"Silence!" T-1000 ordered, turning his fierce-looking visage toward them.

Any thoughts Twiki or Robot might have had about responding were soon banished when T-1000 morphed one of his appendages into a deadly razor-sharp weapon that he brandished at the two less sophisticated automatons.  "One more word from either of you," T-1000 warned, "and I'll cut you both in half."

Dr. Doom tsk-tsked.  "With all due respect, T-1000," he said condescendingly, "I hardly think that would be in any of our best interests.  If Lord Vader is correct, our adversaries outnumber us. That should hardly be a concern to us with our superior powers and knowledge...but one can never be too careful."

Slowly, T-1000 turned toward the armor-clad king of Latveria and glared at him for a moment, then morphed his limb back to a humanoid arm shape.  His features reflected an unfeeling rage toward his circumstances.  "I do not belong here," he said.  "There is no Sarah Conner here...no John Conner...no renegade Terminator. I am not a party to this game for which the rest of you have been gathered."  He started toward the door.

Doom, showing the absolute confidence of an absolute despot, blocked his path.  "Whether you believe you should be here or not is irrelevant," he stated firmly.  "The fact remains, dear sir, that you are here.  Some power has brought us here for some purpose.  I believe that purpose is for us to gain the power to dominate our own realms forever.  And to do that, we must defeat the champions that have also been brought here."

"Dr. Doom is quite correct."

All heads turned toward the strong amplified voice that boomed from the other armor-clad man in the room.

Darth Vader cut a wide swath through the narrow room as he came over to Doom and T-1000.  "Even as you two carry on this discussion, on the other side of this island our rivals are gathering to attempt escape.  One of them is known well to me--my son, a traitor to his own family.  And though the others are unfamiliar, they too are obviously champions of their own realm. Thus, they are our enemies.  No doubt a great battle is meant to take place here.  The ignorant peasants and the primitive dwellings are not what is to be fought--they are merely obstacles to our success."

As Vader spoke, Riker seemed to smile broadly.  "I think I know who is responsible for all this," he finally said.  "And if I am right, we don't dare show any weakness or mercy.  If we do...our enemies are not the ones we'll need to worry about."

All looked at him as he looked out the window toward the beach.  

Though no one had set a time for the next meeting, no one had to.  It was as if each of them received an internal signal as the sun descended and night filled the skies.  Each of the fourteen left their bungalows at almost the same time and headed for the beaches, finally rendezvousing below the cliffs near a set of caves.  Cooper took a quick head count of the group, then spoke. "All right, has anyone given an escape plan any thought?  If you who say you can fly have found air escape impossible, what's next to try?"

Nelson looked out over the ocean.  "Swimming," he said matter-of-factly.

All eyes turned toward the seasoned seaman.  "You've got to be kidding," Kira scoffed.

"Not at all," Nelson said.  "You--the one called 'Superman'--you said your cellular structure gave you extended strength and endurance.  You could probably swim many miles without being tired."

"True," Superman commented.  "Maybe whatever blocks air escape doesn't extend to the surface of the water.  I could swim out beyond the barrier..."

"And bring back help of some kind," Kira realized. "Preferably military."

"It's certainly worth a try," Nelson noted.  "Who knows--perhaps my own Seaview is out there even now, searching for me."  He looked toward the sea wistfully.

Odo stepped forward.  "If that's the case, we might all want to try escaping together," he said.  "I could transform myself into some kind of barge or boat to hold us all."

"A boat large enough to transport us all would need some sort of propulsion," MacGyver said.  "I don't suppose anyone found the parts to make an engine?"      "I found very little that looked like it might be useful," Scotty sighed.  "Just a bunch of antiques and cobblestones."

"But there are other kinds of propulsion," Chase smiled. "Perhaps something or someone could push the boat from behind.  A large sea mammal, like a whale--I could obtain that shape with a little effort."

"I could give you a hand," Ralph remarked.  "Super strength does seem to be one of the few consistent parts of this suit I can use."

"There might be predators," Maya noted.  "I could probably turn into some sort of creature to act as a guard to our boat as we make our way beyond this energy barrier."

