words. “...Who’re you?”

“Daniel Jackson, I’m a doctor.” From off to the side of his laptop he grasped an apple and tossed it across the table. Dr. Jackson wasn’t surprised as Devin, despite his grogginess, snatched the apple from the air even though his attention was directed at the large metal table they were sitting at. The young man looked up and examined the apple, or perhaps examining his reflexes. In either case, the doctor got his answer. “I’ve found that eating a little something when I wake up from a zat-blast helps. Gets the mind and nervous system off the fact that it was just short-circuited. So, what’s your name?”

Devin set the apple down, still in a bit shock that he caught it like he did. His attention turned to the man addressing him. He remembered a little, in fact the last thing he could recall was the stunt where dashed through two men and ended up passing clean through them. “Jaunts-,” he started to say his last name then paused. “Jaunt.” He said softly. “Look, it’s been real, but I wanna go home.”

Daniel raised an eyebrow incredulously. "Jaunt?” He repeated, with an obvious measure of doubt in his voice. “Well, you did not have any id on you, Jaunt,” He repeated it again, just because it sounded so silly. “So we haven't been able to contact your family to let them know you are safe. Do you have last name, Jaunt?”

“Man, just tell me where I am, let me go, and I'll call em my self.” Devin got a little snippy. He wasn’t intending on doing a tough-guy routine, but he was just as much confused as he was disoriented and hungry… oh god was he hungry. “Thanks though.”

,,

Dr. Jackson’s took a turn towards that look people get when they ‘really don’t know how to tell you this, but…’ He sucked in some air through his teeth while turning his head away for a moment before looking back to ‘Jaunt’. "Well, it's not quite that easy. You see, we just rescued you from a secret facility run by some pretty nasty people. At the very least we’d need to keep you under observation for a few days, just to make sure you didn't suffer any negative effects as a results from what they may have done to you. Do you remember what they did to you by any chance?”

“No.” Jaunt said, sitting backing his chair with his elbow resting on the armrest of the polished steel chair while he rubbed his temples with his thumb and fingers. “I woke up and your Slapnut Brigade was spittin’ clips at my face. Everything was exploding, and... stuff.”

“Those were not our people, Jaunt, that I assure you,” Dr. Jackson looked more serious, steeping his hands and giving ‘Jaunt’ his full attention. Now, he really needed ‘Jaunt’ to understand the situation more than ever. “That was a group known as the NID. They were a government agency up until a year ago when the President dissolved it.”

The guy seemed certainly charismatic enough, if not sincere. “Look, I was at school...” He recalled a few things and figured he may as well share a bit to speed up his going home faster. He certainly wasn’t in the mood though. “These guys knocked me out and I awoke...” A sudden flash popped in his mind and the more he tried the more that seemed to return to him.

“Jaunt,” Dr. Jackson asked calmly. He wasn’t trying to get the boy’s attention, just let him know he was still there, and both were safe. “You were knocked unconscious…”

“I was on a bed, table... I dunno... guys around me.” He just stared blankly into space, speaking aloud the images the returned to his mind. When his mind didn’t remember, his body recalled. The pain, the fear, all of it suddenly seemed so real again. His eyes threatened to moisten to the point of tears as his fists clenched reflexively to the memory of phantom pain. “Fell back out, then woke up and whipped a bed at some guys with guns. S'all I remember. Can I go now?”

Daniel sighed, “I'm afraid you won't be able to leave for a least a few days. Those people I mentioned, the NID, they did something to you, experimentation of some sort. We need to make sure that you didn't come to any harm from it as a result.”

“Who are you guys? Look, I have rights, you can't keep me here! The remembered fear, mingled with the phantom pains of an experiment he didn’t quite remember combined with what could possibly have been the most strangest few day in Devins short, uneventful life rose up and became fury. He shouted and slammed his fists on the brushed metallic table. It buckled under the force and bend inward, leaving indentations where the impact occurred.

For Dr. Jackson it was getting to be old hat. The moment Jaunt got loud and slammed the table he casually slid his hands beneath his airborne laptop and it landed softly, cradled gently by the man.

“Woah... uh... sorry.” Devin said. The sudden reality of the situation kicked in and, not really being a violent kinda guy, felt bad for messing up their table. They are so going to bill me… I know it.

Daniel smiled sadly and set his laptop back down. He looked to Jaunt for reassurance, and when the boy shrugged and nodded, he set it down gently. There certainly wasn’t any point if the boy was just going to have another tantrum. "You see Jaunt, that's what I meant. They experimented on you and we need to observe you for few days, just as a precaution. You will be free to go as soon as we are sure that you don't pose any threat to yourself or others.”

“Please try to relax.” Daniel was speaking more with his hands no than his voice, letting their movement become Devin’s focal point. “We can hook you up with a T.V., some video games if you want or other things to keep you entertained. Oh,” he added. “I’m actually a civilian, but I can tell you that you are at an Air force base in Colorado. Now, c’mon, your cooperation will go a long ways to speeding this process up and getting you back to your old life faster.”

