Chapter Text
The first time John hears Atlantis’ voice, he’s walking through the still mostly-dark control room. He’s looking around at the consoles and thinks to himself ‘I really hope they still work’. As soon as he finishes the thought, the large hanging screen in front of him flickers to life, followed immediately by the consoles he's turned around to look at. He feels a buzzing in the back of his brain, almost a contented humming, as he raises his hands and says quickly, “I didn’t touch anything.” He barely registers whatever Weir’s response is because he hears a strange female voice in his mind. The words aren’t spoken in English, but somehow, he understands them.
It’s a simple, joyful, elated, “Welcome home, child.”
McKay says something about the consoles and John manages an appropriately snarky response, then Colonel Sumner is calling on the radio for Dr. Weir to join him three levels down. He follows Dr. Weir and the voice is all but forgotten as he discovers they're underwater.