THE DIFFERENCE, PART 1 by D. Skiles TEASER OPEN BLACK SCREEN MALLORY (V.O.) Someone once said "you can't go home again." (beat) I don't really remember who. I don't think I was paying attention that day. We PAN DOWN to reveal the sides of buildings. We weren't looking at a black screen at all, but rather a starless sky. EXT. STREET - NIGHT We begin to track down the middle of the street, keeping the sides in view, going slowly, as we still hear Mallory's voice. All else is silence. MALLORY (V.O.) I guess there was some truth to it. After two years traveling the multiverse with my former job suprerior and two strangers I've come to call friends, I've finally come home... only to find that they don't hold your apartment on the excuse that you've been in a parallel dimension. I guess someone forgot to pay the rent. Down in the street, some of the buildings and shops are closing up. A few people still walk around. Some lights go off. Street lamps burn in the darkness. MALLORY (V.O.) And since Dr. Geiger furnished Diana's accomodations as long as she worked with him... we're stuck staying in the same hotel in our own dimension that we went to in almost every other bizarre world we've encountered. He sighs, and our view turns, to reveal the Chandler Hotel. We come in close on an upper floor window, through which Mallory's back is clearly visible. MALLORY (V.O.) We're strangers in our own home. And on that, our view cuts to - INT. CHANDLER SUITE - NIGHT Mallory sits with his back to a window, hunched over with his hands folded. We're still in silence now, but we pan over to see Maggie standing, facing towards a wall. She looks nervous and uncomfortable. She fidgets uneasily as we hold on her for a moment... MALLORY (V.O.) To make matters worse, I'm not so sure that my friends care about my well-being at the moment any more than they did when I first met them. For nearly two years, they've come to accept me as I am, but now... well, whenever the opportunity to separate me from her Quinn once more comes up, Maggie doesn't care about me. Or maybe she does, but I don't think she's even considered the danger this separation has for me. She's just focused on getting her own Quinn back. And she's concerned about Colin, of course, just like they all are... he's my alternate's brother. Somehow that makes me feel some weird connection to the guy, but I don't know a thing about him. Well, regardless, with everyone worried about Colin and the other Quinn, it feels like two years ago all over again. Maggie turns, looking over her shoulder, her gaze trailing off-screen. We follow her look, and stop at Rembrandt. He stands over Diana, who is checking over a body on the couch. MALLORY (V.O.) I don't know how Rembrandt feels. He's a good guy, but I'm sure he'd like to have the Quinn he once knew back. I can't blame him. I can't blame either of them. I'd even like to be rid of the other person I somehow know is stuck inside of me. But I'm still worried about losing myself. And, alright, I admit it, maybe even losing them. How many Quinns do they need in their lives, after all? Panning over to focus on Diana, we finally see that she's checking on Colin, who lies on the couch dazed, essentially unconscious. His face is visible now, and it's yellowed, jaundiced. Diana looks over him, occasionally pausing to use her PDL. MALLORY (V.O.) Diana is the one I know I can trust. Ever since we started sliding, we kind of looked out from each other. We come from the same world, we started sliding at the same time. Once, she thought of me as just a lab assistant, but we can relate to each other now. I can call her a friend. At least I have faith that she cares about whether I make it out of this intact. I've gained a lot of faith in her since this whole thing began. (beat) Two years. It's seemed like an eternity. And, after that, suddenly, we seem to be back in the real world again. We hear the sounds around us, with Mallory's thoughts no longer drowning them out. Diana finishes her look at Colin and stands up, closing her PDL. REMBRANDT Well? She sighs, pushing back her hair uncomfortably. DIANA Your friend Colin has been unstuck for longer than I've known anyone to be. At least, at any given time. Dr. Geiger was unstuck for months at a time, but then he'd be restablized, at least for a while. Colin's been floating between universes for two straight years, without any kind of reprieve, consistently being hit by waves of spacetime. (beat) Now, you all remember the state Dr. Geiger was in when we last found him... and he didn't undergo the kind of continuous trauma that Colin has... MAGGIE (interrupting) So, what's your point? Diana adjusts her attitude slightly, softening, preparing. The others look like they almost know what's coming. DIANA The point is that, very rapidly... Colin is dying. Maggie and Remmy react. They just got him back, and now they're going to lose him all over again. DIANA (continued) At best, he probably doesn't have much more than a few days. With that... END TEASER OPENING SEQUENCE REMBRANDT What if you found a portal to a parallel universe? What if you could slide into a thousand different worlds? MAGGIE Where it's the same year... DIANA And you're the same person... MALLORY But everything else is different? REMBRANDT And what if you can't find your way home? [THEME MUSIC PLAYS] WHISPER: "Sliders" END OPENING SEQUENCE ACT I OPEN INT. CHANDLER SUITE - NIGHT Maggie sits next to Mallory now, at the table. Rembrandt is pacing. Diana is still standing, her arms folded. Some moments have passed. REMBRANDT Can you stop it? DIANA If we had more time, I'd say yes. The Kromagg biotech should be able to be configured to help regenerate his detiorating tissue fairly easily. But I'd need access to the combine beam, and even with that, can I cure him in two, three days? A beat. She turns and looks back to Colin, still unconscious on the couch. DIANA I don't know. I don't think so. MAGGIE Well you're just going to have to think more positively. DIANA No offense, but I just don't see how I can do this alone. There aren't enough hours in the day, or night. And I don't have a lot of experience with biotechnology. To say the least. REMBRANDT Well, we're still gonna try our damnedest. (beat) We're going tonight. MALLORY (disbelieving) Tonight? Diana nods in understanding. MAGGIE (to Mallory) Oh, you bet we are. The sooner we get there, the better chance Colin has. REMBRANDT Somebody's gotta hang back and watch him. (beat) I'll do it. The others nod. And from this we... FADE TO - EXT. GEIGER APPLIED RESEARCH - NIGHT It's just on the