“Colorado?” Devin looked at Daniel with a ray of disbelief. “Oh man, mom's gonna kill me.”

“Don’t worry.” He did a fine job of stifling a laugh. The kid was finally loosening up a bit, which was good. Often times the hardest part was winning the trust of someone who’d been hurt and convincing them you didn’t intend to do the same. “We'll get you a phone in a bit so you can call her and put her mind at ease, can’t help you with her reaction though. You’re kind of on your own there. Meanwhile can you tell me exactly what happened to you?”

“Happened? Uhh... well, I was at school...” And so Devin told him the entirety of the story. For the next forty-five minutes they rapped like old pals meeting for the first time in ten years. “...Next thing I knew I was on the other side of the guys, which was sweet in so many way you can't even imagine… then I was shot in the ass.” He finished on a rather flat and uneventful note.

The whole time Daniel just typed and typed. His speed was amazing and Jaunt was pretty sure his spelling was going to be perfect.

“Wait!” Jaunt excitedly leaned into the table and Daniel looked up, thinking the boy had remembered something important. “You think... we uhh, you... could leave the ‘shot in the ass’ part out of any records... or secret documents, or ya know... whatever it is you're doing over there...”

Daniel chuckled and those observing from behind the mirror in the room all burst into fits of chuckling. "Yeah, we can leave that out. The stunner they hit you with is a non-lethal energy blast, by the way. It just knocks a person out for a few minutes. I've been hit with them several times. So your real name is Devin Jauntsen, huh?”

“Uh, yeah, pronounced Yawnsen... can I keep Jaunt though, it sounds so much more cooler? So, what did they, y'know... do exactly? To me…”

“Pleasure to meet you Devin, and ‘Jaunt’ it is.” He said smiling. It felt good to see the scared young boy lighten up a bit, and after forty-five minutes, he was pretty light. “You can call me Daniel by the way. As for what they did, well, can you keep a secret?”

Jaunt looked around the empty room, and to the mirror on one wall. “Yeah, I mean seriously, I'm trapped in a base surrounded by guys with guns, really... what're my options, y'know?”

Daniel smiled in sympathy. "I understand how you feel, but I’m serious. Those people who abducted you were part of a secret government organization that was shut down by the President last year because they were doing things like what they did to you in the name of national security, and while I certainly agree that national security is important, it shouldn’t doesn't have to be handled that way.”

“Genetics stuff?” He asked, clenching his left fist and looking at the way each muscle flexed perfectly and in perfect harmony. A tinge of worry was in his voice.

“Among other things, yes.” The Daniel said honestly.

“Aw crap... I'm a MUTANT!?!” He threw his hands up into the air. “Oh, that’s just lovely, fan-flippin-tastic, there goes my social life.”

“Jaunt, before we do release you we have to ask that you sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement. What that means is that you won't be allowed to talk about what has happened and what you learn here.” He removed the paperwork from the binder leaning against his chair. “Think you can handle that?”

It was his turn to chuckle. “Dude, I can threw a 300 pound bed like it was a paperweight and passed through people... seriously, how ya’ gon’ hide that? But, yeah, sure, I'll sign it... I was never here, you got it.”

Daniel smiled. "You know, I was enhanced once for a couple of days. Similar to how you are now, and I’ll admit was a lot of fun, but it came with some down sides too. Be careful about rushing into over using what you can do until you are sure it is safe.”

“For a couple days? This'll wear off?" Jaunt seemed both bummed and relieved. Certainly he didn’t want to be a freak his whole life, or suffer some odd drawbacks, but the temptation of having such awesome abilities was certainly a test in the boys temperance. “And what do you mean safe? I’m mean, you’re here, and you look okay, so obviously it didn’t kill you. Something like that is hard to walk away from, I think I’d notice something like a dead guy talking to me.”

Daniel could almost hear the collective snickers from the room beyond, and he gave the mirror a look that told I he didn’t want to hear about this later. “Oh, you’d be surprised, Jaunt, you’d be surprised.” He added with a exhaled whisper. However, what happened to me was designed to wear off, so the side effects wore off too. What was done to you was meant to be a permanent result.”

“What was done to me?” He asked. “And yes, I'll keep my yap shut bout it. What side effects?”

Daniel smiled again and leaned forward. "Well, believe it or not, but they used an alien device to try and turn you into a super soldier." He sits back waiting for the explosion of laughter, but casually added some icing to the cake. “Side effects are unknown with the device that was used on you, but for me it put so much stress on my organs that I died.”

Died. Jaunt was talking to a dead guy who was preaching alien technology and super soldiers. Honestly, no one could fault his respose at this point, it was only a matter of time.

“Okay! That's it... let me out of here!” He leaned on his chair as if he was about to get up but instead simply shifted with a sligh blur to the air around him and appeared in front of the large mirror. “This man is obviously crazy... Okay Ashton! You got me, I'm punked...” He tapped on the mirror, trying to see if anyone was on the otherside. “Very funny, haha... lemme the hell outta here... now!”

