By Marty Blase 

What you're about to read is the inevitable result of reading too many
x-books and watching USA at 11 o'clock at night every weekday...

Theorizing that one could time-travel within his own lifetime, Dr.
Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator -- and
vanished!  He awoke to find himself trapped in the past, facing
mirror images that were not his own, and driven by an unknown
force to change history for the better.  His only guide on this
journey is Al, an observer from his own time, who appears in
the form of a hologram that only Sam can see.  And so Dr.
Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to
put right what once went wrong, and hoping each time that his
next leap will be the leap home....

 (Sam leaps in.  He's standing next to a beautiful dark-haired woman
when a man with -- white hair? -- runs in and starts babbling
at him in a panic)


Gaby:   (sees Magnus enter in a panic) Magnus, what is it?
Magnus: Charles -- I've need of you -- ! one of the patients -- that
        strange boy we found on the docks -- he's demonstrated some
        very dramatic symptoms -- ! It's a possible result, I think, of
        that rare genetic quirk we've been discussing. You have to stop
        him! -- I mean, help him -- the way you helped Gabrielle a few
        weeks ago!
Sam:    Of course.. but you've got to calm down... you're too excited!
        We'll go see the boy right away, um, Magnus.

(They run into the hospital room, when Sam sees something he's never
seen the like of in any of his leaps: a young man, David, writhing on
the floor as flames and images of people Sam's never seen leap
out from his body, disappearing and reappearing over and over
again.)

Sam:    (about to say "Oh boy" when he decides this just isn't powerful
        enough of an expression)  Heaven help us...

---
Now, while the theme song runs, I'll do a little explaining.  I was
thinking of how the Alter-X crossover going on right now in the x-books
looks like a typical Quantum Leap episode done backwards somehow, and my
curiosity got the better of me.  This story was the result: it's my
version of what _really_ happened in the LegionQuest storyline, as well as
an attempt to rectify some of the blatant discontinuities in the storyline.
I'll let Al do the specific explanations when he comes in, rather than
spoil the story before you even read it.
---


Magnus: I'm afraid you might be asking for assistance in the wrong
        direction. He wasn't doing any of this earlier, Charles. It's
        as if he's  creating these projections out of thin air. Just
        how powerful can he be -- ?  (Sam doesn't answer, he's
        completely entranced by what's happening before him.)
        Charles?...
Sam:    (coming back suddenly) What?  Oh, I -- I have no idea.  Is this
        -- some kind of seizure, maybe?  Or can we calm him down with a
        tranquilizer?

(The strange boy answers Sam's question for him, as the images seem to
be sucked right back into his body and he uncurls on the floor,
clearly unconscious.  Sam goes over to him and checks his
pulse.)


Sam:    He's still alive, don't worry.  (shouts) Where's the hospital
        staff?
Magnus: (turns around, sees three members of the staff come in through
        the door) They're right here, Charles.  They'll take care of
        everything.  (A wheeled cart is brought in and amid much hustle
        and bustle the boy is lifted onto it and taken from the room.
        Sam, Gaby, and Magnus are left alone.)


Gaby:   What... what was he doing?  How did he make those images out of
        thin air? (she looks at Sam expectantly)
Sam:    (still confused) Oh, me?  Well, I -- ah... (looks at Magnus,
        hoping to get out of this)
Magnus: It's a long explanation, Gaby, but Charles and I have been
        discussing the possibility of individuals with powers such as
        these for some time now.  We never expected to meet another --
        I mean, we never expected to encounter one now, though.
Gaby:   (still confused) Well... you can explain it to me later,
        Charles.  I'm... a little flustered by this... If you don't
        mind, Charles, I'd like to...
Sam:    Oh, of course, um, Gaby.  You... go right ahead.  I'll see you
        later, then?
Gaby:   (smiles) Of course.  'Bye, Charles... (she leaves)
Magnus: Would you like to go out for a drink, Charles?  I think that
        after that encounter we could both use one.  We can pick up the
        supplies I was asked to get first, and then stop for a while
        before the ferry's ready to return.
Al:     (appearing behind Magnus, tapping frantically on his handlink)
        Uh, Sam?  We need to have a talk, big-time.
Sam:    Um... sure, that sounds great.  Can... can I go to the washroom
        first?
Magnus: All right, I'll be out in the hall when you're ready.  (exits
        the room)

(He steps into the adjacent washroom and closes the door.  When he turns
and looks in the mirror, he nearly shouts in surprise)