outside edge of town, so there's no sign of crowded life here. Trees surround the building, which is unmarked and fairly large, at least in width. It's still not very tall. A car drives up, a rented Caravan, slowly crawling to a stop. The headlights go off, and out stand Maggie, Mallory, and Diana. Closer on them now, we follow them down the walk and up to the front door. The entrance is chained and padlocked. A sign on the front informs that the building is CONDEMNED. Diana looks at the sign and rolls her eyes, shrugging. She turns to the others as they catch up behind her, and look over the sign. MAGGIE (frustrated) It's abandoned? DIANA Why not? If anyone investigated what happened here, they probably would've moved all the materials out. MALLORY Still, no harm in giving the inside a look-see, hm? They shrug to him and he walks off-screen, to the left, leaving us to watch Diana and Maggie. DIANA I guess, but if we're going to consider looking at the inside, we should probably do it carefully. If someone found this place and took all the equipment, they probably realized the severity of what was going on here. There could be some security cameras or a system of alarms... She's interrupted by a rock that flies by her head, into the front door, breaking the glass! Mallory walks up and kicks through the door, knocking the rest of the cracked glass from the frame. DIANA Or... not. She shakes her head at Mallory but still gives him a pat on the shoulder on the way in through the door frame that remains. INT. RESEARCH BUILDING - HALLWAY - NIGHT Inside the building now, they step a few yards into the hall. It's dark, but, oddly, spotless, with none of the dust bunnies or cobwebs one might expect. On the way in, they pass by a metal sign mounted on the wall -- "GEIGER APPLIED RESEARCH - A division of Quantico." Maggie gives it a look over on the way down the hall. As they walk, they all speak quietly, as though somehow afraid of awakening something. DIANA Amazing. It's like someone's been here the whole time. No cobwebs, no dust... MAGGIE An abandoned building with a live-in housekeeper? DIANA Maybe it's not as abandoned as it looks. MALLORY At least nobody's home at the moment. A turn in the hall, and they walk up alongside a door. DIANA (a whisper) My office! She opens the door and walks in. INT. RESEARCH BUILDING - OFFICE - NIGHT Her desk, computer, and the windows to the outside -- all intact. Diana looks as giddy as a child on Christmas morning. DIANA (grinning) It's all here... She sits down at her computer and flips it on. The screen actually lights up and starts to boot. MALLORY A condemned building with power? MAGGIE This is only getting more suspicious. Diana smiles. DIANA Well, it doesn't matter. This may mean we're saved. We won't have to struggle to find our materials after all. But let's not speak too soon -- you guys go check in Geiger's old personal lab. The combine lab. You know where it is. Mallory nods and turns out, followed by Maggie. INT. COMBINE LAB They push open the double doors, and step in. Geiger's geometrically shaped "field" that kept him in this universe is gone, as are the barriers to it, opening up the room. Otherwise, it's all here. His computers from within his chamber, the combine beam, the indentation in the wall where Mallory sat prior to combining with Quinn -- all the materials are intact. Mallory and Maggie share a smile. Mallory steps up to the combine beam, not far from the door, and gives it a pleased pat. Maggie stands to the side of the entrance, watching with approval. MALLORY Looks like we hit the jackpot. Maggie nods. MAGGIE Yeah, Diana should be able to handle this, if we can... She interrupted when the door flies open and a skinny man in a black suit, no tie, blonde, jumps in. He holds out a gun towards Mallory, not noticing Maggie standing in the shadowy area to the side of the door. MAN Freeze! Mallory, well, freezes. But Maggie jumps out and, with a shout, kicks the gun from the man's hand. He turns towards her just in time to see her jump on him and tackle him to the ground, delivering a hard right cross into his jaw. He starts to get up, but she slugs him again. Now he's out cold. Jumping up, Maggie sweeps his gun up from the floor. MALLORY Definitely not abandoned. MAGGIE No kidding. Let's go get Diana. They both head out of the room. INT. RESEARCH BUILDING - HALLWAY - NIGHT Mallory emerges from the lab in front of Maggie, and they start to run down the hall. They haven't gone ten feet when a strong-looking fellow with flat brown hair, also wearing a suit, runs in from the other end of the hall that goes by the combine lab. He whips out his gun and trains it on Maggie's back, who's now only twelve feet away from him. SUIT MAN Stop! Maggie stops, but waves Mallory on with her hand. He takes off. The man looks after him, jerking in Mallory's direction, as if he's going to shoot at him... but realizes he's too far away and ignores him instead. He now steps towards Maggie, who turns around to face him. She still holds onto her gun, something that our man with a flattop notices. He jerks his own pistol towards her hand, indicating her gun. SUIT MAN Lose it. She remains steadfast, not moving. He walks up closer, holding his gun directly at her head, standing all of four feet from her, where he finally stops. SUIT MAN I said drop it. Holding the handle of the gun between her thumb and forefinger, Maggie raises her arm up, angling it upwards in front of her head. She dangles it there in front of him, like a piece of bait. She's smiling at him. SUIT MAN C'mon. Do it! In slow-motion, we watch her let go of the gun. At the moment it starts to fall, Maggie drops to the carpet quickly, landing on her left side. She lashes out with her right hand, sweeping the falling gun back out of the air, and, as normal speed returns to us, she points it directly at the man's right leg, pulling the trigger and blasting a hole through his shin. The man lets out a yelp of pain and falls backwards without the support from his legs. He lands on his back, and Maggie jumps up to tackle him. He whips up his right hand, trying to get his gun leveled on her once more, but she catches his arm with her left hand and pins it back to the ground, swiping out and whipping him across the head with the gun in her right hand. She then gives her gun a light toss in the air, flipping it so as to catch it by the barrel, and, holding it by the barrel now, she swings it down and rams the handle of the gun into his forehead like a hammer. He's unconscious. She jumps up and takes off in the direction