“What was that?” General O’Neill asked the man next to him as the watched the boy pound on the glass. “Fifty eight? Nine?”

“Forty-eight.” The man replied.

“Wow.” General O’Neill flopped his head about as if doing some math. Daniel just beat his personal record for pushing someone sanity over the edge with his subtlety. “New record.”

With another distortion Jaunt moved from the mirror to the solid steel door. Little did he know that with a solid punch or kick he could have more than likely tore it off its hinges. He “Hello...? Open up, I’m not even playing around with you.”

Daniel looked to him as he pounded on the door. "Did you just notice what you did? You moved to the wall without crossing the space in between then to the door the same way. Think about it Jaunt, you think that is something normal genetics experiment can do?"

He looked about puzzled. Turning his head, but no his body. He looked to the door, the mirror, then to the floor in between. He honestly didn’t think about the fact that he’d never covered the distance. “Uh... well... no. I mean, I dunno, you're the doctor, right? But c’mon,” He spun around with a grin a mile wide, pointing to and fro across the distance in the room. “Really though... tell me that doesn't just kick all sorts a of butt!”

Daniel grins in reply. "Oh, no doubt, it is pretty cool, but now do you see why we require the NDA? Jaunt, we can't have the public discovering things like this are going on or it would cause a panic.”

“So... I was kidnapped, against my will might I add, placed in the middle of a genetics experiment to turn me into a super soldier by way of alien device? Seriously, who writes your material, Roland Emmerich? I mean, come on... you really expect me to believe all this?”

Daniel looked puzzled for a second then understood. "No, this is real I'm afraid. The facility you are in right now is called Stargate Command. A few years ago we discovered an ancient alien device that lets us travel to other worlds. That's where we found the device that was used on you. It was stolen from us by the NID. You just moved across the room faster than the eye can blink Jaunt, you tell me: Is this real.”

Casually, and now by will alone he jaunted a few times around the room. “Touché.” He said with a grin and the two men shared a chuckle.

Daniel motioned Jaunt to the seat and pushed the papers and pen toward him. "All we ask is 2 weeks of your time so we can observe what you can do and make sure there aren't any side effects. After that you will be free to go home and take up your old life, or you can perhaps join us.” He smiled wide piquing Jaunt’s young curiosity. “And I’m not playing around when I say we do some very cool things here.

He jaunted again and was sitting in his chair. Daniel made a note about how the boy seemed able to fully control his movement and momentum when he blinked in and out. Truly, like ll the subjects, he was fascinating. “So, this NDA... it mean I can't use my abilities? I mean, they're mine now, technically, and if I hang out will I get paid?”

“Well,” Daniel looked for a soft way to phrase it. “You would not be allowed to use them in any way that would compromise national security or prove the existence of your abilities, which basically means never when someone else could observe you. So we’re talking somewhere in the ballpark of ‘practically never’.”

“Dude,” Jaunt looked up from the paperwork he was reading. “Harsh.”

Daniel nodded. "I agree, trust me, but that is the deal. I don't make the rules on this and yours is a pretty unique situation so I don’t know what else to tell you. I just want to be straight with you so you know what your choices are. The folks making the decisions are in Washington and they tend to be pretty paranoid about exposure of the Stargate program.”

“What's the 'Stargate Program'?” He asked not looking up from his reading.

,,

“Well, the Stargate Program was established to explore other worlds with the intent of finding technology to help us defend earth as well as to make allies that can help us in our fight with those who might wish to do us, and them, harm.”

“So, I join you and I get to go to other worlds, and still use my... whatever they are... and don't have to sign this thing?” He looked up grinning.

“No, you still have to sign it, nice try though. But, yes you would get to go to other worlds and you would be able to use your abilities whatever they turn out to be. You just won't be allowed to do anything to reveal any of this to the public.” She slowly closed his laptop. “If it makes you feel any better, I've helped to save the world at least a dozen times from hostile aliens and no one even knows outside this base, and a few people in Washington.”

“…and get paid?” He grinned.

Daniel rolled his eyes, half laughing. “You will get paid, although it won't be all that big of a salary, but it’ll will be enough to live comfortably on.”

“Secret identity, save the world, and get paid...” Jaunt did the baby math in his head and then signed his name to the document.

Daniel smiled, "Yeah, that pretty much sums it up."

He slid the document over. “Okay, two weeks, dude. When we get started?”

“Right now if you want.” He said taking the document and sliding back into his binder. “There are a pair of Airmen outside this room. They will escort you to the infirmary to have you checked out and will be assigned to you for the next few days.” He approached the door and tapped on it a few times and motioning for Jaunt to come on and follow him. “If there is anything you need ask them and they can help you out. Oh, and whenever you are ready we can get you a phone to call your parents.”

“Can I get some pants?” He asked, suddenly reminded that he was still in his hospital PJs as they passed up several members of the staff in the hallway.

