Obsidian Buterfly and I (doodlechick12) are starting a collab fic in our Alphas/The Vampire Diaries universe. I started the drabble in "sky's still blue" and then she wrote a fic called "Alpha Diaries" that's set after it. Well, we decided to make a collab universe. Go read the others if you haven't, and then come read the third installment (This one!).
Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or Alphas. Minor crossover with X-Men, as well.
with ice cold hands taking hold of me
"Eyes so strange,
Time goes by,
Watch you fall, again
Hold you close,
Don't let go,
Hear my call, afraid.
And I'll say grace for where you are,
I want you to know,
You will always find me here"
-Transit
Stefan walked through the carpeted hallways, his green eyes darting around, taking in the architecture of the building he and Damon would be staying in for the foreseeable future. He raised his hand and let his fingers gently drag across the creamy walls; his finger nails were chipped and dirty and his knuckles appeared to be healing from a recent fight, while callouses were prominent on his fingers. Stefan didn't know precisely where they'd come from; most likely from the fighting ring, as he was famous for winning against even men three times his size, but Stefan would never know, really.
He couldn't really know a lot of things, actually.
Stefan passed the kitchen and stepped through the doorway, spying one of his new colleagues rifling through the refrigerator. The man turned and recognition filled Stefan; it was the autistic man, the only one even close to Stefan's own age of seventeen. His older sister was the hyperkinetic one who Damon was already flirting with, not even two minutes after Katherine had broken things off with him, via text message.
"What are you doing in the kitchen? It's not anybody else's lunch times, I know, because I checked, and no one else's schedules are like mine. Is your schedule like mine? I wouldn't know because you're new, but I can check the signals in your phone and if you keep a calendar of your meal times, then I would know," Jeremy said with his eyebrows furrowed in concern. His eyes swept over Stefan's features and Stefan calmly stood still.
"No," Stefan said when Jeremy paused to take a breath, "No, I'm not getting lunch. I'm looking for my brother, Damon."
"The man that likes my sister," Jeremy said with no inflection, "That's okay because they should get together; then Elena could break up with Damon correctly and not through a text message."
"Yeah," Stefan nodded, smiling a little in the corner of his mouth, "That's him. Do you know where he is?"
Jeremy frowned and one of his hands rose in the air, his fingers pointing at signals invisible to everyone but his own eyes.
"He's with Dr. Elijah," Jeremy finally said, "They're talking about you and your Alpha ability. Dr. Elijah thinks it's weird and he wants to try some stuff to make you remember, but Damon isn't sure about it." He frowned again.
Ice clenched around Stefan's heart, making it stutter and his breathing hitch. He'd talked with the other Alpha employees – Tyler, Elena, Jeremy, and Bonnie – and none of them had said anything of testing him or his ability (Adomopathic - able to replicate movement at first glance).
"I'll see you later, Jeremy," Stefan said and waved to the older man, leaving the kitchenette as quickly as his feet would take him without running. He assumed Damon and Dr. Elijah would be in the latter's office, and so he headed there first.
Stefan passed the FBI agent (Tyler, who'd manhandled Damon only hours ago – it hadn't bothered Stefan particularly at the time; he'd been so excited about not having to move around or stay at ring anymore) but now seeing him left a bitter aftertaste in Stefan's mouth.
Tyler gave him a smile showing all of his teen and Stefan was reminded suddenly of a shark. Stefan gave a quick, tight smile and hurried on his way, hoping the agent would leave him alone.
"Kid," Tyler called and Stefan's hopes were dashed.
"Sorry, can't talk," Stefan said, not sorry at all. Where was Elijah's office?
"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Tyler asked nonchalantly, but his dark eyes were sharp and focused on Stefan's face, intently looking for any lies uttered by the teenager.
"Finding my brother," Stefan said, "Now, if you don't mind-"
"Actually, they're in a private session, sorry," Tyler gave a smile that was completely unapologetic.
"Yes, but this is important," Stefan said firmly; he wasn't going to let Tyler intimidate him.