Mallory went. INT. RESEARCH BUILDING - OFFICE - NIGHT Mallory runs in first, and sees Diana unconscious on the floor, an Asian man in a black suit and tie standing over her. MALLORY Diana! He gets over to the other side of the room so fast that he pounces on the Asian man without warning, slamming him up against the wall. Still holding the Asian man's shoulders, Mallory throws him onto Diana's desk desk, and he slides off of the other side. Maggie runs in. Now it's HER turn not to notice the person off to the side of the entrance, in the shadows. Two massive hands lash out, grabbing her throat. As the large man doing this is revealed, we see he is HUGE, at least seven feet tall and almost as big around. He has a brown flat top hairstyle, and his face seems stuck in a scowl. Like the others, he wears a black suit, in this case with a tie. He manages to LIFT her off of the ground as soon as he grabs her, forcing her to lash her hands up towards her throat, making her drop her gun to the floor. She does her best to fight his hands off as she gags, kicking her legs harmlessly in the air. Over on the other side of the room, Mallory runs around Diana's desk to attack the Asian man again, but the man kicks up, into his stomach. The Asian man jumps up, onto his feet. Mallory immediately punches him across the face, but he barely staggers back before kicking outward, into Mallory's shoulder. Mallory spins and hits the wall behind him face-first. He turns around just in time to the cock of a gun. The Asian man has drawn his pistol on Mallory. Forced to accept defeat, Mallory sighs and raises his hands. Back with Maggie, things still aren't going too well. Her eyes shoot around frantically. She looks at her attacker's eyes. To Mallory and the Asian man, fighting on the other side of the room. Back to her attacker. She gags. Coughs. She finally has an idea. She lets go. Her hands fall, with only her neck supporting her, but only for a moment. She instantly lashes out with both hands, chopping into the large man's ears! Stunned, but not necessarily injured, his hands instinctively fly up to the side of his head for a moment, making him drop Maggie. She falls to the ground, gasping for air. Then, after a quick breath, she sweeps her gun back up and jumps to her feet, just as the large man unholsters his own. They both whip out their guns simultaneously. They're pressed at each other's throats. Mexican standoff. Off to their side, however, they hear the sound of a clearing throat. Maggie turns to look, and, following her gaze, we see the Asian man, now holding a gun to Mallory's head and holding his arm roughly with his free hand. Maggie's face falls. She turns back to her attacker. He's smiling. She grits her teeth in anger, looking like she's on the verge of growling in frustration. Defeated, she throws her gun down to the ground. MAGGIE DAMN it! And, on her face, we close off. END ACT I OPEN ACT II INT. CHANDLER SUITE - NIGHT The sun is just starting to illuminate the dark sky outside. Rembrandt sits over Colin, watching him. He looks worn and tired. Weakly, Colin stirs. Rembrandt sits up straight, watching. Colin's eyes flutter open slowly. COLIN (weakly) Rembrandt... ? Rembrandt smiles. It's a somewhat sad smile. REMBRANDT Welcome back, Farm Boy. Colin looks around with weak eyes. He takes in the familiar surroundings. The Chandler. COLIN I feel awful. Feel like... I've been sleeping forever. Rembrandt nods sympathetically. COLIN I had the strangest dream. So... long. I thought it was real for a while. But now, you're here. Guess not. He smiles weakly for a beat, the continues. COLIN I felt like I was sliding forever. I swear... I could see it. Felt it. Worlds flying by me like nothing. I barely touched one, and I was gone. Then another. He shakes his head and shuts his eyes. COLIN The last world. The gunfight. Did we make it? I saw you and Maggie jump through... but I can't remember... did my brother get out okay? Rembrandt purses his lips. No answer. He sighs, realizing what he has to say. But, despite this realization, he pauses. He's not quite sure how to put this. REMBRANDT It was no dream, Colin. Colin opens his eyes again. He looks skeptical of this. COLIN What? REMBRANDT You really were out there, sliding between worlds. A long beat. COLIN How is that... ? REMBRANDT ...possible? I don't know. Diana calls it being 'unstuck.' COLIN Diana? Rembrandt sighs once more. REMBRANDT It's a long story. Another long beat. REMBRANDT Listen to me now, Colin. Stay with me. Do you know how long you were out there? COLIN I don't know. Didn't seem... solid. Felt like I didn't even have a body at times. Like it wasn't real. I didn't exist anywhere. Not on any one world, just between them. There was... nothing. (beat) How long? A beat. Rembrandt looks him solidly in the eyes. REMBRANDT Two years. Colin's eyes widen. He tries to sit up. COLIN What?! Quinn, Ma- His body jolts. He's cut off by his own pain. He groans and lays back down. Rembrandt puts a hand on his forehead. REMBRANDT It's okay. Just rest now. I'll explain it all later. (beat) We'll take care of you. You're safe. Colin nods, just barely, before drifting back into unconsciousness. INT. ENCLOSED OFFICE No windows here. Is it day or night? Does it matter? Only a single light in the ceiling keeps this forboding atmosphere illuminated. Diana and Mallory are seated in chairs across from a desk in this cramped room. Another chair is behind them. It's empty. Across from them, at the desk, sits an aging woman dressed for business. Her face is worn with wrinkles, her hair short and brown. She has the look of intelligence, but not necessarily the kind that our sliders would like to deal with. There's definitely a glint in her eye of something devious... but also something oddly pure. Her name is MEREDITH SANTI. A long beat. We cut to Diana. She sits, drumming her fingers on the desk. To Mallory. He's just shooting his eyes over to Diana. And then to Meredith. She's smiling. She doesn't move. Finally, someone breaks the ice. DIANA Where's Maggie? Meredith's smile widens. MEREDITH Your friend will be here shortly. Sure enough, the door opens. The skinny blond man we saw earlier, now with a bruise on his face, pulls Maggie in. She's slumped over, barely shuffling along. MEREDITH Ah, here we are... DIANA What did you do to her?! MEREDITH Relax. She's just a little sedated. Fiesty one, isn't she? MALLORY You have no idea. She's set down in the seat behind Mallory and Diana. Meredith leans over with a can of spray. It looks like she's going to cover her with WD-40. Instead, when