[Jaunt]

"How does this work exactly?" Devin asked, looking up to the huge machine over head. It appeared to be nothing more than pneumatic press with a place, where Devin stood now, had sturdy handholds and heavily padded arc between them.

"Simply really," Daniel explained. "You stand there and as the machine applies pressure you simply apply your own right back. As it pushes down, you push up."

"So you're going to try and crush me." Devin said, none to cheerfully.

"That's about the gist, yeah." The good doctor smiled evilly. There was something about Jaunt the brought out a bit of a kid in him, and pranking the boy never seemed to get old. "We're not going to crush you Jaunt, only apply pressure. Relax."

Everyone stood back and Daniel nodded to the controls operator. In a few moments the press rumbled to life and a whine slowly began pressing down on Jaunts back then stopped. Dauntlessly he stood there and it was obvious he felt the weight, muscles tightened, his abdomen flexed, and his knees buckled slightly to show he was applying opposite force, but aside from the obvious he seemed okay.

"100," the operator sad. "800, 1,600."

Daniel wrote some information down. "You're doing fine, don't worry. Just keep focused on the weight."

"It's funny," He mused. "Really, I don't feel it hardly at all. Is that pounds he rattling off?"

"10 sir... 15..."

He shifted slightly, finally wavering under the pressure. “Umm, kay… kinda is getting heavy now…”

“Jaunt, just focus on the weight, not us, okay?” Daniel said calmly.

The machine pressed down a few moments later and Jaunt hit one knee. The mat beneath him thumped loudly and a few of the technicians looked about at one another. He was obviously fighting back now as the machine was applying more weight than he could resist.

“Uh, 200, Doctor.” The technician said, looking back at him. Jackson just nodded his acknowledgement and let the test proceed. “He’s not looking so good up there…”

“Give him a chance.” Daniel said, watching the struggling young man. The weight was crushing him but also Daniel knew he could let go at anytime. It certainly wasn’t designed to harm him and if he were in dire straits up there a simple mental impulse would have allowed him to jaunt to safety by now. So why haven’t you, Devin? he asked silently. “ Two hundred huh? Impressive. Increase the weight, but double the safety protocols. Let’s see what he’s hiding guys.”

Jaunt winced as the pressure in his back increased. Sweat began to glisten over his exposed skin (which was just his arms and head). The power increased and felt like his bones were going to snap. He winced and pushed back gritting his teeth and trying his best not to pass out from strain.

“You’re a loser Jauntsen,” Ralph Walker’s voice boomed in his head. The kid had hated Devin for as long as he could remember. Never quite knew why, Ralph had chosen him as his personal punching bag since K-grade straight up until his Freshman year in high school. ”Get to steppin’ or you’re going to end up swallowing some teeth.”

“Gymnastics?” His father’s voice boomed through the house. “Dev, I know you’re not as… capable as some of the other kids, but with a little practice you could be. Why don’t we talk about getting you onto the football team? Hmm? Coach Donaldson owes me a favor.” His dad was a great guy, but always seemed worried more about what he’d have to deal with at summer barbeques or during Super Bowl parties than what Devin wanted.

“Woah, sir, it just shot to 600.” One of the lab assistants looked a bit surprised. Certainly not astonished by any means, these guys dealt with ‘weird’ every day, from crystal latticed men to silver eyed psychos, nothing really impressed them much anymore. It was all just another day on the job.

Jaunt certainly wasn’t unique, but he was special in his own way. Unlike Kyria, who was about his age, Jaunt was an augmented human and thus far the effects of augmentation on someone as young as him had not fully been explored. Some felt a younger frame couldn’t handle the stress it applied to the human system while other postulated that the intense quantum radiation would simply ‘taint’ him to the point of inhumanity. Devin’s system came through just fine, unblemished by radiation, a human whose system had adapted fully to the program with no signs of physical or mental contamination. Based on the obvious as well as compiled research, Jaunt was quite a lucky kid.

“Dev, you’re my brother, and I love you, but,” his sisters voice echoed still as the flood of memories surged through his mind. It gave him something to focus on besides the weight crushing down on him. “But, seriously? Trish grew up while your still living in Comic Book Land. She filled out, discovered make up and fashion, realized guys thought she was hot and the rest is your misery. You’re the least popular guy in school Dev, hell, maybe the world. If you want to fix that, grow up a little. World of Warcraft and X-Men are not good icebreakers at summer parties.”

He felt something deep inside. A surge of power coursed through him as the press ground out hypnotic whine, still trying to smash him to the floor below. Droplets hit the mat and the boy refused to yield. His muscles glistened and tensed as their density flexed to something beyond anything he could have achieved as a ‘human’.

“Damn it Carl,” his memory clicked once more searching for focus; something to separate the pain of his effort from the sanctum of his thoughts. “You know as well as I do it’s just a phase. Devin doesn’t have many friends so he spends more time than usual alone, but riding him about is only going to make it worse. He needs time to come out of his shell.”

