Blast to the Past? : Chapter 2
Dean flicked the light on before tossing his jacket on a chair. Sam disappeared into the bathroom before materializing a second later with the first aid kit.
Max took the box from him and turned to Alec. ‘Come on, let’s see the wound.’ She pulled on his collar and he winced.
‘Careful, that hurts!’
Max rolled her eyes at him as he peeled the shirt off, flinching. ‘Don’t be such a baby.’ She turned her gaze away from his gleaming torso and tried to concentrate on his arm. ‘Not bad, just a flesh wound. But I still need to stitch it up.’
She turned to Sam and he nodded towards the box. ‘Everything is in there.’ He was moving his shoulder slowly, his muscles screaming at the movement.
‘You guys get hurt much?’ she cocked her head at the fully stocked box before adding, ‘And sorry about that, I thought you were one of us so I didn’t hold back.’
Dean sat straighter in his chair. ‘One of you? What does that mean?’
Alec and Max looked at each other before he replied in an off hand manner. ‘It’s nothing, an inside joke.’ He still thought the entire situation was fishy and Intel wasn’t something he wanted to share freely. Not yet.
Dean scrutinized the thin smile and hard eyes silently and opted to let it slide. For now.
Max turned her attention to the wound and started to close the jagged flesh.
Dean continued to study the two from his place, noticing the small tremors of pain the Shape... no, Alec... was trying to hide as well as the way the girl was slapping Alec around with her words and her hands like she was angry with him, but the way she was hovering over him told Dean otherwise. She was muttering angry retorts as she stitched him up but Dean saw the worry flickering behind the sharp words.
‘Slowly,’ he hissed when she pulled the thread too tautly against his flesh.
‘Sorry,’ she mumbled before she snapped her head to him, ‘and sit still. I can’t do this when you’re jumping all over the place.’
‘I can do that if you want,’ Sam interrupted as he passed Alec a bottle.
‘No!’
Sam shrugged at the twin glowers and retreated. Alec took a swig from the bottle and shuddered. Max really ought to practice her bedside manner. She was worse than Mole.
Sam took the chair next to his brother and studied the bickering couple. ‘They’ve been at it the whole time?’
‘The whole time,’ Dean nodded.
‘It’s weird. They sound more like a married couple than we do.’
‘I heard that!’ Both transgenics turned their faces towards the brothers, scowling mightily.
‘But married people can get a divorce. I’m stuck with you like a Siamese twin.’
‘Conjoined twin. How many times have I told you, Dean. It’s conjoined twin.’
Married? Who wanted to tie themselves to that bed hopping jack rabbit? She pulled the last stitch a little harder than necessary and he yelped. ‘Freakin baby,’ she muttered.
‘Sadistic bitch.’
‘Enough!’ Dean jumped up. ‘You guys have some explaining to do. For one, who are you? And don’t bother lying, we’d see right through you.’
‘Before we do that, tell us something. How did you get us here without passing a single sector guard?’
‘And I didn’t spot even one hoverdrone,’ Alec added. ‘Where exactly are we?’
‘Sector guard?’ Sam didn’t have to turn to know his brother’s expression. ‘Is that a new word for the guys in blue? The police?’
Alec suddenly stiffened, his eyes locked on something laying on the countertop. He stood so suddenly that Dean and Sam turned rigid in defense but Alec grabbed the magazine and pushed it in Max’s face.
‘What?’ she frowned and her mouth fell open at the picture on the cover. ‘You’re asking me to read porn? Hell, no,’ she wrinkled her nose in disgust.
‘No, look here,’ Alec flapped the magazine at her.
‘No!’ she scrambled from her seat but Alec latched onto her arm and pushed her back.
‘The date, Max. Look at the damn date.’ His finger stabbed the corner of the magazine for emphasis.
Max saw the shock in his eyes and that drove her to lower her eyes to the glossy cover.
‘Hey... hey. I’m not done with that yet,’ Dean called out but they both ignored him.
Max stared at the numbers before she lifted her eyes to his. The stunned surprise was mirrored in both sets of eyes. January 2009. ‘Is this a misprint?’ she suddenly turned to Dean and Sam. It had to be. She was what, 9 in 2009? And her unit only managed to break out of Manticore at the end of the cold freezing winter of 09.
‘What?’ Dean stepped closer and peered at the magazine. ‘Of course not. What’s wrong?’
