Chuck vs. Destiny
Chuck Bartowski, newly recruited into the CIA, must undergo months of hardcore training before he can achieve the rank of an agent. He finds that many other recruits are trying desperately to make it, and the chances are slim, but he's got the intersect. Meeting the enigma that is Sarah Walker along the way, he must decide if it is truly worth the fight. Romance, Action, Angst, and eventual Charah.
A/N: This one hit me after watching a mini series. I basically morphed it to fit the Chuck scenario, and started writing it up. I'll be trying something new here, where I write the story ahead of time, and release it regularly. We'll see how this goes. My other stories are more light and fun, so I wanted to write something more serious, but maintain that nice element people enjoy reading. Charah will be more gradual, with a lot of bumps. If you can't stand some angst, I wouldn't recommend this too much. Thanks guys, for reading and reviewing. Can't wait to see what you think.
PS: This will be written in parts. First one will be the Academy, and so on. Consider each part like an arc, i guess.
Part One: The Academy
Chapter One: Getting the picture
Chuck ran. He ran fast and hard, panting as he tried hard not to squeeze his eyes shut like he wanted to so badly. He felt his mind somehow fading again, though it wasn't peaceful. It tore through him, like someone was tearing his mind out. It hurt, but he wouldn't stop. He couldn't, not with the men following him.
"Flash, flash, come on!" He cried desperately, clutching his head as he turned the nearest corner. A man was there, dressed in dark clothing. The night air was suddenly chilling. The man was grinning, gun in his hand, aimed straight at his chest.
"Mr. Bartowski..." he taunted, as his men circled Chuck.
"What do you want from me?" He cried, unable to bear the pain. He fell back, unable to rise anymore. The man hovered over him, as if nothing happened.
"We want...the intersect, Mr. Bartowski."
Chuck's eyes shut, and he lost control. "Wake up, Chuck..." he heard, a faint voice in the back of his mind.
"WAKE UP!" Ellie was standing over him, shaking him.
Chuck bolted upright, clutching the white sheets beneath him. He quickly took in his surroundings.
"It was another dream." Ellie, his older sister, stated. It wasn't a question.
"Third one this week..." Chuck informed her, leaning back with a sigh.
"The one where they chased you?"
"Yeah...Ellie, it's a vivid depiction of what happened that night...It's like the intersect is taking my worst memories, and replaying them in my mind..." Chuck remembered that night vividly. It all happened, two weeks ago. Except he didn't faint. A man had shown up beside him, his team of armed men chasing down the bad guys. He called himself Langston Graham.
"Oh, Chuck." she sighed, hugging him. "Why did dad do this to you?"
"I don't know El. He's gone though, so no way to know..."
Ellie was bitter when she rose. "Your flight's today Chuck." Sadness tinged her tone as she ruffled his curls. "Better get ready..."
Chuck nodded, getting up to stretch his legs. Today was the day he was going to get some answers...the first of many, hopefully.
Once he felt that his legs had solidified into something more than butter, he made his way to the shower, hopping in. He allowed the hot water to really wake him up, as his thoughts overcame him once more. Everything felt surreal. Two weeks ago, he was nothing but a Stanford student, a good one at that. He had his life planned out. He was to be an engineer, he'd worked hard for it.
Then, his life fell apart. It was a day unlike any other, though in the morning, he never would've guessed it. He was simply walking one night, the studies getting to him a little too much. A walk was what he needed. He stepped out into the cold air.
-FLASHBACK: TWO WEEKS PREVIOUSLY-
Chuck threw his jacket on, glancing at his father's wristwatch, which now adorned his wrist, since...since his father left them, years ago. He stepped out the door of his dorm hall, into the cold night air. The campus was eerily quiet, so he decided to walk farther than the usual boundaries. He needed to clear his mind for tomorrow's test.
He rounded the corner, and was shoved to the floor. That's where he lost control. His eyes rolled back into his head, and several highly detailed images flashed into his mind. His sister had seen him do it before, ever since he was a boy. Their father called it "Flashing". He flashed on several kung fu moves, leaping up and sending a fast kick into his attacker, unarming him. He was lucky the man hadn't shot in the first place.