It was kind of messed up now that he thought about. He decided to cling to memories of his family and the life he was living before his (unwilling) inception into the super soldier program; and not a single one of them was a pleasant one. Back home he was a outcast geek with no life, no friends, and his only socializing was done with a collection of losers just as pathetic him, the only difference was they were all 80th level something or others on World of Warcraft where beating up on pixels on a screen somehow made them feel cooler than the truth of the situation: they were still losers without a life.

The pain of the thought dug deep into his heart and mind. At home he was and always would be nothing, here he could be anything he wanted and would have entire words at his reach. People who never knew and didn’t have prejudgments about a boy they’d never met before.

He cried out and gave one final push. The servos ground to a halt and the pneumatics exploded into a violent hiss as pressure was released and scalding grease was sprayed across the back wall away from any technicians (thankfully). The machine rose up swiftly and Jaunt stood tall fully extended with his arms above his head before he vanished in a air fluxed trail appearing several feet away while the contraption, now without anyone to support it crashed to the floor and fell in on itself, shutting down.

He staggered, his momentum off balancing him for a moment before he collapsed to one knee breathing like he’d just ran a thousand mile marathon. His chest heaved and his body glistened from the exertion and truth be told, that was hardest Jaunt had ever worked in his life.

“Dev, you okay?” Daniel, once he located Jaunt in the room –which wasn’t always easy- jogged over. “Hey, you know we could shut it off. All you had to do was shout.”

“I did.” Devin grinned. He stood up and was soaked in sweat from head to toe.

“How about you shout before you break the equipment next time, hmm?” He grinned back and slapped Devin in the arm. “Go on, get cleaned up. You did great.”

“Doctor Jackson.” One of the lab technicians called him over once Devin was well on his way to the shower. “You might want to take a look at this.”

2,517 flashed on the screen in bright green letters.

“2,517 tons.” Daniel rubbed his cheeks. “Wow, I mean we’ve seen some similar results, but, nothing like this from a completely untainted subject.”

“What’s that mean sir?”

“It means…” He paused for a moment. “It means the N.I.D. may have finally been successful; super soldier who was completely able to blend into society. Call General O’Niell, tell him to meet me in meeting room 221.”

Daniel said nothing more as he made a hurried run to the meeting room half way across the base. It was moment’s like these he envied Jaunt’s ability.

[Jaunt]

The large open room looked like it served as full basket ball court sometimes, today however, it was matted and completely open with the backboards pulled and folded up, out of the way.

A repetitive thumping echoed through the area and Devin spun by in a series of lighting quick backward handsprings before ending in a high leap back, arching into a single aerial flip landing in perfect form. He was impressed with himself; as a gymnast he was capable of some impressive things even before his change, but now... now he felt like a god.

And man did it kick ass.

When the large man entered dressed like a soldier he sighed a bit. "I thought you guys were supposed to wait outside." He asked, a bit rude perhaps, but he hadn't had much time to enjoy himself and now that he finally had free time it looked like more tests for him to go through.

[The Red Man]

The soldier remained silent as he stepped onto the mats, Jaunt noticing that he was barefoot. Declan removed his BDU jacket and tossed it to the wall, the crisp white t-shirt revealing a set of shoulders and torso that Olympian's would kill themselves to possess. The younger man noticed a few other things, like the way this guy had a beard and longer hair than the Airmen or Marines on the base could have gotten away with. Oh, and there were the shades, which the still weirdly silent soldier removed and tossed atop his jacket before turning to regard Devin.

"Specialist Jaunt, ain't it?" Cold metallic silver stared at him from across the room, and Devin realised that this wasn't one of the regular grunts. Still making no noise, he padded towards teenager.

"I'm Sergeant Perault, from SG21. The brass want me to be your combat-instructor." Perault stopped ten feet away, perfectly balanced as he regarded the teleporter. "First up, we're goin' to see where you're readiness is at right now. So whenever you're ready, we can get started."

[Jaunt]

"My 'combat instructor'," Jaunt caught a look at his eyes. Reflective and emotionless, just like the metal they emulated so coldly. He remembered him now, kinda, the guy in the back at the briefing. "Dude, yer outcha mind. I'm not here to fight, that's why you Jarheads are here."

He didn't like the military guys pushing him around all the time, but he also knew there really wasn't much they could do to him, he was government property, expensive property at that. The two guards outside the door winched at the jarhead comment and were already placing bets.

"Sir, Specialist Jaunt is picking a fight with Sergeant Perault, advise." one asked their CO with their radio.

"Darwin will handle it soldier." came his reply. "Kids who eat marbles don't grow up to have kids of their own. We assigned Perault to teach him a few things."

[The Red Man]

"So you're not here to fight. Good for you. I hate fightin'." Perault shrugged, his voice quiet.

Deceptively so.

When he moved, Jaunt wondered for a brief second if they'd got another teleporter in the SG teams. A single finger prodded him with approximately the force of a strong man's punch: right in the solar plexus.