Sam:    AAAAHH!!
Magnus: (from the hall) Charles?
Sam:    (shouting back) I'm, I'm all right, I just, ah, stubbed my
        toe.
Al:     (walking through the closed door) What's the matter, Sam?
Sam:    (whispering now) What's the matter?  Look at me, I'm bald as a
        tire!  How old am I supposed to be?
Al:     Well, let's see what Ziggy has here.... Your name is Charles
        Francis  Xavier, and you're in Haifa, Israel in 1974 -- no,
        wait, it's 196 -- hey, what's going on here....
Sam:    What's the matter?
Al:     Don't know, Ziggy can't get a lock on the date for some reason.
        It  keeps going up and down from March 1956 to May 1975 and
        everything in between....
Sam:    Now how's that possible?  All Ziggy has to do is find a
        newspaper and check the date on it.
Al:     Well, there's a few other problems we're trying to solve about
        this particular leap, Sam.  According to Ziggy, you've...
        jumped into another timeline somehow.
Sam:    WHAT??
Al:     Calm down, Sam.  He says there was some kind of space-time warp
        that's centered over Israel and that terminated in this time
        period -- whenever that is -- and somehow your mesons and
        bosons and everything got sucked into it like a black hole,
        and it dropped you off here.
Sam:    All right, all right, just forget the year and tell me what I'm
        here to do. Does it have anything to do with that boy that was
        in here?
Al:     What boy?
Sam:    That kid with the images and flames and everything flashing out
        all around him.  He was taken away a minute ago after he
        went unconscious.
Al:     Well, let's see here... (presses buttons on the handlink some
        more) ...no, Ziggy's got nothing on him.
Sam:    No hospital records or anything?
Al:     Nope, he was a John Doe when he was brought here, the records
        say he couldn't remember anything about himself when he came
        in.
Sam:    (sighs) All right, what else can you tell me about this Xavier
        guy?
Al:     Well, he's an advanced student of psychology and genetics --
        very intelligent, Sam, you'll fit right into this guy -- he's
        on a sabbatical right now, just came from Egypt several weeks
        ago -- he's best friends with one Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, and your
        lady friend out there is Gabrielle Haller, a friend of yours
        who's kind of fallen for you.  And Ziggy's got a lot of his personal
        journals he's sorting through right now, let's see -- and you're
        also a mute...
Sam:    A what?
Al:     A mute, it says here you're a mute -- (whack) sorry, mutant.
        (looks closer) Yeah, you're a mutant.
Sam:    (looks in the mirror again) Is that why I'm bald?  Genetic
        mutation?
Al:     Well, it's more than that, it says you're a ... aw man, this
        can't be right....
Sam:    What's it say already?
Al:     Ziggy says you're a telepath.  Or Xavier's a telepath, I mean.
Sam:    That's ridiculous, telepathy's scientifically impossible...
Al:     Now, they haven't proven that yet, Sam...
Sam:    Yes, they have, Al.  It's all just lucky statistical sampling,
        you just find enough people to test and wait for probability to
        find one who can guess all the answers exactly right.
Al:     Don't be so sure, Sam.  I used to know this girl back in
        college who told everyone she was a psychic, and she was living
        proof that telepathy really exists.
Sam:    And how'd you know that for sure?
Al:     (reminiscing) 'Cause she always knew _exactly_ what was on my
        mind....
Sam:    (rolls his eyes) All right, all right, forget I asked...
Al:     (smiling) Okay, then, what do you know about that boy you were
        telling me about?
Sam:    (sarcastically) Not much, I just got here, remember?
Al:     All right, I'll go back and put Ziggy on getting some data
        about him right away. (presses some more buttons on the handlink)
Sam:    So why am I here?
Al:     According to Ziggy, there's a 79.8 percent chance you're supposed
        to keep your friend Erik there from getting killed in the next 24
        hours.
Sam:    Killed?  How does he die?  Who does it?
Al:     Well... let's wait until Ziggy gets some more data first, okay?
Sam:    You mean you don't know.
Al:     Hey, it's very tricky to get that kind of information when
        you're not even in your own timeline, Sam...
Sam:    You mean you don't know.
Al:     Well... no.
Sam:    (sighs) Then why don't you go back, and see what you _can_ tell
        me, and _then_ come back here and let me know, like a good
        hologram?
Al:     No need for sarcasm, Sam, you know how Ziggy gets when you're
        impatient with him.
Sam:    (frustrated) All right, I'm sorry, Al, I'm sorry.  Just find
        out what you can as soon as you can, okay?
Al:     (door opens behind him) Will do, Sam.  I'll catch up to you as
        soon as we have something. (steps back through door, it closes)
Sam:    (shakes head) Telepaths.  I just hope no one here thinks that
        too, or else they're in for a bit of a surprise... (exits
        bathroom)

(new scene, in a bar a little later.  Magnus and Sam enter.)