she pushes the button, a light puff of gas hits Maggie in the face. She awakens, groggily. MEREDITH Welcome back. Maggie sits up. DIANA (to Maggie) You alright? A beat as she takes in her surroundings. MAGGIE Fine. MEREDITH So, then, now that we're all here... to business. My name is Meredith Santi. MAGGIE Lovely. Who are you WITH? MEREDITH The government. DIANA What branch? She doesn't answer. A beat. Meredith pulls out a large binder and starts to flip through it. Her face is more serious now. MEREDITH We've been on the lookout for you folks for some time. You three, and one another man, a black man. I'm sure you're aware that the government was hardly notified to Oberon Geiger's experiements. DIANA (nodding) We all had our confidentiality clauses. MEREDITH Yes, well, that doesn't work when the fate of the planet is involved. Suffice to say we were concerned when the reality came to light, as it did when Geiger's research organization, and the rest of Quantico, came crashing down shortly after his... departure. Maggie raises an eyebrow at the realization that Quantico is a multi-faceted organization on this world. MALLORY We didn't kill him. She smiles slightly. MEREDITH We know. Diana and Mallory share a glance. MEREDITH Geiger had his fair share of... well, lackeys. It didn't take long for the government to trace that his lab was the source of the somewhat... unusual weather we experienced that year. By the time we got there, though, all of the research was wiped clean from the computers. DIANA (nodding) My hard drive was all but empty. MEREDITH Yes, but the men in monkey suits didn't destroy everything. Conveniently enough, they left the staff rosters online, and a few of Geiger's security videos. Just enough to show us that two of Dr. Geiger's staff members... namely, Dr. Diana Davis and lab assistant Quinn Mallory... shot Geiger with some sort of experimental beam, disentegrating him, while two other strangers... (gesturing to Maggie) ...one of them now sitting with us... assisted in holding off the guards. From there, the tape cuts off. Geiger's fiercely loyal lapdogs told us that these assailants then fled. And, of course, much to our chagrin, when we tried to track them down, we found that, sure enough, Mr. Mallory and Dr. Davis had apparently left their lives behind, vanishing completely. A clean break. MAGGIE Nice story. MEREDITH Yes, but that's where it stops making any usual definition of sense. Imagine our surprise when we identified the other woman on the video as one Maggie Beckett, a captain in the United States Marine Corps. That wouldn't seem so shocking, except for the fact that Maggie Beckett had been dead for nearly two years. Maggie and the others share a look that says the obvious: Oh, crap. MEREDITH And the other man we identified as Rembrandt Brown. A washed-up, small-time R&B singer. When we tracked him down, he plead ignorance. Before long, we started believing him. If our mystery attackers could impersonate a dead woman, why not him as well? She sighs, and closes the binder in front of her. MEREDITH So now we've got two disgruntled employees who attack their boss with the assistance of two masters of disguise. A little odd, to say the least. And it got even stranger. As our top scientists looked over Geiger's materials, it turned out that the beam in question was no weapon at all. In fact, most of the scientific devices in here came to be recognized as machines of interdimensional displacement. A wild, science-fiction kind of theory, but one that at least one of our top minds had been looking into for some time. Diana and Mallory shift in their seats. They don't look happy with this, especially with the government knowing about it. MEREDITH Our "attackers" couldn't have killed Oberon Geiger with that beam at all. It just wasn't designed that way. Somehow, it was clear that they must have aligned it to send Geiger into, yes, a parallel universe. At least, that's what Dr. Jensen said. MAGGIE (reacting) Jensen? The door opens. The man who walks in is a double for STEVEN JENSEN... Maggie's former husband. He looks over the party, but only glances at Maggie for a second. He immediately looks away from her, as though she had just burned his eyes. MEREDITH This is Dr. Steven Jensen. I trust that Ms. Beckett here has probably met him before. Or, someone like him. Maggie is staring at him. She hasn't exactly seen many doubles of Steven. She's trying to maitain composure, but looks shocked and disturbed. MEREDITH Dr. Jensen has enlightened our government branch to the ways of the multiverse. He was doing quite a bit of study into the subject with his colleague Dr. Vladamir Jariabek before Dr. Jariabek's untime demise in a car accident. They may not have completed their research, but Dr. Jensen is still our premiere expert on the subject. (beat, to Maggie) It take it, then, that you are a dimensional alternate of Ms. Beckett? Maggie nods, not knowing what else to do. MEREDITH Might I also assume that you two, Ms. Davis and Mr. Mallory, did not simply run away, but used Dr. Geiger's technology to travel to another dimension? Mallory and Diana share a look. Mallory shrugs. Why not? Whatever she wants to believe. They both look back to Meredith and nod. DIANA Sure. You might assume that. Meredith grins. MEREDITH Fabulous. Jensen nods at her. Mallory looks down for a beat. He then looks back up to Meredith. MALLORY So, you gonna arrest us? Throw us in the gulag? Meredith smiles even more. And she laughs. A nice, long, haughty laugh. MEREDITH You misunderstand, Mr. Mallory! You participated in actions that saved this universe from destruction. We have no intentions of holding you here. They all look around to each other in shock. You've got to be kidding. Mallory stands up, smiling. MALLORY Well then, uh, thanks for the story. I guess we'll be on our way. It's been real. Call me sometime, I mean that. (nods to Diana and Maggie) C'mon guys. MEREDITH I think you misunderstand AGAIN, Mr. Mallory. You and Ms. Beckett can go. As far as I'm concerned, you both did nothing but save our world. Granted, Ms. Beckett just shot one of our men in the leg, but we didn't know who you were when we saw your figures roaming the building. Ms. Beckett's actions were an understandable act of self-defense in light of how our boys attempted to... handle... you. (sitting up, straightening out) But, despite your freedoms, Dr. Davis must stay. She may have helped you save the world, but she also aided Dr. Geiger in trying to destroy it. (smiling) She has a lot to answer for. Maggie stands up, next to