"Too bad the Goa'uld don't care you're a non-combatant, kid. Bang. You're dead already." Declan said as he turned away from the gasping, doubled over young man. Without looking round, he continued. "Two things, and pay attention because I hate repeating myself. One: I was psych-pensioned before the augmentation deal because I was tired of seein' people die. That's why I'm here, to stop you dying. Two: I'm a fuckin' U.S. Ranger, not a god-damned Marine!" Now he projected his 'sergeant' voice, a whipcrack bark that could flay the skin off a recruit. "Does it look to you like I play a musical instrument in a marchin' band?"

"Now." He turned back to face Devin as he straightened up. "Let's try this again. I'm Sergeant Perault from SG21. The brass want me to be your combat-instructor. Whenever you're ready, we can get started."

[Jaunt]

Cocky to a fault Jaunt stood up, flexing his shoulders and shaking of the pain like the bad-ass he was.

Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Isn't that assault or something.

The proper response to Sergeant Perault's inquiry was 'Yes.'. The Sgt. may have even let the lack of 'sir' slide this one time, the boy was obviously retarded, or at least not very bright.

The response that came out was not yes, but testiment to the above. "Well, you in the military," Jaunt said in reply to his marching band comment. "So I'm guessing you play skin flute pretty damn well."

He hopped about, his feet close together and he pounced right and left like he was warming up. "The company is free, but that hit is going to cost you, Old Man."

No sweat. I'm like a super hero guy now. I'm super strong, super fast... I'll mop the floor with this guy.

"Ready when you are Green Ranger."

[The Red Man]

Declan smiled, his eyes glinting with their usual merciless luster. Somehow, the thin smile for once suited the grim gaze as he focused on Jaunt.

"Somehow, I think you're so damn easy I can take those hits for free, but try to keep up, huh?" And he attacked.

Shit he's fuckin' fast! was the first thing that went through Jaunt's mind as he saw another finger's tip blurring towards his stomach. This time, though, he was ready: no-one suckerpunched - uh, fingered - Devin Jauntsen twice, no sir. He 'jaunted' four feet forward, appearing behind Perault with a huge grin on his face, and spun round.

"Missed me, bitchass-" The bare foot smacked into the back of Jaunt's knees with bruising force as Perault swept a kick low and back without even turning around. Jaunt on reflex went with the sweep, flipping his legs up and over into a somersault. He landed perfectly, but still... that kick hurt!

"Okay, it is ON now!" He 'blipped' to Perault's side and leveled a wicked punch at the Ranger's face, only to have Perault duck into the blow, meeting the massive force of Jaunt's fist with the hardest part of his head. The results were a painful crack of bone on bone.

"Ahhh-ow-ow-ow!" Jaunt danced back, shaking his badly bruised knuckles, only mildly gratified to see Perault stop and shake his head for a moment from the force of the blow. "That shit really hurt! What kind of ass move was that?"

Whatever kind of ass move it was went unanswered as Devin was forced to dodge, roll and backflip to avoid a series of well-aimed strikes from his sparring partner. He tried counterattacking, 'blipping' rapidly and raining down strikes from all angles, but every attack was countered and returned with hissing speed that Devin only narrowly avoided. The guy was like Neo or something, pulling off wushu moves that looked really fine: right up to the point a guy realised they were about to kick his nuts up around his ears. Almost too late, he realised he'd been led by the nose to into putting himself right in the path of an incoming open-palm strike to his chest. Fucker played me like a chess game! He 'jaunted' behind Perault again, this time right behind him, and went to give the big goon a serious kick to the back of the legs.

He almost connected, he really did, but the soldier was too damn cagey and fast to stay still long enough, and the blade edge of Perault's hand came back and round as he twisted aside, slamming squarely into Jaunt's solar plexus once more. This time, it was waaaaay harder than a strong man's punch, and Devin folded up again as the air was forced out of him, barely aware of the mat hitting his cheek as he collapsed onto it face first.

All was pain and trying to breathe for a little while.

When he came back to something approaching normality, he saw Perault crouching a few feet away watching him with those creepy silver eyes that weren't touched by the smile on his face.

"You're fast, strong and that teleportin' trick is a fuckin' good advantage." The sergeant told Jaunt approvingly. "You've got good instincts, too. We just need to iron those out so you let them help you, rather than tell you how to fight." Jaunt watched him, not hearing scorn or mockery in the man's voice. "Y'see, people fall into patterns when they fight on instinct. And a good fighter can read those patterns and then force you to pick the option they want like a card trick. And when that happens, you're screwed."

"Now, I can give the brass a report on how good you are and not bother you anymore. But the real point here is to teach you to take being merely 'good' at what you do and make you a thinking type of fighter. We're going to be out there in small units, so you're gonna need to be at your best to save your life, and the lives of your buddies too." He stood up and offered Jaunt a hand. "Want to learn?"

[Jaunt]

It wasn't anger that clouded Jaunt's perception of the situation, it was humiliation. All his life he'd never been accepted, always picked on and more than he could count: beat up.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Was the first thing to go through his head as his knees wobbled while he stood. True enough that Perault was trying to help the boy by teaching him, but for a kid like Devin who'd been on the receiving end his whole life he'd found out that trusting peoples best intentions wasn't good enough.