‘Why are we hovering over Dean’s porn?’ Sam called out as he stepped closer and tried to see what the fuss was about.
Alec left the magazine in Max’s hand and started pacing. ‘This is not happening. It’s not even possible.’
Max was still staring at the four numbers on the page. ‘Two thousand... nine?’ She sucked in a surprised gasp when Alec grabbed her hand and pulled her to the room’s secluded corner. Dean turned to Sam and frowned as they huddled, pale and shaken.
‘It had to be the old man. He did something to us.’
‘What do you remember?’
Alec was quiet for a few seconds as he mulled it over. ‘The cave.’
Max nodded, ‘Yeah, we were talking to him. He was rambling about hell, retribution, all the kooky stuff.’
‘Wait, at some point he said brothers. And that I’d understand.’ Both of their eyes widened and they turned to Alec’s mirror image.
‘You’d understand,’ Max murmured as her eyes swept across the identical eyes, so similar she would bet the brown swirls were in the exact same spot as Alec’s. Dean even had the exact same shade of green eyes that Alec had. He was wearing the same expression Alec had when he was pissed off and she could tell the anger came from lack of knowledge at what was going on.
He could be Alec’s twin, much more than Ben. The same face (obviously), the cockiness that bordered on arrogance, and the smile that could please as well as irritate the hell out of you. But beyond that, she could not find any more similarities. Dean was years older than Alec and there was something else about Dean, maybe that light in his eyes that told her he’d seen too much to remain young and innocent. Alec’s eyes had a similar glint, she’d seen it in those moments when his walls came down for a friction of a second - it was like they’d been to hell and back but were too ashamed to admit they were still alive - but Alec hid it better than Dean could ever have.
Dean’s hair was much darker than Alec’s, cut short like what she could say was Alec’s Manticore days. And there were fine lines etched around Dean’s eyes which had yet to appear around Alec’s. Dean wasn’t as lean as Alec. Her Alec was all frame and wiry muscles, nothing more and nothing less. Dean’s body filled out the green shirt he was wearing and she could see how the muscles rippled as he held himself back and Max turned to Alec. Lean or not, Alec could take Dean in seconds.
‘So what happened to us?’ Alec whispered and Max turned her attention back to him.
‘I think we need their help.’
‘How do we explain this? We’ve traveled back in time because a crazy old man said we could use your help. With what, we haven’t the faintest idea. I find it hard to swallow and the words are coming from my mouth. So how in the world do we make them believe us?’
‘I don’t know,’ Max snuck a glance at the brothers, her sharp ears picking up their muffled conversation. ‘Maybe we don’t have to tell them that, just that we need their help.’
‘Yeah, they already think we’re a couple of lunatics and they don’t know about the time traveling part yet,’ he nodded curtly as the two brothers picked up their head and locked eyes with them.
Sam put a restraining hand on his brother’s arm. ‘Chill, dude.’
‘They’re up to something. I don’t like it when people whisper furiously in front of me.’
‘We’ll make them talk.’
‘People who freak out over porn and then go over to a corner to huddle are bad news.’
Sam rolled his eyes, ‘You’re just pissed off they didn’t treat your Asian Busty Beauties with the required drool.’
‘That, yeah, but there’s something else that’s off with those two.’
‘The fact that one of them could pass as your brother more than me?’ Sam shrugged when Dean narrowed his eyes. ‘Or the fact they looked like they’d seen a ghost when all they did was glance at your porn?’
‘Wait.’ Something flickered in Dean’s mind. ‘They started freaking out when they saw the date, right?’
‘I think so, yeah.’
‘I know what’s going on,’ Dean remarked, his lips were set in a thin line. He could remember that second of pure fear as he was frozen beside his future dad and holding a paper that should have been almost thirty years old. After that startling realization, his fury dissipated and he could see the situation clearly. Now he started to see the young man in a different light. His breath stuck painfully in his chest cavity as he stared unblinkingly at the young man... was it even possible?
‘You’ve traveled through time.’ He stated matter-of-factly and the fury was replaced with a grin when they, the guy with his face and the striking brunette, stared with slackened jaws.
‘What... how did you...?’ the girl stuttered. Max, he recalled.
‘The past or the future?’ his brows rose when they turned to each other.
‘The future,’ the girl, Max spoke.