Magnus: (sitting down at the bar) What would you like, Charles?
Sam:    (surprised by the offer) Hm?  Oh, nothing for me, thanks, Erik.
Magnus: (confused) What did you call me?
Sam:    Well... Erik.  That is your name, right?
Magnus: Yes, but I don't recall ever telling you so....
Sam:    Well, I... I overheard it... a while ago.  If you'd rather I
        stick to Magnus...
Magnus: No, that's... that's all right.  Erik is fine. (turns to
        bartender as he approaches) Could I have some vodka, please?  A bottle
        and some glasses, if you would.  (to Sam)  It's just going to take
        some getting used to.
Sam:    (trying to be casual)  Erik, what do you know about... mutants?
Magnus: Only what you've told me, Charles.  You're the expert on genetic
        mutation, remember? (to the bartender, as the drinks arrive) Thank
        you.
Sam:    Well, what I mean is, how do you feel about them?
Magnus: (sighs as he pours a shot of vodka) What I feel, Charles, is that
        if they exist, they're going to have a lot of trouble getting along in
        the world as it is.  (takes a shot, pours another one)
Sam:    How do you mean?
Magnus: (continues with the vodka) Look around us, Charles.  How do people
        always react whenever they encounter someone different from themselves?
        Usually they're rude to them, often they're hostile toward them, and
        occasionally they try to kill them.  "Homo Superior" would be worse
        off than most races because people think they have good reason to fear
        them.
Sam:    Do you think they're right?
Magnus: I know myself what the Nazis did to those they thought were
        "different," Charles, and while the concentration camps may have been
        a worst-case scenario, it only shows how people really feel deep down.
        The Nazis were simply the first to have the means to carry those
        feelings out.
Sam:    Well... if you met someone who was... "different," you wouldn't feel
        that way.  I mean, I know you wouldn't feel that way.  You're working
        at a hospital, Erik, you're a good person at heart.
Magnus: Perhaps. (takes another shot)
Sam:    No, not "perhaps."  If you just... see... that everyone's basically
        human, you can see that.  And maybe that's all it really takes to stop
        the Nazi's kind of violence.  A little enlightenment of the masses.
Magnus: You're the geneticist.  Tell me your theory, then.
Sam:    (trying to be friendly) All I'm saying, Erik... All I'm saying... is
        that if "Homo Superiors" do exist... and they just might, you know...
        then surely humans can learn to live in harmony with them.
Magnus: Charles, humans cannot live in harmony with each other.  A new race
        would hardly enter a level playing field.  "Homo Superiors"... if they
        exist... will need to stake a hard claim to the world if they expect to
        survive.
Sam:    (trying harder now) Ha!  You're one bitter drunk, you know that?  Let's
        you and I make the rules, then!  If we have anything to say about it,
        Homo Superiors will fare just fine in this world!
Magnus: If they exist.
Sam:    If they exist!  (sighs, smiles again) I'm glad we met, my friend.
Magnus: (finally cracks a smile) As am I.  When you talk like that, you make
        me believe that all things are possible...

(Applause in the background.  Charles and Magnus turn to see a paraplegic
sitting on a wheeled cart, holding a flute and bowing to his audience.)

Sam:    My.  Hardly the ovation the man deserves.
Al:     (appearing next to him) I dunno, Sam, I thought it was impressive.
        He reminds me of a buddy I had from 'Nam, did I ever tell you about
        him?...

(The man thanks his audience, and speaks in Hebrew.  Fortunately, and
somewhat to his surprise, Sam's able to understand the language.)

veteran: Thanks you, my friends, thank you!  Your applause warms me... but your
        generosity feeds me!  This poor veteran would be grateful for any
        agurotim you could spare...

(They begin to throw coins on the floor around him, laughing.)

people: Of course, gimp. -- That's it, make 'im work for it. -- Lookitim
        crawl... haw! -- etc.
veteran: wait, please... please, don't laugh...

