Welcome to the madness and newest installment in the Angel!Verse (don't ask me how I ended up with an entire verse btw)! This little sequel to Handle ID: Angel is going to be a drabble and double drabble series spanning the first hundred years or so of John and Angel's life after Olduvai. Note, these won't all be in first person like the other longer stories. Mostly, this is just fun and games for me! Hope you enjoy!
Obligatory Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from the movie sadly does NOT belong to me. Anything/one you don't recognize is mine all mine! You might be able to pursuade me to borrow Angel though. My beta askita's already done it! lol.
(BTW, I'm combining these first 6 into one chapter to match the rest of the fic. If you end up with trouble reviewing on later chapters, just send me a quick PM or something. Thanks!)
1. Reunion
The light of day was nearly blinding, but it was the familiar sound of guns cocked in our direction that had me wincing into John's neck. There was nothing like a good ole' fashion R.R.T.S. welcome party. In the midst of the orders to put our hands up and drop our weapons (rather idiotic orders as John's arms were still rather full with my near-helpless body), I suddenly heard a voice rising above the din.
"Hold your fire! They're ours!" The line of Marines before us parted, and the Kid, defiant and alive, strode through. "They're ours."
2. Weariness
Per the usual protocol, the battered R.R.T.S. members and the single surviving scientist were loaded up on a transport and taken directly back to headquarters as opposed to, say, a hospital. As the ranking solider on duty closed and secured the door behind the little band, he allowed himself only a moment of pity and apprehension. He and his men were still awaiting clearance to head down to the Ark, so they couldn't know what to expect yet. Still, judging by the exhaustion and horror exuding from those survivors, he was pretty sure he wasn't going to enjoy it.
3. Decoy
Who knew my brother had a talent for sleight-of-hand? I didn't, and the UAC physicians who'd shown up at the base certainly didn't either. While Angel threw a violent fit at the strangers' attempts to draw blood samples from "her" team, John used her timely distraction to fish several syringes and vials from the pack he carried. Then, as Angel continued to berate the cowed idiots, John himself drew blood from all five of us.
I was the only one who noticed that two of the vials were already full when he pulled them from her pack.
4. Limp
We holed up in medbay while Doc from R.R.T.S. 4 closed up Duke and Sam's wounds. I didn't need him to say their prognosis wasn't great. Duke's ankles were pretty mangled, and the stab wound in Sam's thigh looked infected. Damned if Sam acted like anything was wrong, though; she just gritted her teeth. My twin might not be a Marine, but she sure is strong.
I only saw dismay when Doc mentioned how large the scar was going to be. It seemed like such a small thing to worry about that I almost laughed outloud. Angel gave me one of those looks of her's, and I managed not to say anything about women and vanity. She took my sister's hand, but Sam barely seemed to notice.
To my shock and dismay, it was Duke who actually made her smile. He just dragged himself across his bed to lean toward her with a grin and some quip about "having matching limps." They exchanged a pair of smiles that looked frighteningly familiar: I'd seen the same one on my lover more than once.
Comprehension and horror dawned. Angel elbowed me in the ribs before I could say a word.
5. Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
After the first debriefing, the higher-ups confined us to the barracks for the night. John carried Sam down the stairs, while Kid and I helped Duke down. Once there, another issue reared its head. We surveyed the beds of our dead friends and wondered the same thing. Kid actually said it.
"How the hell we gonna sleep?"
A few sheets, garters, and three mattresses later, we had one massive bed on the floor. Kid opted for his bed, but the rest of us piled on like puppies to sleep. It was comfy.
Awkward, but comfy.
6. See How They Run
The next few days were fairly routine. Sleep, eat, debrief, pass out. Sleep, eat, debrief. Sleep again, eat, report to infirmary for a check up, eat again, pass out. There were only a few moments on novelty: one being the first time John and I realized we could eat our way through the entire mess hall if we wanted. Fuck if I have ever been so hungry. Seemed to burn off easy though. Here's to a C24-improved metabolism.
The next novelty was one I should have avoided. At least, I would have if I'd known what it would lead to.
About the third day, I suddenly craved routine, normalcy, anything but what life had become after Olduvai. I woke up around 5:30 (we'd realized we didn't need near as much sleep as before) and decided to join the day teams for a run.
For the first time in my life, I felt what John must on those mornings. My body began to move in a way that was more that effortless. It was... thrilling. Absolutely exhilarating. I couldn't help myself; I could only revel in the sheer joy of motion. The mistake was forgetting everyone watching.