"But how does this actually help?" Veronica asked.  "We'll still be stuck in a world where none of us belong."

"Not necessarily," Cooper said.  "It could be that if we make our way beyond the energy barrier, we cross the gateway back into our own worlds.  I've done that before--I'm quite familiar with being drawn into other realms.  The trick is to conquer the fear of the unknown and face the crisis with perfect courage."  He stopped talking and looked around, as if something had caught the corner of his eye.

Luke shivered slightly.

Cooper turned to the Jedi, whose face now bore concern.  "You felt it too," Cooper noted.

Luke nodded.  "Whatever we do," he said, "we need to do it quickly.  I sense others have arrived here--others who do not necessarily share our goals."

Scarlet's ears perked up.  "You did say this might be a game," he said to Cooper.  "I suspect the other game pieces have just been placed on the board."

"The Gathering," Duncan whispered.

Everyone looked at Duncan oddly.  No one could understand why he kept talking about the gathering when it was clear that this was a gathering already.  Superman finally spoke up.  "It's settled, then," he stated firmly.  "I'll swim out ahead and make sure it's even possible to leave the island.  Then, Odo will turn into his boat, and with Ralph's help, the rest of you will get out to sea--and Dr. Chase and Maya will provide their assistance from there.  Think you can handle your part, Ralph?"

"Sure thing," Ralph replied.  "I guess I can tread water better than I can fly."

Superman patted the other suited hero on the shoulder.  "When we get out of here," he said, "if we're not immediately swept away, I'll be happy to give you flying lessons."

Ralph looked awe-struck.  "Really?"

Superman nodded.

"That'd be great."  Ralph smiled broadly.

"Ahem," Kira said, clearing her throat.  "I hate to interrupt this male bonding moment, but how are we going to know if you made it or not?"

Everyone looked at each other, as if the question had not occurred to them.  "I don't suppose any of you have a radio you could loan me?" Superman asked.

Odo shook his head.  "Our communicators don't work," he said, gesturing over the gold insignia pin on his chest.

"The radio in my cap is dead, too," Scarlet added, pointing to his red cap.

"Just shout back," Chase remarked.  "I'll hear you."

Superman looked at Chase oddly.

Chase blushed slightly.  "I have heightened sensory perceptions," he noted.  "A side effect of training myself to cross the boundaries that divide man from animal."

"Really?" Maya asked.  "That would be a nice thing to have--a nice accompaniment to molecular transformation.  How is it done?"

"I'd be happy to show you some exercises that would help..."

"Ahem," Kira interrupted.  "I think it's wonderful that some of you have found you have things in common, but it seems to me everyone is forgetting the main goal--to escape."

"Then let's get started," Cooper announced.  "Superman, on your way.  MacGyver, maybe you could help Constable Odo figure out the right size and shape boat to carry all of us with maximum efficiency."

"Sure thing," MacGyver replied.

"Then let's get cracking," Kira said impatiently, already heading for water's edge.

Nelson turned to Scarlet.  "The lady knows what she wants," he remarked.  "And she knows how to get people's attention.  It's too bad women aren't allowed to command wartime efforts in my world."

"Perhaps you can do something about that," Scarlet replied.

"Perhaps I can," Nelson noted with a smile.  "But I'd like to get back to command my own vessel first."  

"What are they doing?"

Diana regally paced around the overlook point where the seven forces of darkness stood looking down over the fourteen champions. "I thought you said this was some sort of game or contest, Doom," she accused.  "But it looks like the other pieces are running away."

"Indeed it does, Diana," Doom replied.  "I am not certain what is going on.  Surely they too know why they are here..."

"They do," Vader noted.  "But they are thinking only of escape...of trying to avoid conflict."

"Too late."  T-1000 started to descend to the beach below.

"Wait!"

All heads turned to Riker, who was glancing back up toward the Village.  "I don't think the gamemaster is going to allow them to go anywhere," he noted.  "So let's just watch and see what happens. Who knows--we may be able to win this game without any real effort on our part at all."

Robot turned the front of his bubble head to Twiki.  "I am not programmed to harm humans," he said to the smaller robot.  "Why are we here with those who wish to harm the ones below us?"

