Daniel woke from a vivid dream. He sat up in bed and looked around his apartment. It was a dark, lonely place, somewhere he came to sleep. Sha'uri had never lived to see it so it had never truly become his home. He used to spend down time at Jack's but since his friend moved to Washington Daniel worked most of his waking hours at the SGC.

He'd dreamt of the hot sands of Egypt and the deep blue skies of his childhood. He'd felt hot desert winds in his long hair and he'd wore ancient Egyptian raiment. It had been a strange dream with its sensation of flying and the feeling of power it had imparted.

A voice spoke:

"Khufu, you have stopped me, but you will pay dearly. I curse you and your lover Chay-Ara. You will die and be born, many times, always seeking, finding and loving her yet never able to keep your woman safe."

Daniel woke and rose to get some water then saw the strange objects on his desk. An ancient mace lay on his journal and a golden winged helmet with a hawk-like beak looked at him with empty eyes.

Oh For Crying Out Loud!

Part 2

Daniel had ignored the helmet and mace all morning. He'd walked around it, covered them with a towel and finally gone into another room. But no matter how hard he tried or how seriously he wished, the unexplainable objects refused to disappear.

Finally, he had to move them from off of his paperwork. They were both much heavier than he had anticipated and warm to the touch. When he picked up the helmet a soft leather harness fell out of it. There was a medallion with a raised emblem of a hawk on the front, and on the back was affixed a plain boxlike attachment.

He sat down at his desk and turned the headpiece around in his hands. It drew him to it, so beautifully and intricately designed. No seams were visible, as if the headpiece and its metal wings had been cast from one mold.

Daniel had an inexplicable urge to put the helmet on. He certainly knew better, too many things had happened to him and his team when they had inadvertently improperly handled alien objects. Still, what could possible happen?

The front door opened and Jack s voice rang out. "Hey, Daniel, are you ready?"

Part 3

"All right, what is that thing and where did you get it?" Jack looked suspiciously at the golden helmet.

Daniel could only shake his head. "I really don't know. It just appeared here in my room this morning.

The older man walked over and stared at the object in distaste. "It appeared? Like alakazam sisboombah? From where?" He reached forward to pick it up only to have his hand knocked away by his friend.

"NO, don't touch it! I told you, I don t know where it came from."

Jack frowned at him. "So, last night after you went to bed, you're saying that this thing just poofed onto your desk? No light, no beam, no United Postal Service?"

"That's right. I worked late, went to bed and had a really weird dream. When I woke up this morning, there it was."

"Just this?"

"This mace was lying next to it." Daniel pointed to the object next to the helm.

"Oh, great. So, have you been talking to Oma or Thor or any other friendly alien lately?" Jack bent to look in the empty eye sockets.

"No not at all."

"And what was your dream about?"

"Flying, Jack, it was about flying."

"Flying? In a plane flying?"

"No, with wings." Daniel looked uncomfortable. "And about a curse."

"Of course there is. Daniel, do you ever have just normal dreams?"

Daniel pointed at the objects sitting on his desk.

Jack sighed. "Of course not. What kind of curse?"

Daniel sat down next to the artifacts. "It said, Khufu, you have stopped me, but you will pay dearly. I curse you and your lover Chay-Ara. You will die and be born, many times, always seeking, finding and loving her yet never able to keep your woman safe."

Jack frowned and sat across the desk. "Sha'uri?"

Daniel shook his head, "No, it definitely said Chay-Ara, not Sha'uri."

"Maybe it was a case of mistaken identity."

"Maybe."

"Jack made a face at the helmet. Well, let's go. Our reservations are at 8."

Both men got up and stared down at the offending objects for a moment. Jack reached over and took his friend s shoulder. "No Daniel, it's not for you. It could have been, once upon a time, but it's not you now. Let's go, okay?"

"Okay. I'll get my coat."

As he left the room, Jack glared at the helmet. Not him. Not this time.

Part 4

Jack and Daniel had returned from the restaurant and were sitting the apartment drinking beer and discussing their new separate futures. Daniel still wanted to go to Atlantis and do some research into the Ancients and their city. Jack was talking about finally retiring and finally going to Minnesota, or possibly Atlantis, just for the fishing of course.

The doorbell rang unexpectedly and Daniel got up to answer the door. Two young men were standing in the hallway; they were both tall, muscular, casually dressed and carried themselves with confidence. The dark haired one seemed to be the leader, the other a sandy blond stood behind him frowning. He carried an apparently empty duffel bag.

"May I help you?" He asked the strangers politely.

The dark haired one spoke "Hello, my name is Clark Kent. This is Oliver Queen. We're looking for Doctor Daniel Jackson."

"I'm he. What can I do for you?" He heard Jack get to his feet behind him.

"Well, this is kind of awkward, but... "

"We're looking for some items that have gone missing." The other man, Queen, interposed.

Jack came up behind Daniel. "What kind of items?"

Kent looked around the vacant hallway and said softly, "May we talk to you?"

Daniel stepped aside and Jack backed up into the room. "Please, come in."