Mallory. Diana looks a little disturbed. She's uncomfortable with this, for good reason. MAGGIE No way. You're not keeping her here. We won't let you. MEREDITH I'm afraid it isn't a matter of choice. She owes us now. We could destroy her if we wished. She grins, a twisted little grin. MEREDITH You wouldn't want to see her tossed into a 'gulag' after all, would you? MALLORY Well, I'm not leaving her side. MAGGIE Neither am I. Meredith shrugs. MEREDITH Fine by me. You'll all stay then. Mallory and Maggie don't look pleased with this annoucement. Diana stands up. She looks resolved. Confident. DIANA Fine. Then take me. MEREDITH We don't have to, you know. We don't really want to throw this opportunity out the window. She leans in closer, over her desk. MEREDITH This is the chance of a lifetime. Those Geiger flunkies destroyed all of his research into interdimensional travel, into his machines and devices. You are our key. You operated those devices almost as much as Geiger, if these employee records are any indication. Help us to unlock Geiger's secrets. Show us how to journey to new worlds. She leans back again, smug. MEREDITH And, if you do, we won't put you someplace where you'll never been seen or heard from again. Hm? Diana remains resolute. DIANA Tell you what. You help me reach MY goals. Help me to undo what Geiger did to Mallory, and to cure one of our friends. Then maybe I'll help you reach yours. MEREDITH You don't seem to be grasping how this works, Ms. Davis. This isn't a negotiation. You do as we tell you, or we ship you out. DIANA Maybe YOU don't grasp how *I* work, Ms. Santi. You can put me wherever you like. You think I haven't seen prisons, or come close to death, these past two years? Many times. I'm not scared of it any more. And I don't care what you do to me. Maggie and Mallory look at each other. Maggie raises a eyebrow and grins. Damn. They're impressed. Meredith is now the one drumming her fingers. She's not very pleased with this turn of events. DIANA So... rather than using your particular form of coercion, why don't we just make this a business arrangement. I'll give you full disclosure on everything that I know about interdimensional travel... and you'll give me full disclosure on any technologies you have that may help with reconstituting our friends. Meredith smiles once more, as she is wont to do. She nods. MEREDITH Balls of steel. I admire that in a woman. (beat) Alright. We'll try it your way. But, make no mistake... if I find that you are holding out on me at any time during this joint venture, I will see to it that you spend the rest of your life... your BRIEF life... someplace... well... suffice to say, very uncomfortable. Diana nods, looking a little more nervous now that the agreement has passed. MEREDITH For the time being, however, I would prefer that you stay here with us. For security purposes, you understand. Diana sighs. She doesn't like it. DIANA Fine. We'll need to get a few items and a couple of our friends from the Chandler... Meredith waves a hand. MEREDITH I'll send the boys to get them for you. But first, we'll set up a room for you all here. There will be a guard posted outside of it, for your... protection. Diana nods. She, Maggie, and Mallory are led out by the blond skinny guard. INT. RESEARCH BUILDING - HALLWAY - DAY As they walk out, Maggie and Mallory lean over to Diana. MALLORY (whispering) Really think we can trust her? DIANA (whispering) I don't know. I wouldn't suggest we push our luck on it. MAGGIE (whispering) I hope you didn't just make a deal with your world's own little devil. Diana nods, quickly, nervously. DIANA So do I. INT. ENCLOSED OFFICE The door closes. Jensen and Meredith are the only ones left in the room now. Steven turns to Meredith, his eyes cast down. JENSEN Ms. Santi... when you agreed to 'full disclosure', you didn't mean FULL full disclosure... ? Meredith gives him a "duh" look. MEREDITH Not THAT full, Doctor. He nods and heads out the door. She sits and stares ahead, towards the wall, fiddling with her hands. INT. LIVING SPACE - DAY Light shines in through the plexiglass window of the room where the Sliders now stay. Six cots are set up here, lined up along the walls. Colin lies unconscious on one. Rembrandt keeps watch over him, sitting on another nearby. Off to the side of the room, Mallory sits, his hands folded in front of his mouth. He watches Colin as well, with a strange, focused interest. A few beats. Silent. Maggie walks in, coming up behind Rembrandt. Giving a glance over to Mallory in acknowledgement, she puts a hand on Rembrandt's shoulder. MAGGIE How is he? REMBRANDT Not good. He's slipped under for a long time now. Diana doesn't think he'll wake up until we can get this ironed out. She nods in understanding. MAGGIE Diana... where is she now? REMBRANDT Still working on the machinery with Jensen. (beat) You okay with this? She nods, but looks a little shaky. MAGGIE Yeah. You know me, solid as a rock. He smiles at her with sympathy. REMBRANDT Of course. She smiles back. Reaching into a pocket, she pulls out a pen and a pad of paper, jotting something down. Rembrandt watches with interest. A couple of beats. He decides to ask. REMBRANDT What're you... MAGGIE (interrupting, hastily) Nothing special. She finishes and tears the sheet off, handing it to him. Rembrandt looks it over. ANGLE ON - SHEET OF PAPER In Maggie's writing, it says "Diana says there are cameras in nearly all the rooms in this place. Just before sliding with us, she saw that Geiger had put them in. Might still be here. Got to be careful... now, DO YOU STILL HAVE THE TIMER?" Rembrandt turns after reading this and discretely looks around the room. He can't locate anything. He shoves the note into one of his pockets and looks up to her. He nods once. She smiles and nods back before turning and heading out of the room. INT. COMBINE LAB Maggie walks in through the back, but pauses, standing to the side, as she sees that Diana and Steven are hard at work, and engaged in some techie conversation. Diana is fiddling with the insides of a computer, not looking at Jensen as he looks over the Kromagg biotech circuit boards to the side. DIANA You've actually seen something like this before? JENSEN Some. Where'd you get it? A beat. She has to think of something. DIANA It was... pretty common on the other world we were hiding on. Where'd you encounter biotech? JENSEN I did some pretty intensive study and development on some two or three years back. One of our top military minds was suffering from an incurable disease he had contracted in the Gulf, some sort of