He got up and ran. He had no idea where, but he ran as fast as his long legs would carry him. He heard their footsteps behind him, assurance that several more were following him. For whatever reason, and he thanked god for this, they didn't shoot. Just like his dream, sweat beaded on his forehead as he tried to get away, turning several corners and streets, but to no avail.
Exactly like his dream, the man appeared as he rounded the final corner, falling right into their intricate trap. He still remembered the man's face. He was young, almost Chuck's age. He had stark black hair, and a large, threatening figure, something like superman gone wrong. Like his comics had been horribly twisted somehow. And that's when the single gunshot rang, shaking Chuck to his very core. He didn't see anyone get killed, he was probably too shocked to notice. He fell backwards, staring helplessly as "Superman" ran away, his men following suit, shooting back a couple of stray bullets, but they seemed to be harmless.
The next thing Chuck saw was a hand, outstretched to his shocked bdy on the floor. The man was bold, lifting Chuck to his feet. Chuck tried depserately not to freak out, though his body was in shock.
"Charles Bartowski." The man spoke with some pride, though his tone was grave. "I'm Director Langston Graham of the Central Intelligence Agency. Are you hurt?"
Chuck only shook his head, unable to much else. He'd never felt so vulnerable in his life.
"Come with us, quickly." Graham's men guided Chuck into a black SUV, mainly because he couldn't seem to hold his own weight at that moment. He was numb, and startled.
"W...where are we going, sir?" Chuck finally managed, asking one of the men who was about to close his door.
"Headquarters, not too far. Don't worry, you're safe now...sit tight." he replied and shut the door.
They'd taken him to a large building, but Chuck couldn't really remember how they got there. All he knew was that these men were very serious. He eyed their guns as they guided him in the elevator. They were armed with Glocks, pistols he'd seen with the police and in video games. Morgan would not believe this.
The men guided him past a receptionist, who regarded Chuck with a sympathetic glance. Graham followed, as they stepped into what apparently was his office, a series of flags adorning the wall. Chuck saw his outfit for the first time, pins adorning it. He was the real deal.
"Is...is this your office?" Chuck finally asked, though he wasn't sure why. That wasn't at the top of his list anyway.
Graham chuckled, despite the tense situation. That was a fairly common reaction.
"No, we're actually based in D.C...This is more of a...temporary arrangement." He decided to answer his question for the hell of it, knowing Chuck was under a lot of stress and pressure.
"Ellie...my sister, is she involved? Is she alright?"
"Eleanor Faye Bartowski is very much alright, and she's just next door." Graham replied, watching Chuck's worry fade slightly.
"We alerted her in Burbank, this hit was planned for months ahead." He finally informed him.
"Who are you guys?" Chuck finally asked, head aching.
"We are the CIA..." Graham said. "We are here to defend you from any threats, particularly of the nature you recieved this evening."
"You knew this would happen..." Chuck deduced. "You alerted Ellie ahead...why couldn't you prevent the whole thing...?" Chuck was dumbstruck. Some damn security.
"Because we needed to see this..."Intersect" in action.
Chuck's eyesbrows rose. "The intersect...of course that's what this is about...it's caused me nothing but pain and trouble, since my father-"
Graham was quick to interject. "Stephen Bartowski was a very honorable agent..."
Chuck's jaw unhinged. "He...he...was...an agent?" He gasped. It all added up. "Please, Mr...
Chuck glanced at his name piece on his desk. "Graham, please let me get my sister in here...she has a right to know everything."
Graham obliged, and after several long minutes of Ellie freaking out over Chuck's fine condition, the story began.
"Chuck was just seven when he downloaded our father's very first copy of the intersect." Ellie informed him, careful not to give away what she thought was too much.
"A day before our father left...I was fifteen, at the time..." Chuck mentioned, explaining slowly, as if it pained him to speak about it. "He gave me another download...he told me to try on a pair of glasses...and I did." Chuck replied solemnly.
"And you recieved the newest copy." Graham decided.