"Bee-dee-bee-dee-bee-dee-would you rather we were down there with them with these things plotting against us?" Twiki replied.

Silence, as if Robot was thinking about it.  "Warning...warning..."  

Superman turned toward the others as the group finally reached water's edge.  "O.K., give me a chance to swim about a mile or so out," he said.  "That should give me a pretty good indication of how far out this energy barrier extends."

"A mile?" Kira asked, looking puzzled.

"About 2 kilometers," Scotty said, translating the number system.

"Two kilometers?  We don't have that kind of time!"

"Trust me," Superman replied, "you won't have to wait long. Once I've made sure it's safe enough, I'll call back to Dr. Chase, and then Odo will turn into his boat and the rest of you will get underway."

"After that," Nelson said, "it's in God's hands.  The sea can be unforgiving to men who make mistakes."

"Let's take it one step at a time," MacGyver cautioned. "First, Superman needs to find out whether any of this is possible."

"Right."  With that, the Man Of Steel headed out into the water and began to swim with speed that astonished even Ralph.  A few seconds later, Superman had reached the mile boundary.

"Guess he wasn't just bragging," Veronica said in Kira's ear.

Kira rolled her eyes.

Chase looked out over the horizon at Superman and cocked his head slightly.  "Right," he finally said, "he's done it.  He says he's bounced up and down and back and forth and can't feel any kind of energy wall.  Constable Odo, it's your turn."

"Right," Odo said, then turned to MacGyver.  "How big do you think the boat has to be?"

Mac thought about it.  "Well, I'd say we were talking about needing a small barge--are you familiar with 20th century barges, Mr. Odo?"

"Not really..."

"Hold it!" Chase interrupted.

All eyes turned to him.  "What is it?" Luke asked.

Chase was listening intently.  "There's something wrong...I can barely hear him.  There's some kind of roaring noise around him."

"A sea vessel?" Nelson asked.

Chase shook his head.  "Not mechanical...it sounds almost like a beast of some sort."

Ralph looked as far out to sea as he could.  Suddenly he gasped.

"What do you see?" Cooper asked.

"You don't want to know," Ralph replied.

Suddenly, Duncan pointed outward.  "Look!"

All eyes watched as Superman swam back toward the shore, pursued by a gigantic silver-white balloonesque sphere.

"It's going to catch him!" Scarlet realized.

And catch him it did, seemingly swallowing the Man Of Steel whole about halfway to shore.  Superman pressed against its rubbery skin, trying to break through this biological prison.

Odo was the most shocked of anyone on the beach.  Was this creature similar to himself in construction, texture, origin?  Was this the reason he had been led to this island--to do battle with beings like himself?

"It's coming closer!" Kira said aloud.

Duncan drew his katana.  "I'll slice it open if it comes ashore," he announced.  "We'll get him out of there one way or another."

"We'd better," Veronica said.  "I don't think we can afford to lose such a valuable partner in this game."  Then, she added under her breath, "or such a cute one."

Chase turned toward her and glared.

"Oops," she smiled.  "Don't tell anybody I said that."

The bubble drifted closer to shore.  Superman pushed against it harder, harder, harder...

Suddenly there was a tremendous explosion.  Pieces of whitish skin and gelatin-like substances sprayed everywhere as Superman tore the creature apart from the inside.

Everyone on the shore jumped back from the flying debris. "Ick," Veronica pronounced.

Another whitish bubble rose from the depths and began approaching Superman, who had stopped moving.

Scarlet threw off his cap and vest, kicked off his boots, and raced for the water.

"Captain Scarlet!" Ralph shouted.

Scarlet did not listen.  Instead he swam out to Superman, who was looking dazed from his experience with the bubble-beast, hooked his arm around the other man's shoulders and neck, and began swimming with him back toward shore.

The bubble-beast got closer.

Superman finally seemed to get a second wind as he reversed Scarlet's grip faster than the other man would have thought possible and propelled the two of them with his super-strong legs through the water back to shore.

The bubble-beast, apparently deciding its work was done, sank back beneath the water.