Just like Declan, Jaunt had been watching the whole time. He was right, people who fight on instinct fell into a pattern, but learned fighting styles were like finger prints: if you looked closely you knew exactly who the style belonged to, and how they'd use it against. No form was perfect.

He stood up and cracked his neck. Ever muscle hurt, but there was something about it that Devin never thought of before and Sergeant Perault could see the gleam in the kids' eye. He was loving it. He'd never felt this alive before, the confidence, the ability to hold his own (kinda) against a guy like this?!? Maybe that was part of the lesson, Devin needed to learn confidence before he could ever learn to be of any use to his squad.

With a wry grin Jaunt looked at the Sergeant. "My turn."

Declan rolled his eyes. "Think about what you're do-"

Jaunt ran forward letting his guard down completely like a lunatic Irishman off to fight the English. A wisp of displaced air shot across the remainder of the distance and Jaunt slid directly between Declan's legs delivering a thunderous kick to the groin that sent the U.S. Ranger airborne. He arched his back and prepared for landing, the flip was text book and Declan knew he'd land safely enough.

With a jaunt Devin was gone, reappearing in mid flip with his leg extended for a backwards flip kick. It struck home at the center of the arc smashing hard and sending the Sergeant even farther upwards and spiraling a bit. Another jaunt sent him just a bit above the Sergeant hunched up close in the fetal position where he extended his legs, brutally double kicking the silver-eyed man back to the floor at a break-neck speed.

Swiftly the military nova recovered and slammed into the mat, feet first, with the rumble of thunder as his announcement that he'd not be taken down that easily, and certainly not by a punk kid with something to prove. Damn kid kicks like a battering ram.

The air popped and from a sudden wisp Jaunt was in front of him dashing like a mad man once more. He could see it now, someone just dashed into the cafeteria and screamed "Morpheus is fighting Neo!" and soon everyone would be around to see just how truly awesome the Jauntster really was. After a lifetime of taking shit from people, he deserved this, he deserved something damn it!

He blinked out again and Declan suddenly found himself confused. Jaunt could attack from anywhere, and the kid had apparently learned to switch it up. If he flexed his knees inward to avoid another groin shot he'd be off balance for any sort of counter attack. He hesitated, just for a moment. The sergeant didn't have a strategy for the kid this time.

The back of his skull suddenly exploded into pain, his hesitation left Jaunt with an opening. The kid's bare foot struck the back of the Sergeant's head, directly where the spine met the skull and threw him forward with the force of a hurricane.

Jaunt wasn't a fighter, he'd never been trained for something like this. He didn't know what he just did, or how badly he could have hurt someone if they'd been anyone other than the Sarge. That kick, with Jaunt's applied strength would have killed anyone it connected with.

Declan rolled forward several times, the pain and tingling in his neck clearing up slightly as he eventually rose to his feet.

"Well, look at you now Green Ranger." Jaunt taunted him. "Billy Bad-ass a second ago and now suckin canvas."

[The Red Man]

Declan rolled his neck and grinned. "Nice. Very nice. But be careful, kid. Pull that on someone who ain't augmented and you'll kill them. Or make 'em quadraplegic for life." The smile disappeared, the voice dropping to an angry growl. "And that's the problem. You didn't think about it."

There was a faint scuffle of noise from outside the gym doors, faces pressing to the glass as it seemed that word had, indeed, started to spread about the fight. Declan spread out his awareness, kicking it up a notch as Jaunt had. He became intimately aware of his surroundings, effectively developing eyes in the back of his head.

"Whatever, Mean Green Machine." Jaunt scoffed. "You're just sore cos I'm whuppin' your butt." Perault stayed silent and studied the kid, the way he was standing, the way he would move. Jaunt had caught him off guard with the wild and crazy shit, but it wouldn't happen again. And Declan wouldn't be sticking to one form anymore, either. Fine, junior. You want to make this hard, lets make it hard.

Jaunt spotted his audience and grinned. Now everyone was gonna see what kinda class he could bring to the team. This Perault dude thought he was the king shit Chuck Norris around here. Well boo-hoo.

"Think fast, grunt!" Jaunt yelled as he darted forward again. Ten feet from the sarge he popped out of existence, reappearing right over the guy's head and kicking out and down right into Perault's face.

Right through where Perault's face should have been.

As Jaunt wondered where the hell the guy had moved to, he felt a strong hand grab his trailing ankle and yank, hard. He was swung down with incredible force, crashing into the mat with an inglorious thump that made his teeth rattle.

Declan wasn't finished. As Jaunt put his hands down and tried to rise, the sergeant whipped him up again into the air about ten feet. Head spinning, the teleporter was disoriented for a moment, trying to catch his bearings. Perault wasn't going to allow him that time. A leap, a flash of silver eyes, and Declan's foot slammed squarely into Jaunt's crotch in a brutal axe kick, launching him groundwards again.