"I guess..." Chuck sighed.
"He left the day after, leaving a note. It basically said he loved us and he had to protect us by leaving..."
Graham nodded sagely.
Ellie was already crying into Chuck's shoulder. "Please...just tell us what's happening..."
Graham began with a sigh. "Your father was the greatest field agent and analyst we'd ever had. He'd created a microchip with all the government secrets on it...and he'd managed to make it downloadable to the human brain..."
Chuck was in utter shock. This had to be some wild dream.
"It was flawed...corrupted. It still is." Graham admitted. "It would destroy any mind not capable of retaining all the information..."
Ellie gasped, but Graham added. "Chuck was the only subject known to survive an upload, and at age seven, it was a remarkable discovery."
Chuck just waited for the man to continue, all the unanswered questions falling into place.
"Your father created the world's most powerful weapon. And with it, he forged thousands of enemies that wanted the intersect host dead, so that they may take it and use it for other, lethal needs."
"Why...why didn't they kill me tonight?" Chuck asked.
"It's rumored that if the host is killed, the intersect won't function. In order to remove it...they'd need you alive."
Ellie gasped as a fresh batch of tears started. Chuck felt a hand subconciously rise to his forehead. "You mean..."
Graham nodded. "So, Mr. Bartowski...Your father left, giving most of your enemies the illusion that he had the intersect and went AWOL."
"So that they wouldn't come after us..." Chuck murmuredwith newfound respect and awe.
"Precisely..." Graham informed them. "Your father is very much alive and dedicated to the two of you."
Chuck stood up. "Bring him home!"
"Mr. Bartowski...please, sit." Graham ordered in a terse tone.
Chuck obeyed, for whatever reason.
"We...we can't." Graham sighed.
"Why? Where is he?" Ellie asked unsurely, not wanting to know at the same time.
"After many years of searching...no one knows." Graham sighed once more, pinching the bridge of his nose. "That's why we're making a very special offer, Charles."
Chuck waited, head spinning. An offer? Like a blood oath? He was lost.
"We want to insure your safety as much as possible. We want to send you to our private academy in Prauge, where you will master skills needed to survive in this world-"
"-NO!" Ellie cried. "He doesn't need or want to be part of your "world", right Chuck?"
Chuck remained stoic. "Will it help me find my father?"
Graham nodded. "It most certainly can."
"Then I'll go...but I have a few more questions..." Chuck decided impulsively, Ellie's jaw dropping.
"Yes, Mr. Bartowski?"
"Why can't I use the intersect to defend myself?"
"It hurts...doesn't it?"
"Yes, sir." Chuck was curious as to where this was going. Ellie, being a neroulogist, was equally as concerned and curious.
"We may not have reasearchers as talented and accomplished as your father, but we do have some on the matter." Graham explained. "They believe each flash is disrupting your brain. At this stage, it is only a little, but in a matter of months, it could become lethal." Graham explained. "Not to worry. Our people have found that your father's old watch can be tweaked slightly, the way he intended, and within a few days, you should be able to flash problem free, so long as you're wearing the watch..." he motioned to the one on Chuck's wrist.
"My father saw all of this coming?" Chuck asked finally, awestruck.
"He was indeed a very smart man." Graham sighed, with an air of finality.
"If you agree to undergo our training with the other recruits, we can assure you a long, successful life and experience with the agency..."
"You mean...like 007?" Chuck found that he was the only thing he could relate to the CIA.
Graham allowed a chuckle. "In real life, Charles."
-END FLASHBACK: ECHO PARK, 7:45 AM-
Chuck opted to do it. If this was going to bring him one step closer to his father, his life...his destiny...how could he refuse?
A/N: Long and boring, I know, but the information needed to be out there. Next up we'll meet Sarah and the gang, not like you'd expect. It's going to be one tough, bumpy, hell of a ride. Awesome. Thanks for reading and reviewing guys, and have an awesome weekend!
PS: With all these stories, I'd say I'm becoming LLC. Don't worry, I can manage three. When you've got 8 at once...you've got issues.
-TGP