"What's this all about?" Jack asked suspiciously.

The two young men looked skeptically at the suspicious General. "This is my friend, Jack O'Neill." Daniel introduced him.

"General Jack O'Neill," the older man growled out.

Clark Kent nodded his acknowledgement of his rank. "Sir."

Daniel escorted the men into his living room and all four of them sat down. "So, you're missing some items?"

"Yes," Kent started again. "Some items that belonged to a dear friend of ours who recently passed away. He was an Archaeologist, Carter Hall, perhaps you've heard of him."

Daniel looked pensive. "I have heard of Doctor Hall, I actually met him once several years ago. I respected his work."

Queen looked at Daniel closely. "You bear a striking resemblance to him. Are you related in some way?"

Daniel nodded. "He's a very distant cousin on my mother's side. But I never really knew him other than that brief meeting and, of course, by reputation."

"So what's gone missing?" Jack asked impatiently.

Clark Kent replied. "Carter had an unusual helmet that he said had been in his family a long time. It's gold with wings."

"Was there anything else that would have been with it?" Daniel asked quietly.

"There was a mace, a stick with a ball on the end covered with points. It was gold too." Oliver answered quickly.

Daniel sighed. "Does this helmet have any special powers that go with it?"

Clark and Oliver quickly looked at each other and then back at their host. Clark answered, "I don't think the helmet had any particular powers ."

"How about the harness that was in it?" Jack asked flatly.

Clark frowned at Oliver to be quiet then nodded. "Truthfully, the harness has some special uh, adaptations. So you do have the items."

Daniel nodded, "Yes, but I don't know how they got here. I woke up yesterday morning and they were sitting on my desk. Do you know how they would have gotten here?"

Clark sighed. "Carter was a very special man. He had special talents and knew a great deal about many things." He shook his head sadly. "He died saving my fiance's life. When we took him back to Egypt to bury him, the items disappeared. We were afraid that they might have been ah, misappropriated."

The archaeologist nodded. "I can imagine you concern. Many things in Egypt, ancient things, have more power that one would expect."

"Daniel," Jack growled a warning.

Daniel waved a hand at him. "I do have the items, and they have been causing me to have dreams, very strange dreams."

"They probably came to you because of your family relationship to Carter." Kent looked around the apartment. "Are you married?"

Daniel smiled sadly. "Widowed, my wife Sha'uri died several years ago. She was of Egyptian descent."

Clark and Oliver shared a surprised look. "Not Chay-ara?"

"No, similar but not the same. She was kidnapped and killed by her captors." He replied sadly. "Chay-ara was Carter's wife?"

"Yes, but she died years ago. He never really told us what happened." Clark replied.

"Well, at least they're together now." Daniel looked at them, "and will together again."

"That's what he believed," Oliver nodded. "At least that what he told me."

"So," Jack spoke up, "You want the stuff back? What are you going to do with them?"

"We'll return them to the museum in Metropolis."

Jack looked at the two men oddly, "Until they're needed again?" he asked.

"Yes, until they are needed again." Clark agreed.

Daniel got up and went into his bedroom and returned with the helmet, the mace and the leather harness. "It's just as well." He smiled at Clark who had stood up to receive the artifacts. "I'd probably get into trouble with them. They are very tempting."

"Only the right man can use them successfully though you could probably make them work." Clark agreed. "You are very similar to Carter in many ways."

"Yeah, well, Daniel here has other fish to fry," Jack commented. "One day he'll be as famous as your Carter Hall and then some."

"Carter never wanted to be famous." Oliver commented sadly. "We didn't exactly see eye to eye on a lot of things but he pulled my cookies out of the fire several times. He was a great man."

"And will be again one day." Daniel said softly, "If my dream is true."

"I believe so." Clark opened the duffel and wrapped the items in felt materiel before stowing them safely away.

"So what if these things show up here again?" Jack asked as the two men left the apartment. "What should we do?"

Clark smiled softly. "If they show up again, then we will abide by their decision. They evidently have a mind of their own about some things."

Oliver shook his head. "I wonder how they got here from his grave in Egypt."

Clark shrugged, "Maybe they flew." He shook hands with Daniel and Jack. "Thanks again."

Daniel smiled and shook Oliver's hand. "Take care of yourselves."

Jack gripped Queen's hand firmly. "Be careful of the VRA guys. I don't like their politics."

"Thanks, we will." The blond grinned back at him acknowledging his comment.

"And if you ever need a job, contact me at the Pentagon." Jack offered mysteriously. "I have something that just might interest you boys, and any friends you have too."

"Thanks General, we'll keep that in mind." Clark smiled at him.

Jack and Daniel watched the two young men until they got into the elevator. "Jack, were you serious?"

"I sure was, don't you read the newspaper Daniel?"

"No, evidently not the right parts."

"Well, when Clark mentioned Metropolis I understood who and what they are. Come on, buy me a beer and I'll tell you all about it."

Daniel smiled at his friend and they reentered the apartment and closed the door behind them.