Abnormal

Cross-over between Stargate: Atlantis, Stargate: SG-1, and Sanctuary

Chapter 1:

The world was undisturbed as the private research jet flew quietly over the Nevada desert.

"I hate the desert." Ashley complained as she looked out the window. "I prefer places that get rain and snow."

Dr. Helen Magnus raised an eyebrow as she chuckled softly.

Ashley sat down in the seat across from her mother. "I suppose you like feeling all hot and sticky."

"I am often able to put my discomfort out of my mind." She said with an amused smile as Ashley noticed the strange look on Will's face.

"What?" She demanded.

"Nothing." Will said, quickly.

"And my name's Bigfoot." She said, winning a look from her mother.

"Well, you have to admit that "hot and sticky" as you stated, is part of your "bag 'em" job description." He said, shrugging his shoulders while keeping his hands in his pockets.

Helen laughed softly as he sat down beside Ashley.

"I am still a girl, you know." Ashley protested. "There are some things that girls - no matter what they do for a living - enjoy doing. Bathing is one of those things."

"If you say so." Will said with a shrug.

Ashley glared at him before turning a more professional eye to her mother. "So...what boogeyman are we after today?"

Helen rolled her eyes. "The "boogeyman" as you so brilliantly named him is an abnormal that seems to have been feeding on humans. It seems to literally drain the life out of its prey."

"A vampire?" Ashley asked, eyes wide with skepticism. "You have GOT to be kidding me."

"The samples Henry showed me didn't seem to be the work of sanguine vampirus." She said, shaking her head. "There seemed to be some way that this abnormal had of almost interfacing with a human body."

"Interfacing?" Will asked, confused. "Like a computer?"

"Not exactly." She said, shaking her head. "If that were the case, it would be as if two central processing units could be connected, and that one could drain the power out of it with little effort. No, this is much more complex."

"How are they...interfacing?" Ashley asked, looking at her mother.

Helen reached into a briefcase and pulled out a small stack of photographs. "I would imagine that these puncture wounds here would indicate five sharp surfaces. If these creatures are at all humanoid..."

"The hand." Will interrupted.

Helen nodded, in agreement.

"So this...creature...feeds on really old humans?"

Helen bit her lip in concentration. "I don't think so."

"Well, these aren't exactly young people..." Will said, looking at the photographs of the casualties.

"I know." She said, nodding. "But according to the DNA tests I performed, the bodies belonged to Amanda and Heath Knight."

She looked up, and noticed that she had their undivided attention. She inhaled before she finished. "And they were both twenty-five-year-old newlyweds."

Ashley and Will exchanged looks before looking back at Helen. "What are you saying, Mom? That this ghoul took actual years off their lives?"

"It looks that way." Helen said, nodding gravely.

"And we're going to take that thing head-on?" Will asked, skeptically.

Helen's face told him that she shared his worry. If they didn't do this right, they might not manage to do it at all.