fungus that destroyed his brain tissue. Maggie, still standing by the door, can't hold back. MAGGIE Rickman?! Jensen looks up, noticing her for the first time. He speaks uncomfortably to her, answering her question with an obvious measure of unease. JENSEN Uh... yes, General Rickman. How'd you... MAGGIE (interrupting) GENERAL Rickman? Diana decides to nip this line of inquiry in the bud before it gets any worse. She looks up at Dr. Jensen. DIANA We encountered a... dimensional alternate of Rickman on that other world we were on. Turning back towards her, Jensen nods. JENSEN Oh... I see. Very interesting. Good man? Maggie and Diana exchange a glance. Maggie is practically shooting daggers from her eyes. Diana turns back to Steven. DIANA Uh... yeah, I suppose so. (quick beat) So, you were saying about the biotech? JENSEN Oh, yes, right. Well, I did some work trying to create some similar cell generation biotechnology to help regenerate General Rickman's brain tissue. But, we never could get it to work. He died before we had perfected anything, and the project was scrapped. (beat) If only we'd had *this* kind of technology... DIANA Funny how I never heard about any of this in the scientific journals... Jensen chuckles a little. JENSEN We're the government. Steps are taken to prevent public knowledge... you did notice that this building is "condemned", for example? Diana manages a smile. DIANA Right. (beat) So, do you think that your knowledge and experience will come in handy here? Jensen smiles slightly back. JENSEN Yeah, I think so. I should be able to hook this into a mainframe with a minimum of transfer adjustments. Could take me some hours, though. Diana smiles hopefully to Maggie. DIANA (to Jensen) Well... let's do it then. He nods and heads out. As he leaves, Maggie follows him. INT. RESEARCH BULIDING - HALLWAY - DAY Jensen pulls some keys out of his lab coat and walks up to an unmarked door. As he leans in to put the key in the lock, Maggie comes around the corner. MAGGIE Hey. Jensen jumps suspiciously and turns to her. JENSEN (uncomfortably) Uh... can I help you? What is it? Maggie eyes the door suspiciously. MAGGIE Whatcha got back there? Your secret cookie jar? JENSEN No, no. It's my quarters. I keep some of my personal tools in there. She nods, not sure whether to buy it. JENSEN Well, did you want something? MAGGIE Actually, yes. Listen... you seem to be kind of uncomfortable around me... JENSEN (interrupting) You're the very image of my dead wife. That so hard to understand? MAGGIE No. Believe me, I get it. I feel the same. My Steven died a few years ago, too. Jensen is a little taken aback. He seems to soften a bit at this. JENSEN Really? Um, how did that happen? Maggie looks at him skeptically. MAGGIE Do you really want to know? I mean, you're him, and he's... JENSEN (interrupting) I want to know. An uncomfortable beat of silence here. MAGGIE How about you first? How did I die? I mean, she? He sighs and leans against the wall. Finally relenting... JENSEN About four years ago Maggie and I went on a ski trip together. There was an accident... she broke her back and was killed. Maggie has a small reaction to this, at the memory. JENSEN So. Now you know. (beat) What about you? Maggie has a look of distant thought on her. She remembers Diana's lie. Now she has to think of one, too. MAGGIE It was... the same. Only you were killed. Your back was broken and you died. Jensen has a look of genuine compassion for her at this... but, after a moment, it fades and he gets back to business. JENSEN Well. I'm sorry. But I'd better get back to helping Dr. Davis reconstitute your friends. Maggie turns and leans up against the wall. MAGGIE Yeah. You'd better. He unlocks the door there, and walks through. The door swings closed, making an audible *click* when it closes. Automatically locked. Maggie barely glances at the closed door before walking off-screen. END ACT II OPEN ACT III INT. LIVING SPACE - NIGHT Rembrandt, leaning down with a hand on Colin's forehead, stands up. He paces a little to the side, as Maggie walks in. In the back, Mallory is asleep. Apparently he fell asleep on the same cot that he was sitting on earlier. Has he moved from sitting there all day? MAGGIE (to Rembrandt, gesturing towards Colin) How's he doing? REMBRANDT He's burning up. Diana was right, his condition is a lot worse than Geiger's ever got, and he's fading fast. MAGGIE Well, I just hope she's... She's interrupted when Diana walks in. She glances back to the door as it closes. DIANA Does he have to keep standing out there? MAGGIE It's for our "protection." REMBRANDT The hell it is. They want to make sure we don't try anything in here. DIANA There's guards at all of the exits, too, if you haven't noticed. Guess she wants to make it clear that she was serious about us not leaving. Rembrandt nods. REMBRANDT It's a freakin' prison. DIANA It's our home, at least for now. Until we get Quinn and Colin... (quick beat) Where's Mallory? She looks around, but Rembrandt points her in the right direction -- seeing him, she nods. DIANA (quietly) Oh. REMBRANDT Damn crazy Fog Boy's been sitting here all day. Watching over Colin, just like me. Just kinda... staring at him. MAGGIE Understandable, I guess. I mean, he's literally the brother Mallory never had. Rembrandt nods. REMBRANDT Yeah... (smiling) I know he'd never admit it though. MAGGIE (to Diana) So, what's the word? DIANA (smiling) I think we'll be ready to go tomorrow. We'll have things arranged so we can fix up Colin and then do some minor adjustments to try and build ourselves another Quinn. That is, assuming Mallory's ready to try for it tomorrow. REMBRANDT That's good to hear. Colin's not at his best right now. (quick beat) Think he's got a chance? DIANA Yeah, I do. Quinn, on the other hand... (trails off) MAGGIE What? DIANA I don't know. We're going to have things set up as best as we can, but I'm still not sure it'll be enough. REMBRANDT You'll do your best. DIANA Of course. (smiling) Do you expect anything less? They smile back at her. DIANA I'd better get some sleep. Big day tomorrow. They nod and head for the door as Diana heads for a cot on the side of the room. INT. RESEARCH BUILDING - HALLWAY - NIGHT They emerge from the room. Next to the door stands the big, burly man that earlier came so close to strangling Maggie. She smirks at him as they pass him by. They walk down the hall now, alongside each other, talking as they go. We track with them. REMBRANDT We should probably be getting some rest soon, too. Maggie nods absent-mindedly. MAGGIE I imagine. Rembrandt stops