Dean could sense her hesitation like it was a tangible thing. ‘So what are you doing here?’ He almost growled when they turned to each other again. ‘You must be here for a reason? Did the angels sent you back?’
‘Angels,’ Max huffed. The bubble of her shock had started to crack. ‘There’s no such thing as angels.’
‘A month ago I would’ve agreed with you sweetheart, but then we’d both be mistaken.’
‘Don’t call me that,’ she was scowling and Alec decided to butt in.
‘How do you know about time traveling? No, what I meant was, how can you be so calm when I find it very hard to believe?’
‘I’ve got some experience in this matter,’ Dean finished his bottle and turned to his waiting audience. ‘Castiel sent me back to show me something. A warning of some sort.’ His eyes shot towards his brother. Sam stared right back and Dean turned to the two pale strangers. ‘Why are you here? What are you suppose to do?’
‘Who’s Castiel?’ Max interrupted.
‘The angel. His name is Castiel,’ Dean sighed. ‘So what’s the deal with you guys?’
‘I think we need your help.’
‘Spill, sweetheart. I’m all ears.’
‘Don’t call her that.’ The glower was etched into every line of his features.
‘Shut up, Alec,’ she popped him on the back of his head and he turned his glower on her. ‘We need their help. Be nice.’
Alec grumbled under his breath and retreat a step back but he still kept his sharp gaze on the other man. Max sighed as she flicked a gaze at the smoldering Alec. What had gotten into him? It was more than weird having the two of them around, so similar and yet so different. Alec had never looked at her like Dean did, with open admiration and the thinly veiled lust brimming beneath it all.
Alec always treated her like she was one of the guys as he trailed behind her, poking his head in her affairs and everything. That was before he went invisible and avoided her like the plague after the flag raising. But this scowling version of Alec was a new experience for her.
‘We’re supposed to find the Wrath of Ares, whatever that is.’
‘The Wrath of Ares,’ Sam said under his breath. ‘What does it do? Is it an amulet?’
‘We have no idea.’ Max shrugged her shoulders at him. ‘But an amulet sounds loads better than what I had in mind.’
Alec was leaning against the far wall, hands over his chest and didn’t offer to add anything.
‘I’ll see what I can dig up.’ Sam stood and pulled his laptop to the table.
Max snuck a glance at the fridge before turning to the boys. ‘Now that’s straightened out, do you guys have anything to eat? I’m a little hungry.’
‘Speaking of eating, we’re supposed to grab something at the diner before you guys kinda blasted in to this timeline. But no worries, I’ll go and get us some take out. Sammy, you and Max stay here and continue with the research. I’ll take sulking boy with me.’
‘What?’
Dean thought the twin shock on Sam and Max’s face was hilarious. He grabbed his jacket and his key before turning to his scowling younger self. ‘Let’s go.’ Without waiting to see if the boy followed, Dean made his way to his waiting Impala.
Alec stood still for a second or so before he shrugged and took his discarded jacket. Without another word, he followed Dean.
Max turned to Sam. ‘Do you think they’ll be okay?’
‘They’ll be fine. Dean won’t do anything to your friend, don’t worry.’
‘I was thinking of the other way around.’ Max parted the curtain and watched Dean’s taillights disappear into the darkness. Alec was acting weird all of a sudden and that wasn’t a good thing.
Sam laughed and turned his attention back to his computer. ‘Nah, Dean can take care of himself.’
‘He’s never met Alec before.’
‘They’ll be fine,’ Sam snorted. ‘Come here and tell me what you know about the Wrath of Ares.’
The ride was exceptionally quiet as the car streaked to its destination. Dean snuck a quick glance at his passenger, drinking in the identical features. His eyes, his nose, his mouth. All of his features on someone else’s face. It was like looking in the mirror and seeing a younger version of you.
‘I don’t know if I’m not supposed to ask, with the whole time space continuum rule, but who’s your mom?’ Dean suddenly asked. She must be one hell of a girl, the future mother of his child, but he couldn’t spot any of her features on the boy and Dean was getting curious. Was she someone he already knew or hasn’t he met her yet?