The sergeant touched down on the balls of his feet at exactly the moment that Jaunt crashed into the mat. Fighting back the pain, Jaunt tried to rise, dimly aware that Perault was talking.

"There's some things you don't do: in practice and in combat." Declan wasn't even breathing hard, his voice eerily clinical. "In practice, you don't go for groin shots..." He almost casually booted Jaunt in the stomach, the air whooshing from Devin's lungs as he half-flew, half-skidded across the matting. "It makes things personal. You know: because it hurts?" He planted a foot on Jaunt's neck. "You also don't go for neck strikes. Because they can kill." He pressed down meaningfully, his cold eyes looking into Jaunt's.

"In either practice or real combat, you don't diss the opponent. Why? Because like groin shots, in practice it can turn the fight real. And in a real fight, they might win, and if they win and they don't like you... You. Are. Fucked." He removed his foot from the young man's neck and crouched down beside him, his voice lowering so those at the door couldn't hear.

"Now you're probably all full of piss and vinegar: feels good to be a superman, right? You could get up again, give me some more attitude, show off for the ladies: like that'll mean shit in a real fight. And I'll put you down, again. And this time, seein' as you'd have proven you're a fuckin' child, I'll make sure you get a nice nap, and they'll see you get carried to the infirmary." The large man's tone was almost conversational.

"Or you can let me do my job, and help you not just to stay alive, but to keep alive all those people that're on your team and depending on you. First rule of any team, man. It's bigger than one person, no matter how cool their powers are." He smiled a little. "In return, I won't talk down to you or treat you any different from anyone else I train. Mutual respect is what I'm offerin' here. We might be workin' together one day, and it'd be good to know I can count on the guy next to me."

"Whaddya say?"

[Jaunt]

Reflexively he jaunted away from the large man and to his feet and like a habitual drunkard the boy wobbled and swerved in an attempted to gain his composure. It even showed through in the way he jaunted, the wisp and rippling entry point were as sporadic as the boy movements.

Complete control over his momentum and posture. Declan thought. Kid has a lot of potential, shame he's gonna make me break his neck.

Jaunt looked at him with that stubborn, yet determined look on his face that cried out he was about to do something incredibly stupid -which for Jaunt, was par for the course- that both he and Sergeant Perault were going to regret, possibly one more than the other.

Declan rolled his shoulders each joint and muscle popping in a symphony of potential destruction. His neck followed, cracking as he resigned himself to what could be a long stubborn forty five or so more seconds of this kids' grueling agony.

"C-" It hurt to even speak. The sounds just didn't seem to want to come out as his innards attempted to relocate themselves in their proper positions. Hunched low, clutching his abdomen with his forearm, his other arm simply hung limp, too sore to move. "Could you sh-," he choked on thick glob of mucus formed by tears he was refusing to cry. "Show me how you did that kick?"

The Sergeant folded his arms and there was a long, awkward silence.

"Sir." The weary boy added, softly, but it was audible.

[The Red Man]

"Sarge will do. Off-duty, call me Dec." There was no smile of victory, no patronising words. The sergeant simply nodded once in acknowledgement of Jaunt's overture of respect.

"Mechanically, it ain't much more difficult than that shit you've been pullin' on me already." Declan smiled at him. "You use momentum, whippin' your leg up, round and down onto the opponent's shoulder or head if they're standing, or anywhere you like if they ain't. You make sure that you hit with the backheel of your foot and treat it like your whole damn leg is a sledgehammer."

He demonstrated, bare foot blurring a partial arc in the air high over his head before slamming into the mat with enough impact to make dust rise from the area around him in a thin cloud. "Now for the jump, it's the same. You time it so your foot comes down with your momentum behind it. You got a serious advantage there: most of us pogues can't use a timed teleport to help."

As Devin recovered from the pain of his ordeal, he practiced in better earnest, starting with the axe kick. Despite the loud mouth and cocky attitude, underneath the bravado the teen had spirit enough for a whole company of Marines, Declan thought to himself.

For the next three hours the two worked together, some of Jaunt's cockiness coming back as he readily mastered the techniques the Sergeant showed him. Showing him blocks, locks and holds in addition to strikes, Declan concentrated on the blending of technique with instinct, on thinking past the next two moves, and Jaunt was quick enough of mind to catch on fast. With both possessing nova endurance, they both had enough left in them to spar, relatively gently, for the final 30 minutes of the session. Jaunt put into practice what he had been learning, and despite it making his moves a little stilted, the Sergeant assured him that they would soon be second nature.

"Well, I need some chow." Dec said as he brought the training session to a halt. "Sure you do too. Want to do this again in a couple of days?"

"Sure, sarge." Jaunt was fairly elated. Okay, he'd gotten a beating, but he hadn't punked out or run home to mama. He'd stood back up and grabbed hold of what he was being taught. As the two of them headed out of the gym, Jaunt gave Perault a shit-eating grin. "Y'know, yer still a Jarhead."

Whatever retort Declan made was beyond Jaunt's ears, as a pop and wisp of displaced air was all that was left to hear it.