walking. REMBRANDT Steven? She stops too and turns back to him. She nods. REMBRANDT It's not him. MAGGIE I know that. Don't you think I'd know that? But it's never gotten any easier to reconcile. I'm more used to the idea of seeing myself than I am him. REMBRANDT So, is this about seeing him again or not? MAGGIE Maybe. Partially. Not exactly. REMBRANDT What, then? A beat. She drags her foot across the floor of the hall, fidgeting. MAGGIE Lately, I've been thinking a lot about Quinn. And with Steven here now... it all brings back memories of losing him, and meeting you guys, and... (beat) Did I betray Steven? REMBRANDT What do you mean? MAGGIE Even when you guys first showed up, something about Quinn... interested me. Even then, I was attracted to him. And I felt... filthy, knowing that my husband was... in the state he was, and I was thinking about this younger man, just... REMBRANDT (interrupting) It's a lot different to think something than to act on it. It doesn't matter. She pauses on this and nods. MAGGIE Yeah... yeah, I suppose. REMBRANDT Then forget it. I know you, I know you loved Steven until the end. And you honored his memory by getting justice for his death. You spent months on a quest in his name. That matters. That was concrete. She walks over to Rembrandt and smiles. MAGGIE Damn you and how you always know how to comfort me. They embrace. INT. COMBINE LAB Diana is working here, at a console close by the combine beam firing gun. And that must mean it's the next morning, though the lack of windows in the lab hides that fact. DIANA Are we set? Panning over, we see Dr. Jensen fiddling away with a set of controls farther back from the combine beam. JENSEN Yeah. Looks like I've gotten out all the bugs that I can. Crossing and installing foreign technology into one unit isn't exactly a flawless process. Diana nods in acknowledgement of that fact. Her eyes then float off-screen. DIANA Bring him over. Panning over, past Dr. Jensen, Rembrandt and Maggie walk towards Diana, carrying Colin. Mallory stands back, his arms folded, watching them. They set Colin down in a chair, specifically the very chair that Mallory first sat in in the original combine experiment. Directly behind him we see the unusual wall indentation used by Geiger back then to supposedly "freeze" Remmy, Maggie, and the timer. Leaving Colin to sit slumped in the chair, Rembrandt and Maggie step back, standing behind Diana and in front of Jensen. Mallory steps up to join them there. MAGGIE (to Diana) How does this work? DIANA We've worked it into the combine beam. We can use the cell generative capabilities of the Kromagg biotech to stabilize Colin's structure without actually hitting him with the "combine" technology. Obviously that's the preference. We don't want to be combining or separating him into anything. She smiles at her own little joke. Maggie nods in understanding. DIANA The biotech will use the beam to read off of his cell structure, and then follow the gene sequence to stabilize him and reverse his detioration, just as it would create new bioskin cells on a manta ship by reading off the existing cells. Maggie's face scrunches up. This is just getting her more confused. DIANA Then, when we get Mallory up there, we'll use the combine and the cell generative technology both. The combine will work the same way it did when we last tried to separate Mallory -- by specifying his quantum frequency in an attempt to, well, "shatter" the two essences and genetic structures. From what little foreign DNA we can then get out of Mallory, the biotech will be keyed to read off that with the same quantum signature that Colin had when he was up here. And from that, it'll try to follow the gene sequence pattern to try and... I guess you'd say build you a new Quinn. Maggie shakes her head. MAGGIE Whatever. As long as it works. Diana smiles again. DIANA It will. At least on Colin, it's a safe bet. Mallory's a tougher problem. But I think we can pull it off. (quick beat, to Jensen) You ready? Jensen is still fiddling. He finally stops and nods to her. DIANA Alright then. Initiating beam on my mark. Three... two... one... mark. She hits a switch simultaneously as Dr. Jensen turns a dial up on his own console. A thin blue beam emerges from the combine and fires into Colin. Colin is still for a moment. Remmy and Maggie seem to be holding their breath. In his chair, Colin stirs just slightly. Then, he jolts! It's just once, like a quick seizure. Maggie and Remmy share a look. Mallory gives them both a very uncertain glance. Colin is still again, for a couple of beats... but then, once more, jolts! And then again. Rembrandt shakes his head anxiously, grabbing Diana's shoulder. REMBRANDT That thing's gonna kill him! DIANA No! It's alright! The stabilization is expected to be a shock to a system in such detioration. Remmy calms, backing off. DIANA Just... trust me. Another beat. Colin stirs a bit more. Diana sees this, and reacts by shutting down the beam. MAGGIE Is he... ? DIANA (smiling) I think he'll be fine. Rembrandt is already to Colin's side. He helps him up. Maggie runs over and helps Rembrandt in bringing him back alongside Mallory. They sit him down against the wall of the lab. REMBRANDT (to Colin) How you feeling? COLIN I feel... (long beat) ...better? Rembrandt puts his hands on both of Colin's shoulders and nods. Maggie smiles at Colin warmly. REMBRANDT Yeah, that's what we wanna hear. Maggie embraces Rembrandt quickly in joy, then leans over and hugs Colin. MAGGIE We've missed you. COLIN Well, it's good to be back. Actually, I think it's good to be anywhere, as long as it's just one place. Maggie nods, smiling, and laughs a little at Colin's remark. Rembrandt turns to Mallory. REMBRANDT I guess you're up. Mallory nods, uncomfortably shooting his eyes over towards Dr. Jensen. Rembrandt follows his gaze, to see Dr. Jensen once more adjusting things behind them. REMBRANDT I think he has to do that. Part of the changing of the guard, you know? Splitting you doesn't work the same. Mallory looks unconvinced. He steps up next to Diana. Dr. Jensen turns towards her and raises a hand. JENSEN Just a second. Trying to get the last few kinks out. These things weren't meant to work together like this. Mallory looks directly at Diana, a very skeptical, you-gotta-be-kidding-me look on his face. DIANA It'll be okay. MALLORY Why do I get the feeling that we're all more concerned about the separation than we are about what it may do to me? DIANA That's not true. It won't hurt you. I'm in charge here, okay? Do you trust me? MALLORY (still skeptical) Yeah... (more