For a long moment, everyone just stared at the Man Of Steel and the Indestructible Man as they stood on the beach, dripping and exhausted.  Finally, Ralph spoke.  "I take it that is not the way we're going to get out of here?"

Superman shook his head.  "Afraid not," he replied.  "That is, unless you enjoy being a meal for a giant jellyfish."

"No, thank you," Scarlet replied, finally catching his breath. "I'm indestructible, not indigestible."

Superman smiled.  "Thanks for your help, Scarlet."

Scarlet shrugged.  "No sense in anyone dying just yet.  The game's hardly begun."  He shook his arms in disgust, trying to get the excess water and goop from the dead gelatin creature off himself.

"Let me help," Superman offered.  "You get dizzy easily, Scarlet?"

"Not really," he replied.  "And I recover quickly when I do."

"Good."  With that, Superman threw Scarlet with a twisting motion into the air.

Scarlet's body rotated as if he were in the spin cycle of a washing machine, then dropped into Superman's waiting arms. Superman stood him upright again.

Scarlet grabbed Superman's shoulder for support.  "I don't recover that quickly," he said in a shaky voice.

"Somebody give him a hand," Superman urged.

Ralph came over and helped Scarlet make his way over to his clothes as Superman seemed to float about a foot off the ground and whirled himself around in much the same fashion, using the centrifugal force to dry himself off.  Superman lowered himself back to the ground and straightened his hair.  "Much better," he replied.  "What was that thing out there?  I've never seen anything like it."

Cooper almost seemed to laugh.  "Rovers," he said.  "I should have guessed."

Kira turned to Cooper.  "You knew those things were out there!" she accused.

"No, I didn't...but I do know what they are," he admitted.

A fresh wave of suspicious glances turned Cooper's way.

"Look, it's not what you think," he said.  "In my world, there was a TV show in the 1960's called The Prisoner.  It was set in a village just like this one--they even called it The Village--and everyone there wore numbered tags and nobody used names.  It starred Patrick McGoohan as a British secret agent who resigned from intelligence work only to find himself captured as he was trying to leave the country.  He woke up from an odd sleep to find he'd been brought here, wearing clothes like the ones I'm wearing and a pin with the number 6.  His nemesis was Number Two--a different Number Two every week--and whenever he tried to escape, they'd always thwart him.  One of the ways they did was by using a bubble-shaped beast to guard the coastline called 'Rover'.  Turns out there was more than one Rover and they wouldn't even let you get close to the water.  When we were able to make it this far without running into one, I thought our captors had forgotten that aspect of the series.  But looks like they've managed to cover every detail, including that one."

Chase nodded.  "You know the story better than I do," he said. "But you're right.  Down to the cut of Cooper's suit, this is a copy of the setting for The Prisoner."

"Terrific," Veronica groaned.  "We've got fan fiction writers for captors."

"Did the prisoner ever escape?" Scotty asked.

"Well, that's open for debate," Cooper replied.  "In the last couple of episodes, he seems to finally beat Number Two at his own game and then escape--but the whole thing is like one long surreal dream and it ends with doors that open just like they do in The Village and a shot that's just like the one in the first episode where he drives off into the sunset like he was planning to before he was captured.  So no one really knows if he escaped or not."

Luke nodded.  "No wonder you were chosen to lead us," he remarked.  "You're the only person who has any idea of what's going on here."

"I know what's going on here," Duncan announced.  "The Gathering."

Now all eyes were on Duncan, who still had his katana drawn and now had the tip of its blade buried in the sand as he leaned on its handle.  The Highlander had a curious mix of awe and determination playing across his features.

Cooper stepped toward him.  "That's the third time you've used that term, Mr. MacLeod," he said.  "What exactly is 'the gathering'?"

"Immortals believe that at the end of the world, the last two Immortals left after all the intervening struggles for life will come together for one final battle," he explained.  "As I said before, there can be only one--and this battle represents the ultimate battle between good and evil.  The one left standing at the end receives all the lifeforce from all other Immortals who have ever been.  It is the ultimate goal of all Immortals."

"You spend your lives fighting each other for the chance to be the last man alive?" Scarlet remarked, stunned.