"Doctor-patient confidentiality," Tyler said, throwing out an arm in front of Stefan. They'd come to a stop in front of a door that held a plaque announcing Dr. Elijah's office.
Stefan's quick eyes took in the arm blocking him and they ran up its owner's face.
"Excuse me."
"Not happening."
Stefan, not usually a violent being by any means (except when the ring, and even then, he was careful to simply disarm his opponent until the end of the time allotted) let muscle memory control his movements and he swiftly and efficiently removed Tyler's arm from in front of him and had the FBI agent on the ground and disarmed of his gun in twenty seconds.
Tyler glared as Stefan pushed open Elijah's door and set the gun on one of the tables loudly, announcing his presence. Elijah and Damon looked up, the doctor in intrigued and his brother curious.
Stefan let one of his eyebrows rise, "Put a leash on your guard dog, please. He's attacking his handler's colleagues."
Damon's eyebrows rose and when Tyler limped in a second later cracked up laughing. Elijah wasn't as amused, though the corner of his mouth was twisted up wryly.
"Thank you Tyler, for attempting at keeping this young man from my office, but it was unnecessary," Elijah said in his crisply accented voice, "Damon and I are in an in depth conversation of a number of things that concern him."
Tyler nodded sharply but glared at Stefan once more before leaving the office, shutting the door with a loud click behind him.
"Well, if you're done with your foolishness, we'll continue our discussion and get started," Elijah said crisply, and a flash of regret filled Stefan. "First of all, Stefan, we were discussing your short term memory. If you would be so kind as to elaborate on how far your memory goes, it would be extremely helpful in beginning to look for a . . . cure or sorts."
Frowning, Stefan crossed his arms and thought back. "It's August the 31 today, right?" Elijah nodded confirmation.
Stefan could remember his latest fights; he fought every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday against a few people each night. His last round had been with a black man called Lucas; his Alpha ability had been telekinesis, which, while extremely helpful, hadn't helped against Stefan's muscle and thought memorization on tapes of Lucas' previous fights the night before. He'd learnt every move, every weakness, and every hesitation in a matter of minutes.
Stefan could remember Katherine coming over and sleeping with Damon; she came to visit sporadically and her visits were never the same length. As a frequent challenger in the games herself, Katherine was often seen around the warehouse, or from what Stefan had seen in the last month, anyway. He could also remember Katherine coming on to him two weeks ago in his bedroom.
But what Stefan ended up telling Elijah was his first memory, on July 30th, which as far as Stefan was concerned, the beginning of his life.
He'd "met" Lexi, who'd told him they were good friends and had been since Stefan and Damon had arrived at the alpha warehouse. She didn't fight in the ring – her talent was physical, but more with mechanical stuff – but she handled on of the technical things that ran the alpha fighting ring. Lexi was paid a hefty amount too, as far as Stefan could tell.
But the day he remembered first was Lexi "introducing" herself and spending the day with Stefan, and recommending he write things down in a journal, which he could then read as soon as his short term memory was up. Damon had teased him relentlessly for it, but Stefan had diligently written in the leather bound book every day since.
Stefan told Elijah an abridged version of his the day, and watched the doctor nod with a thoughtful look upon his face.
"Well," Elijah finally said, "I had a theory that Damon might be able to Push a memory from your mind, if you'd both be willing to try."
"I said it was stupid idea," Damon interrupted sharply, "Because we don't know what the hell it would do to your mind. You could get an aneurism, for all we know. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't recover from that." His icy blue eyes were narrowed untrustingly at the English psychiatrist.
Stefan's mind raced through; could he remember his mother? His father who Damon said was a horrible man? Did he really want to remember?
But he thought of things he'd missed out on; he couldn't remember if he'd had a first kiss; his first day of school; birthdays and Christmases. Could there be a chance for those memories to resurface if Damon just Pushed them through?
"While you think on that," Elijah interrupted, "I would like for you two to go on a mission for me; it would be under the supervision of one of the others of the team, of course, but you do know the layout and the people better than anyone else in the office."
"What is it?" Stefan asked carefully, disentangling his thoughts from his past.