certainly) Yeah. DIANA Okay, then get over to that chair and let us do our best. If this works, you'll be your own person for the first time in two years. If it doesn't... well, you'll still be here, just as you are. He nods to her and, slowly, heads over to the chair. Sitting down in the chair once more, he looks around, uneasily taking in his surroundings. Diana looks over to Dr. Jensen. He looks back and nods. She then turns her gaze on Mallory. DIANA You ready? MALLORY (acidly) Sure... why not? Diana smiles at him despite - or perhaps because of? - his tone and nods. DIANA Okay, then. Once more. Three... two... MALLORY (softly, to himself) Here we go again... DIANA ... one... mark. Diana hits one switch on her board, and immediately starts turning up a dial as Dr. Jensen once more does the same. This time, the more standard combine beam of bright orange shoots into Mallory. He grits his teeth momentarily before letting his head fall back. Whether he's in pain or just falling asleep is hard to tell, as his mouth hangs open slightly and he seems to go limp. His image begins to vibrate rapidly in the chair. The separation beginning. Rembrandt and Maggie stand together, and share a look. Their hands reach out for one another and hold on tight. They share a desperate grip on each other and on everything they lost two years ago. Mallory's face begins to shimmer into two, gradually pulling out what's left of Quinn and phasing him into existence. DIANA (nodding and grinning) It's working... Maggie looks at Rembrandt with a hopeful smile. He grins happily right back at her. DIANA We need to turn up the power. She does so, pushing in on a knob and twisting it clockwise. Over on Mallory, the intensity of the vibration increases. An vague image of a person seems to start to shimmer right in front of Mallory face, as though Quinn is beginning to be pulled out in front of Mallory. The image begins to solidify, taking a shape... Then, the image starts to warp and fade. Maggie looks to Diana. MAGGIE What's happening? What's wrong?! DIANA I'm not sure... Steven Jensen, meanwhile, is hitting a variety of buttons, typing on his console while maintaining a solid look of calm. JENSEN It's too much. The biotech was never meant to create this much organic material at once. It was intended for gradual construction, not building nearly an entire organism. Back at Mallory, he's reverted back to the basic vibrating state. It's still trying to separate, but just backtracking now. Maggie has Rembrandt's arm in a death grip. She's afraid, for Quinn's life as well as for her own future without it. ANGLE ON - COLIN Colin watches intensely from the sidelines. He can feel the tension of the moment, yet is fascinated by his lack of understanding. He's clueless as to what's going on, but knows it's not a good thing right now. BACK TO LAST ANGLE DIANA (to Jensen) What should we do? JENSEN We could still try... very slowly, over the course of many hours, it may work. But the intensity of such prolonged strain on his composition could very well destroy the friend you do have. He nods to Mallory at this. Diana looks over to him. Maggie and Rembrandt follow her gaze. All look at Mallory. CLOSE ON - REMBRANDT AND MAGGIE We see the looks on their faces, and we already know what they're going to say. Maggie looks at Rembrandt. Her face is in agony. MAGGIE (quietly, to Rembrandt) We can't. He nods, his eyes cast downward. REMBRANDT Diana... BACK TO LAST ANGLE She looks back at them. Sees their faces. Rembrandt nods to her. She knows what it means - she was already expecting this. DIANA (to Jensen) Shut it down. JENSEN What? DIANA Do it. They both turn off down a dial simultaneously. Mallory solidifies into himself once more. Diana flicks off a switch. The beam vanishes. ANGLE ON - MALLORY Mallory slumps over even more, then, as if awakening once more, straightens. He looks around himself. Seeing that nothing and no one else is there, he looks over at Maggie and Rembrandt. ANGLE ON - REMBRANDT AND MAGGIE They look just as pained as they did a moment ago. Rembrandt is trying to remain the stronger one. Maggie is leaning on him so desperately that she could fall into him. ANGLE ON - MALLORY Sees the looks on their faces. And his own face falls. And he manages to say the only thing he can think of to try and comfort them. MALLORY I'm... sorry. ANGLE BACK Rembrandt nods to him. REMBRANDT Not your fault. We all did our best. Diana walks over to Maggie. DIANA I'm the one who should be sorry. MAGGIE No. Remmy's right. We gave it our best shot. You did everything that you could. MALLORY I guess this means this is it... we're out of luck? REMBRANDT No. I'm not buying that. Doctor... He turns around, intending to ask Jensen his opinion of future hopes... but... ANGLE ON - JENSEN'S CONSOLE There's no one there. Abandoned. BACK TO LAST ANGLE Rembrandt looks around, and doesn't see him elsewhere in the lab. REMBRANDT (to Maggie) I'll be back in a minute. I'm gonna go see if Dr. Jensen's got any other ideas. He walks off, heading for the exit of the lab. Colin gets up from along the wall and walks over to Maggie in Rembrandt's stead. Putting a hand on her shoulder. She smiles at the sight of him, but it's through tears. They embrace now. INT. RESEARCH BUILDING - HALLWAY - DAY Jensen is unlocking the doorway that we saw him go through earlier. He steps inside, letting the door swing itself closed behind him. But Rembrandt comes into the hall and sees the door closing. He jogs up lightly and grabs it before it closes, stepping through. INT. DARK LAB No windows. It's just this side of pitch black in here. REMBRANDT Hey, doc? No answer. He steps a little further into the room, heading for a dim blue light that hovers at a desk on the far side. He only makes it halfway there when a massive figure steps out from the blackness around him and grabs him about the shoulders. We see the figure illuminated by the dim blue light. It's the burly guard again. REMBRANDT Hey, man! I was just... JENSEN (V.O.) Hold him. Dr. Jensen steps out into the dim blue light from the desk. He holds a syringe in his hands. He doesn't look angry, or evil, just... business-like. Rembrants eyes seem to harden. He's concerned, but mostly angry. REMBRANDT And just what the hell you expect to do with that? Jensen answers him by sliding the syringe into his neck. Rembrandt's eyes roll to the back of his head, and, as Dr. Jensen removes the syringe, Remmy falls to the floor. ANGLE ON - REMBRANDT We hold on him, unconscious and lifeless, as our last shot. FADE TO BLACK CLOSING CREDITS END