(Sam rises from his seat, clearly angered by the patrons' comments.)

Al:     Oh, no... Sam, I know what you're thinking, I've seen that look before,
        and you're not going to do this, not here... You're asking for trouble,
        Sam...
Magnus: Charles!  The ferry will be here any minute.  We must get these
        supplies to the hospital.
Sam:    I don't like the word "gimp." (a large drunk man walks over to the
        veteran with his beer and a cruel smile on his face.)
Magnus: (firmly) Charles, sit.
drunk:  Have some refreshment, music man. (pours beer over veteran's head)
        It's on me.  No, wait... It's on you!  _That's_ entertainment! *burp*
Magnus: Let him be, Charles.  You can't save everyone.
Al:     He knows what he's saying, Sam.  Better just sit tight and get out on
        your ferry like he suggests...
Sam:    (to Al) Remind me again.  Later.

(Magnus pays the bartender for the damages in advance.  Sam walks up to the
drunk as he starts twisting the veteran's flute from his hand.)

Sam:    Leave him alone.
drunk:  (unaware) Huh?
Sam:    (grabs drunk's hand, twists it behind him) I said, leave.. him.. alone!
drunk:  (falls on bartop)  *hwufff!*
Sam:    There are fourteen crucial nerve points in the human wrist.  Pressure
        on these three can bring the strongest man to his knees.
Al:     Sam, I think this is kind of abusive of you to take advantage of your
        medical degree this way...
Sam:    (takes money from drunk's hand) A lesson worth paying for, I believe.
        (hands money to veteran) For your troubles.  Go.
drunk:  "Go"?  No one's leavin' here until some scores get settled, American!
        Get the hell off me!
Al:     (looking around) Sam, one of his buddies is coming to help, and he's
        got a chair...
Sam:    Don't worry, "large man."  Your friends are coming.  In fact, one of
        them plans a surprise attack even as we speak.

(attacker swings chair)

Al:     Now, Sam!
Sam:    (raises his elbow to block the chair, which breaks against his arm)
        Unfortunately for him, I'm a hard man to surprise.
patrons: You see that? He knew Uri was comin' -- An' he di'n even turn his
        head!  -- Is he a mind reader or somethin'?
Sam:    (tips his hat lower) Something.
Al:     Sam, I can't help you like that if they're _all_ coming at you with
        chairs...
patrons:(approaching Sam) 'Zat so? -- Then guess what I'm thinkin', chrome-
        dome.  I'll give you a hint: it involves the word "traction" --
Magnus: (rises from his stool, standing between the patrons and Sam) My
        friend has his hands rather full at the moment.  Perhaps you'd better
        deliver your message to me.
Al:     Sam, if these guys are half as dangerous as they look, Erik could get
        himself killed right here...
Sam:    (smiling, whispers) You can't save everyone, Erik.
Magnus: (whispers back) I just saved you.  Watch him.  He'll back down.

(patron thinks for a second, starts to turn away, then comes back and hits
Magnus hard across the jaw)

Magnus: Hmmm... apparently I was mistaken. (smiles)  Good. (punches the patron
        in the belly) My friend learned to fight in the Orient. (to the side)
        He is a gentleman.  Sadly for you... (in the chest) ...I am not as
        cultured. (one more to the jaw, knocking him out.  other patrons gather
        around him and Sam.  they draw together)  And you dreamed of a world
        without violence.
Al:     (impressed)  Hm.  Looks like we didn't have anything to worry about
        after all, Sam.
Sam:    Any dream worth having, Erik, is a dream worth fighting for.

(the fight breaks out.  Sam and Magnus stand back to back, decking patrons as
they come.  Al stands to the side as people and beer bottles fly through him,
shouting helpful instructions to Sam as he can.  The fight's over in a couple
minutes, with Magnus and Charles the only ones still standing.)

Magnus: (panting) The fun's over before it truly begins.  How many of these
        brawls have you been in, Charles?
Sam:    (looking at Al, who winks and smiles) Counting this one?  One.
Magnus: Then I'm doubly impressed.  You're a man of conviction, that is for
        sure.  What was that you said again?  "Any dream worth having..."
Sam:    "...is a dream worth fighting for."
Magnus: Ha!  Fine and noble words, my friend!  Someday, I'll carve them on
        your tombstone...

