I don't own Stargate Atlantis, or any of the characters or actors, if I did own SGA, it would be in season 6 right now, looking forward to season 7.

Stargate Atlantis: The Dark Side of McKay

Chapter 1: The accident.

A team of scientists, led by Dr. Rodney McKay and Dr. Radek Zelenka, explore a darkened corridor of the huge city. Water logged furniture and debris are scattered haphazardly in the corridor.

"She used to leave the lights on, all over the house. Every room. Drove my father nuts." McKay whined, referring to his sister, Jeanie.

Radek just chuckled. "For me, it was my brother. Only we had no lights. He used to leave candles burning everywhere." Zelenka reminisced.

"Well, you know what? No one wants to hear any more stories about how poor you were as a child, all right? We already feel as sorry for you as is humanly possible." McKay complained, hoping to end the story.

Radek directed his next comment to Dr. Esposito

"Uh, he burned the house down, you know?" Radek said, concluding his tale.

"My sister was afraid of the dark, and used to blame me for leaving the lights on. Of course, my father believed her. He never sided with me." Rodney complained, redirecting the attention to himself.

"We had to live in a tent in the dead of winter for three months." Radek added, ignoring Rodney's comment. This annoyed Rodney.

"You know, at least my stories relate to what we're doing." Rodney complained.

"Well, so do mine!" Zelenka defended.

"We're trekking all over the city, shutting down everything the Ancients activated while they were oh so briefly in control, so we can stop the power from draining from our one precious ZPM. How does that relate to your idiot brother burning the house down?" Rodney challenged.

"Okay, if we don't succeed" Zelenka began, but Rodney thoughtlessly interrupted.

"We're not going to have to live in a tent in the dead of winter!"

"It's a metaphor." Zelenka clarified.

Doctor Esposito ran her scanner over one of the closed doors, then called for McKay, Zelenka was behind Rodney.

"The control panel, it's completely shot." Esposito determined.

McKay brushes close to her as he forces himself past to the control panel. And once more demonstrates his PHD in sarcasm, and what a gentleman he's not.

"Really? You think so? You know, I don't get these Ancients. They're supposed to be so smart? Then why activate something that you don't need and you're not using, huh?" Rodney griped.

Zelenka shrugged.

"Well, maybe they didn't have time to get to it, you know, before the human form Replicators that you reprogrammed attacked." Zelenka suggested.

Zelenka flashed a smile, flirting with Esposito.

"Yes, yes. We all know what happened." Rodney chimed in, not wanting to be reminded that his actions lead to the deaths of a large number of living Ancients. His expression softens as he nods to Esposito again.

The door then opens.

"Ah! Voila." McKay gloated, then lead the way into the darkened room.

"You're just angry that you couldn't figure out how to override the Ancient protocols that kept us from shutting this place down remotely from the control room." Zelenka suspected

"Hey, neither could you." McKay shot back.

"Yes, but I didn't bet everyone a month's pay that I could do it." Was Radek's witty retort.

Rodney pointed a sharp finger at Zelenka.

"You." he paused, remembering the other people in the room.

"Okay, you know what? Look around, see if you can figure out how to turn this place offàwhatever it is." McKay said then approached a lighted panel on a one step podium and starts to hook up his tablet PC.

"Wait, are-are you sure you should be going up there?" Zelenka nervously objected.

"How else am I going to find out what this place does, huh?" McKay asked, then started muttering about there not being anything about the lab in the Ancient database, not bothering to keep his voice down.

"Oh, there probably is, we just don't have the time to. . ." Zelenka began, but stopped when Rodney managed to power up the device.

"Oh, here we go." Rodney announced.

"Ah. Okay, there should be a main power switch..." Radek explained trying to point to something on the control panel, but McKay impatiently brushes him off.

"Yes, I know that! What do you think I'm doing?" McKay harshly retorted.

"All right." Radek conceded.

Zelenka raises his arm back and runs it down his head, stepping further back. He fidgets, then gives a scheming grin. Almost as though he knows something that Rodney doesn't.

"All right, double or nothing."

Rodney scoffs. "Oh, you're on."

"All right." Zelenka said excitedly.

"All right. It's gonna be around here somewhere." Rodney said as he studied the panel.

Suddenly a panel overhead lights up, shining down on McKay. He looks up as a startled Zelenka and others step back.

While they watch a thin beam of light comes down from the overhead panel and entwines itself around McKay.

The system overloads and short circuits, sending electrical arcs around the room. Causing everyone to retreat ot a safe distance.

Finally the machine shuts down, leaving the room in darkness again.

Zelenka cautiously approaches.

"Rodney? What happened?" Zelenka wondered.

McKay turned to face Zelenka, his eyes wide with fear, and uncertainty.

"I'm not sure, but I think I just lost. Big time."

Regardless of how things are looking, this will NOT be like the SGA episode it was based on.