Chapter 2

"Well this is going well isn't it?" Alex muttered under his breath as he was shoved into the cell. In his thirty-three years of life the closest Alexander had came to being arrested was the few times the local coppers drove him home after a few too many at the local boozer; now in a few short days he'd seen the inside of three jail cells, in three separate universes.

His first experience with being thrown into the klink came when visiting the Star Trek universe, contrary to popular belief the Federation wasn't incompetent, he'd been surrounded and stunned within moments of arriving on that universes Earth. Once he woke up and transported back to the central control nexus, or CCN as he started call it in his own mind, he decided to try his luck somewhere less technologically advanced.

Alexander had lasted a few hours in the Mass Effect universe before C-SEC had taken the 'unregistered visitor' into custody. 'Bloody surveillance states!' he groused mentally. One abbreviated interrogation in a Citadel Security office later and he was back in the CCN rethinking his plan.

After a few hours of research he decided to try the Stargate universe, plenty of cool toys laying around, but limited to general 21st century tech for the most part. His initial plan had been to take advantage of the 'stealth' mode LVIOS had suggested after much prompting and nick a few gadgets before 'porting out. Turns out the SGC cameras weren't bog standard Earth tech after all... they were highly advanced scanners disguised as cameras. He'd made it passed the first checkpoint before a dozen highly trained soldiers with Zats showed up.

Alexander sat brooding in the cell, this interdimensional conquer lark was a lot harder than he thought it would be. He needed a new angle, one that didn't involve him in handcuffs. With a huff he waved his hand through the floating holographic icon only he could see, triggering the return transport just as the door opened, his last image of the SGC before fading out was of a fish-faced Jack O'Neill.

'Well that almost makes it worth it'

***

Alexander was sitting again on the floor of nothingness, you'd think a hyper-dimensional technological marvel would have chairs, but apparently the 'matter construction' function is locked out, like most of the 'cool' functionality. Alexander was currently on the lowest rung on the user hierarchy, at limited user, which is why all he could access were the 'basic' function of transport, communication, self-modification / repair, along with his own data store, and some basic 'survival' applications, such as the uneffective stealth function.

As far as he could tell there was no way for him to upgrade his access either, not without an administrator showing up and upgrading him. He couldn't even access the restricted travel list. He'd always hated being restricted in computer systems, ask any IT professional and they'll tell you the same thing, but never as much as he did right now, he had the power to humble Gods within his reach, but try as he might, he couldn't grasp it.

Hacking isn't like the movies, unfortunately, it takes an extreme amount of knowledge of the system, meticulous planning, and time, lots and lots of time.

Alexander was pulled from his thoughts as his stomach rumbled. He sighed deeply and reached over to his battered backpack, looking for something to eat, only to find empty wrappers and a water bottle with half a mouthful left in it. He was going to have to leave again soon, if he wanted to keep breathing, but where to go?

His last three trips had been disastrous, he needed a new plan, he could see it was going to be a long road, thankfully the body modification system would keep him young and fit for as long as he wanted, once he worked up the courage to try it that is. The quick and easy routes to power were denied to him, but he was no stranger to hard work.

As a plan began to form in his mind, he smiled cruelly.

***

Day 4, Law and Order Universe, Sydney, Australia, July 26th 2015.

Alexander appeared in an alley of the Sydney CBD, there was no bright flash of lightning, one moment there was nothing, the next there was a slight popping sound as the air was displaced by his entrance and he was there. With a wave of his hand Alex dismissed the travel and neural access interfaces, but not before making sure the macro he'd setup for instant return to the CCN was still on his 'HUD' as he'd taken to think of it as.

He'd picked the Law and Order universe because he needed something 'vanila' but he also didn't want to take a chance on a 'random' Earth being a little too different from his home universe. He vaguely recalled the fan theory that the L&O and X-Files universes were one and the same based on some cameos involving characters he couldn't remember, but he was willing to risk it, if he was going to get anywhere he needed resources, and well, doing what he planned in a 'crime' universe was a sadistic twist he just couldn't resist.

'But first, something to eat, and then recon, no more acting like an idiot Alex old boy. Time to use that brain God gave you' He mused mentally as he patted his wallet. He picked Sydney because he knew the city at least a little, and he had Australian currency on him, not much, just $40 in notes and coins, but enough to get him a feed.

***

Half an hour later Alexander was sitting in a cafe overlooking his target, sipping at the best coffee of his life. On it's own it was nothing special, a bit bitter, far too much milk, and the greatest sin of all, the beans had been burnt. Despite all it's faults, it was an almost orgasmic experience. He hadn't realised how addicted he was to caffeine until he had spent four days cut off. Another thing that he hadn't realised, but what was rapidly becoming obvious, was that he hadn't had a chance to shave or bath at all during his time in the CCN.

Given the way the waitress was giving him the evil eye, he needed to rectify that quickly, but unfortunately he was down to $15 after buying his meal and coffee, 'bloody Sydney prices', and there was no chance of replenishing his funds in a legitimate way, given his bank and credit cards had been issued in another universe, and it was doubtful even if there was another him in the current universe it would be unlikely in the extreme they had the same account numbers or even PINs; he'd stuck with the random ones he'd been issued, rather than come up with his own.

That was the reason for his visitation to the current universe, resources, in a form that was useful on pretty much any world he could think of; after all, the SGC might have cameras capable of seeing through his stealth field, but it was almost impossible that his current target would be so well equipped. He eyed his target once more, a small smile playing across his lips as he finished his coffee.

'Aspiring Jewelry, what an auspicious name'

***

'Finally!' Alex exclaimed in his mind, as the last employee of the jewelers set the alarm and slipped out the back door. His legs were cramped and he was heartily sick of standing in a corner hoping no-one would bump into him. He'd been waiting for the store to close for three hours, ever since he slipped in behind a customer earlier in the afternoon, holding his breath, hoping that his stealth field would work as advertised.

Thankfully it had, the last thing he wanted was to spend more time in a jail cell. He'd spent his time observing the employees and their manager, he knew far more than he cared too about their lives, but he had managed to snag the alarm and safe codes by watching over their shoulders, holding his breath because he was unsure if the stealth field worked on sound as well as light.

'What I wouldn't give for a Tollan Phase Cloak' He mused as he tapped in the alarm code, 'oh well, plenty of time for that.'

Moving quickly, he might be invisible, but he really didn't want to find out someone had forgotten something at work and show in the middle of his liberation, he moved towards the large safe he'd seen them stash the more valuable bits.

Alex quickly tapped in the six digit code and smiled widely as he opened the door, there was a veritable King's Ransom in precious metals and gems.

"Better yet, an Empire's Treasury" Alexander whispered to himself as he started scoping the contents into his bag.