"He wants us to go back to the warehouse and infiltrate it," Damon drawled, rolling his eyes.
"Essentially, yes," Elijah admitted, "One of my assets there – the one that uncovered you two, in fact – is in trouble of being found out by Red Flag."
"Who's Red Flag, again?" Stefan asked as he shifted his weight on his feet.
"It sounds like a children's game," Damon said, "But they're the other Alphas, Stef; the ones that approached us when we were first on the streets. They're like the Brotherhood of mutants, but you know, real."
Stefan had no recollection, but that was usual. "Sure," He nodded, "Bad guys; experimentation."
"Red Flag," Elijah interrupted, "Has several spies in the warehouse, as you two call it, and they stake out potentially useful Alphas to recruit into their cause. My asset is there to do the same, and spy on Red Flag as well. I need you two to extract him from his position carefully and swiftly, without arousing suspicion from your previous peers. There might be a future need for you two to go back in to replace my asset, eventually, and I like to prepare for every eventuality."
Stefan and Damon exchanged glances, contemplating there options, which were, essentially, zero. They would have to do this unless they wanted to be thrown out of the office and into Binghamton.
"We'll do it," Damon agreed.
"Excellent," Elijah smiled, "And when you return and are debriefed, we'll start immediately on retrieving your memories, Stefan."
"It had to be you, didn't it?" Damon asked rhetorically as he sat in the passenger side of The Van. Stefan was sitting in the back silently, and Damon knew that he was thinking about the dumb doctor's theory. Damon had his reservations about Pushing Stefan – he'd been serious about the aneurism, really. What weighed even more heavily on Damon's mind though, was that Elijah had sent his lapdog (He'd rather liked Stefan's version – guard dog, as well) Tyler Lockwood.
The man in questions bared his teeth in a grin, "Yeah. He didn't want to expose Elena to your wily charms yet, Jeremy's not in the field much, and Bonnie would cut your balls off if you so much as looked at her wrong. As much as I don't like you, I wouldn't wish that on any man and Elijah seems to think we need you guys for the team. So me it is."
Damon rolled his eyes. He wasn't afraid of Bonnie Bennett that was for sure. He'd have liked to work with Elena though; while she was eerily similar looking to Katherine (that bitch) she had her own spark to her that was entirely unique.
"Who's this guy we're getting?" Stefan asked from the back seat. His head appeared in between the front seats as he looked at Damon and Tyler.
"Oh, you'll know him when you see him," Tyler chuckled vaguely, "He's a tough bastard named Alaric."
Realization hit Damon like a freight train. "That alcoholic who nearly creamed Stefan into pie is the agent we're pulling?"
Stefan grumbled but Tyler smirked viciously, "That's him. Though the alcoholism is just part of the cover."
"No one who drinks with that much relish is faking," Damon disagreed, "I know."
They parked the vehicle and the three men exited The Van quickly, and headed in the warehouse.
"How are we doing this?" Stefan asked nervously, green eyes darting around. They entered through the side door and Stefan caught sight of Lexi's braided blond hair in the rafters as she sat balancing on a beam with her laptop. She didn't see him, though Stefan thought to himself that that was probably best.
"We find him, one of us fights him, and whoever does, loses, pretends to start a fight, and brings it outside. We'll slip away quietly and quickly," Tyler rattled off.
"That's a horrible plan," Damon muttered darkly and Stefan secretly agreed. He turned to Damon, but saw the older man distracted by something in the corner; it was Katherine, beckoning him forth to her.
"Excuse me," Damon muttered, "You guys have everything well in hand? Yes? I'll catch up."
"Salvatore!" Tyler shouted, "Get back here!"
Damon ignored him and swiftly reached Katherine, leaving Tyler and Stefan alone.
"Guess you'll be doing the fighting," Tyler told Stefan. The seventeen year old boy frowned; he hadn't studied any tapes of this Alaric, but he should know enough techniques to give the older man a run for his money. "Don't forget; you have to lose."
Stefan knew he wasn't the best man for the job; everyone who knew him knew that he didn't really care if he won. Damon was the competitive one in the family, as far as Stefan knew, anyway.