‘I asked that myself, sometimes,’ Alec snarled, not moving from staring into the darkness. He was still wary of this clone who clearly was not X5. But seeing as they were in the past, he could be an earlier model that didn’t turn out so well. But what irked him the most was not the fact that his face was on another guy, it was seeing the guy flirting with Max, and it was like watching himself flirt with her and god knows how hard he tried not to go there. What with their frenemy status on good days and something that bordered on bipolar on pretty much every other day.
Beside him, Dean gasped. ‘She died? In a fire when you were still a baby?’ What the hell? He thought they had wasted that yellow eyed son of a bitch.
This time Alec turned to Dean, the scowl gradually replaced by a frown. ‘Why do you care?’
‘Okay, fine.’ Dean turned his attention back to driving. ‘You ain’t sharing, fine. I won’t dig.’ A full minute lapsed before Dean turned back. ‘But I’m a good dad, right? I mean, I should be. Look at me, I’m cool. I can be a cool dad.’
‘How the hell should I know?’ Alec forced himself not to explode. Was the guy crazy or what? He knew transgenics and their obvious and flippant disregard of personal privacy only too well but this is getting ridiculous. Hello, random choice for a topic? Yeah, he was a certified reject.
‘You didn’t live with me? What happened? Did I die too?’ His foot slammed on the brakes and the car lurched to a sudden stop. Alec’s rapid reaction avoided his head from smashing into the dashboard. ‘Is that why you’re so angry? I died and your mom died and we left you alone? What about Sam, he’s your uncle. He should’ve taken care of you.’ His face fell in horror and fear. ‘Oh god, did he die as well?’
‘You’re crazy. Insane.’ Alec’s face froze and he saw the pain and the shock in Dean’s eyes and something sank painfully in. ‘You think I’m your... son?’ The last word was pushed out forcefully, a foreign addition to his vocabulary. He squashed the sudden burst of life fiercely. He was made in a lab, genetically engineered to be a super soldier. He didn’t have a mother or a father and he didn’t have a family. Not in the biological sense.
Dean shrugged, a little wary. ‘Well... you’re from the future with a very strong, uh... family resemblance. That should be a possibility.’
Alec was quiet as he stared at the hope in the other man’s eyes. His eyes. ‘No, there’s no possibility. I’m not your... son.’ He finished his sentence in a hurry, hating the taste of that last word on his tongue. He was made, he didn’t have parents. He didn’t have anyone except himself.
Dean saw the wall came up, built brick by brick and the frown dug deeper into his forehead. The boy was hiding something and he’ll find out what it is eventually. No one can hide anything from Dean Winchester. He pursed his lips when he thought of something else. ‘Look Alec. I think I owe you an apology.’
‘What? What for?’
‘If you thought I was hitting on your girlfriend earlier, you’re wrong. I wasn’t.’
‘She’s not my girlfriend,’ Alec grumbled but stopped himself from adding, we’re not like that. He had heard that phrase like a million times and he didn’t want to start using it now.
‘Well, by how you two were reacting earlier on, she could be your freakin wife.’
‘She’s not, so stop jumping to conclusions.’
‘Sure, whatever.’ Dean smirked and continued driving. ‘How do you feel about pies?’
‘I don’t know. They’re okay, I guess.’
‘Okay? They’re more than okay. Pie should have its own food group, they’re that awesome. I need to take you out for pie soon or maybe we can snag some at the diner.’
Alec just shrugged but a ghost of a smile was hovering over his lips. Suddenly being stuck in the past didn’t sound so bad.
~*~
‘Where is he?’ Max marched into the room in a wave of frigid air. She was in a foul mood and the other trannies turned to their tasks at hand or pretend they had one.
‘Who?’ Mole was the only one who dared to ask. He was the picture of innocence as he lifted his head from the gun he was cleaning.
‘Alec, dammit. Where the hell is he?’
‘Oh, Princess.’ He gave his cigar stub a good chew, looking as if he was mulling the question over in his head.
‘Yeah, him.’ The last word escaped from tightly clenched lips. ‘I haven’t seen him in days.’ Eighteen days to be precise but who’s counting?
‘You just missed him, Max.’ Dix eagerly interrupted, ‘He was here five minutes ago. He must still be around.’
A vein throbbed dangerously near her temple; it had started to sound like a broken record. You must’ve missed him, he was just here. She had lost count of how many times she had heard it in the last eighteen days.
‘Someone haul that ass of his to me when he gets here.’ She took the collective shrug as a yes and left.
To be continued..
Next Chapter..