(later, on the ferry ride back to the hospital.  Al is standing behind Sam,
still trying to get the handlink to work right, with Magnus farther off to the
side.)

Al:     Nothing on how he dies yet, Sam.  It's weird, it's like the newspapers
        and reports and everything else were just... wiped out or something.
        Ziggy's got nada.
Sam:    Well keep looking!  There's got to be a report or something about it,
        Magnus doesn't have much time left!
Magnus: (without prompting)  That was quite a risk you took, starting that
        fight in there, Charles.
Sam:    Hm?  Oh, you mean...  Nah, I knew what I was doing.  It... it just
        makes me so mad, to see that kind of intolerance.  It's just what we
        were talking about, you need to make people see that that kind of
        hatred just doesn't belong in the world anymore.
Magnus: Even if you have to beat it into them, hm? (smiles)
Sam:    (gets the joke) Well... that was kind of... unexpected, you know.
        (they laugh briefly)
Magnus: Well then, I won't tell Gaby about it, when we see her again at the
        hospital, if you won't.
Sam:    I beg your pardon?
Magnus: (apologetic) I didn't mean to offend you, Charles.  But... it's clear
        how you feel about her, even though it hasn't been that long.  I know
        you've been trying to keep it a secret, what with her being a former
        patient of yours...
Sam:    (surprised) Patient??  I mean... well, that's pretty much done with
        now... right?
Magnus: If you mean her therapy, then yes, it is.  But you did get to know her
        pretty well when you were helping her mind heal, and it was clear even
        then that you were falling for each other.
Sam:    You're... you're right.  (turns to look out over the water)  Or maybe
        not.  I don't know, I like to think of myself as an ethical man, Erik.
        But ethical... doctors don't fall in love with their patients...
Magnus: Gabrielle Haller isn't a case file, Charles.  She's a marvelous woman,
        alive and radiant.  I understand that she, like myself, was a victim of
        incredible cruelty.  I know the horrors she must have witnessed.  I
        know the emptiness and loss she must have felt.  She does not want to
        be alone in this world.
Sam:    So if Gabrielle is my last chance for happiness...
Magnus: ...you would be a fool to let her slip away.  Life is short, Charles.
        I want to see your dreams fulfilled.
Sam:    Then you'll accompany me to the hospital?
Magnus: Absolutely.  You tend to Gaby while I look after the strange young man
        who showed up at the hospital's doorstep.  Though we have done wonders
        with him these past few weeks, there is much still to be learned about
        him.  Hot only does he exhibit powers beyond human ken, there is
        something about his very presence that is... unsettling...
Sam:    What do you mean, "unsettling"?
Magnus: (waves his hand vaguely)  I... can't describe it, Charles.  It's
        just...  a feeling.  It started before I saw his powers today, too.  He
        simply... doesn't seem to fit right here.  I can't say what I mean...
Sam:    I think I know exactly what you mean.
Al:     Yeah, you can say that again.
Sam:    Do you think he may pose some kind of risk around the hospital?
Al:     Hm?  What do you mean?
Magnus: I don't know... but if those powers of his get out of control again,
        there is a chance he could hurt someone by accident...
Al:     (getting the hint) Oh, you mean like Erik here?  Good thinking, Sam,
        I should have thought of that myself... (presses some buttons on the
        handlink)
Sam:    Maybe you should... stay away from him, for a while, Erik.  I mean,
        if there's even a chance he could be dangerous...
Al:     (sighs) Ziggy's still got nothing on the kid, Sam, it's impossible
        for us to check that.
Sam:    (whispering) So if his death was a mystery too, Al...
Magnus: Who's death?
Al:     Oopsie.
Sam:    I meant... (thinking fast) I meant the boy's amnesia.  You know,
        metaphorically.
Magnus: (accepting it) Well, perhaps that is it... his lack of memory does have
        a way of magnifying everyone's fear of him now, doesn't it?
Sam:    That's... that's exactly it, Erik, that's exactly what it is. But...
        don't you think you should be... more careful around him now?
Magnus: You may be right about that...
Al:     Ah, Ziggy's coughing up nothing.  Tell you what, Sam, I'll see if I can
        get a lock on the kid himself and keep an eye on him for a while, see
        what he's doing.
Sam:    Good idea, go ahead. (Al disappears)
Magnus: (responding) Yes, you're definitely right, Charles.  As soon as we get
        back I'll see about having special quarters arranged for the boy in the
        hospital until we can determine where he's from.

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