"Alright," Stefan agreed reluctantly anyway, "Let's get this over with."
Damon caught sight of Katherine and had originally been intent on ignoring the selfish bitch (didn't she realize that he knew she'd tried to seduce Stefan?) but she'd looked extremely upset, and Damon was always a sucker for distraught girls.
"What do you want, Katherine?" Damon spat as soon as they were in speaking distance.
"I need to talk to you," She hissed, "Come with me." She grabbed Damon's sleeve and dragged him away from the crowds and into a dark corner.
"This is as far as I go," Damon drawled, "What's eating you, Katherine? The guilt of dumping me through the phone was gnawing at you? Finally feel some guilt?"
"You're an idiot;" Katherine said, rolling her eyes, but then became serious, "Red Flag has spies here."
"Knew that," Damon said, but his blue eyes narrowed, "But how did you?"
"Unimportant," Katherine evaded, "Did you know that they've taken a serious interest in Stefan?"
A rock formed in the pit of Damon's stomach and anger filled him up. "What do they want with him?" He asked tightly, "And how do you know that?"
"Word gets around," Katherine skirted, "And I have no idea what the hell Red Flag wants with your brother. His ability is useful, certainly, but it's not like it's the most prized thing around. Your talent is pretty good."
"Except for when people where contacts," Damon muttered dryly.
"What?" Katherine asked.
"Never mind," Damon said and his eyes went back towards where he'd left Stefan with Tyler. They weren't there anymore; rather, Stefan was fighting a man with metal claws in the ring, dodging neatly and tripping the other man up.
"Thanks for the heads up," Damon added grudgingly.
Katherine bared her teeth in an imitation of a smile, "Anytime, Damon." She disappeared, using her own talent.
Damon walked over to the side door they'd use to get the man out, and watched as Stefan purposely let the claws graze at his thigh and go down. He winced as the other man was pronounced the winner, and Stefan challenged him to a rematch out back.
"Showtime," Damon said quietly and pushed the urgent issue of Red Flag back away from the forefront of his mind.
Stefan limped as he led the taller man towards Damon's position, and Tyler followed at a short distance. Stefan nodded at Damon as the he held the door open, and then they walked quickly to The Van. They could hear Tyler coming up behind them.
"Thanks," The other man muttered, letting his metallic claws snap back into his arms with a snikt.
"Not a problem," Damon lied.
"I'm Alaric," The man said, "I take it you two are new?"
"What gave us away?" Damon deadpanned as he slipped in the passenger seat. Alaric sat next to Stef in the back and Tyler jumped into the driver's seat.
"You're green," Was all Alaric said, "And I saw Tyler bring you guys in the other day. When you all came back together, I'd hoped it was an extraction mission."
"Guess it was your lucky night," Stefan said quietly.
The other Alphas appeared grateful that Alaric was back, and they all welcomed him with open arms. Elijah ushered Stefan and Damon back into his office for a debriefing.
Damon left out Katherine's warning.
"Since everything went well, I think we should attempt to retrieve a memory of yours," Elijah said to Stefan, "What do you think?"
Damon watched as Stef swallowed thickly and then nodded.
"Damon?"
He nodded and followed Stefan as he sat down on a plush leather chair.
Stefan sat down and closed his eyes for a moment, and then stared at Damon's icy façade.
"Let's start with something simple," Elijah said smoothly in the background, "Have you had any girlfriends?"
Damon Pushed Stefan and the younger boy felt a headache build in the back of his brain.
"Tell me your first girlfriend."
"What was her name?"
"What was your first kiss?"
"Was she an Alpha?"
Stefan's eyes were glued open and his hands twitched, his thoughts racing. Pictures flashed in front of his eyes; a sweet smell of lavender brushed by his nose; he could feel someone's soft blond hair in his fingers; a beautiful face flashed across his eyes.
"Rebekah," Stefan breathed, his eyes closing of their own accord. There was no doubt in his mind that the girl he now saw in his mind's eye was called Rebekah.
But who was she?