Cookies for everyone that got my Dollhouse and Fringe references in the last chapter! I love love LOVE all of your reviews!
In this chapter we get to meet the Winchesters, and a few other familiar faces!
...
Dean stumbles his way down an emergency fire escape and into an abandoned alley, leaping past the overturned trash cans the quarry has thrown his way. He catches a glimpse of it as it darts down the narrow lane and onto the street. Cursing, he puts on a burst of speed, yelling into his comm, "Sam, it's headed your way! Down Bishop Street! It's tryin' to shake me in the crowd!"
"I'm on my way, don't lose sight of him!" Sam's voice comes through loud and tense over the earpiece.
The rogue Angel melts quickly into the swarm of midmorning travelers, ducking and weaving amongst them, and for a second Dean thinks he's lost it. Then he spots the flash of blonde hair, the black jacket, as it jogs casually toward one of the darker side streets. "Gotcha!" He shoves his way through the swarming mass of people, ignoring indignant protests. "Sam, it's cutting across to Bell Avenue, toward the factories!"
"I'm stuck on Dunham! There's a crash; the cops aren't letting anyone by!"
"Shit!" Dean chases after the android, still yelling at his brother. "I knew I shouldn't have let you drive!"
"Like it's my fault there's an accident, jerk!"
"Bitch!" Dean clears the crowd and runs into the dark passageway.
"Look, I can't get to you; just head back to the meeting point!" Sam snaps in exasperation.
"No way! I'm closin' in on it! It's only one Angel, Sam, I can take it- we need the cash!"
"Dea-" But Dean switches off his comm, cutting the other Winchester short as he picks up his speed once again. The rogue is a distant spot in the huge, near-vacant lot of a melting plant, far but not gone. There's still a chance that the Bounty Hunter could get there, make this catch, make them some decent money at last. The bounty on B-Alt-Hazard, a former Bionic Alteration unit, is enough that the Winchesters could pay their own rent for a few months, even pay Bobby back for the loans he's given them (though he insists there's no debt). And if Dean manages to bring the droid in alive, the prize will be even higher. B-Alt-Hazard- or Balthazar, as it now calls itself- is a resistance fighter, one of the higher-ups in the Angelic Liberation Front, AKA The Fallen. Inside that bio-mechanical brain is, doubtless, a wealth of information that could lead to the capture of dozens more rogues.
Dean unsheathes his pulse gun and makes for the factory as the Angel slips inside.
...
CAS-T13L is the only one on duty today- which is fine, because it's a simple enough task to work the enormous bellows and pour the molten metal into its molds, and he likes to be alone. He is in the middle of the process, just about to begin pouring, when a door several stories down slams open. He walks to the edge of his platform, along the rim of the largest melting chamber, and peers down, all the way to the cold, metal-shaving-dusted floor below. There is a tall blonde figure, bolting the door shut and pressing himself against the wall in an attempt to become invisible. He's wearing simple street clothes- he could almost pass for a human civilian were it not for the sharp, manufactured lines of his face and hands- but there is something painfully familiar in the way he moves, the tilt of his head and curve of his jaw, and CAS-T13L blurts without thinking, "B-Alt-Hazard?"
The android's head snaps up to look at him, pale eyes intense, and his hunted expression gives way to shock, then to a disbelieving grin. "Castiel?"
It is him. He's always pronounced CAS-T13L's name like a word, like a human name. The dark-haired Angel powers up his wings, dropping to the floor in front of his old companion. "But-" It really is him, real and standing right in front of him. "But you were decommissioned. You were terminated."
"Ah. Yes," the light-haired android's smile falls. "I am sorry about that. I had to, ah, disappear for a bit."
There's a slam at the door, and B-Alt-Hazard- Balthazar, CAS-T13L reminds himself- jumps. "And I'd love to spend hours explaining myself to you, Castiel, I really would, and you deserve it, but right now I'm in a bit of a pickle. Got a few Hunters on my trail, and I'm sure old Raph isn't far behind."
CAS-T13L's breath catches in his processors. If the Re-education Archangel is chasing Balthazar, it could be very, very dangerous, not only for the rogue Angel, but for everyone around him. RAPH-1L is a Hunter droid, and he is programmed to capture his target without distraction, human or android. If anyone gets in his way, he is authorized to destroy them.
The door bangs again, straining on its hinges, and CAS-T13L takes hold of the blonde's arm. "There's a spare set of wings upstairs," he rasps, launching them into the air.
...
Dean's shoulder is very quickly sore from slamming the door with it, and he glares at the stupid unbreakable glass of the windows. He's wondering if he should risk firing his gun at the door- it might rebound and while it won't kill him at this setting, it won't be pleasant and he'll likely lose his lunch- when his comm crackles to life without being switched on.
"Bounty Hunter Dean Winchester," an authoritative male voice snaps, "Cease and desist your hunt. An Archangel has been dispatched to retrieve the rogue. If you continue on your current path, your safety will not be guaranteed."
Dean hesitates a moment, weighing his options. It might be a while before the Archangel gets here; he probably has time. "Blow me," he grunts into the comm, giving the door a hefty kick. It begins to buckle under his onslaught, and his grip on the gun tightens.
...
Balthazar slips free of his shirt and CAS-T13L lifts the heavy, outdated spare wings, clicking them into place in the grooves of the other being's back. Below them, the door finally slams open, a human bursting in with a gun and a furious expression. Balthazar takes a step back, toward the open ventilation window next to them. He looks at the Servitude android sadly.
"I should take you with me," he murmurs. "You should come with me, Castiel." His fingers brush CAST-T13L's chin, his lower lip.
"I- I can't," the dark-haired Angel whispers. "You know I can't."
The blonde nods, expression nostalgic and affectionate. "I know." His wings begin to power up as the human clangs up the stairs. "I'll come back for you. You and Gabriel. I promise." He plants a quick peck on CAS-T13L's cheek, something he used to do when they worked in a hospital together, years ago. CAS-T13L had almost forgotten it.
There's a burst of light and a shower of debris as a hole is blasted into the ceiling. RAPH-1L descends, Holy Sword drawn, face grim as he bears down on Balthazar. In the same moment, the human Hunter reaches the top step and fires a pulse at the rogue. Balthazar ducks, pulling CAS-T13L down with him, and the human fires again, just as RAPH-1L reaches the platform. The pulse slams the Archangel into the wall, sending bricks and dust flying into the orange-tinged air. Balthazar seizes the opportunity, shooting through the window and away in an instant. CAS-T13L barely notices him leave.
He's staring at the Bounty Hunter in front of him. The green-eyed man.
...
When the grit and rubble sifts away from the air, Dean curses at himself for losing the target, coughing and hacking and pissed off. He's about to retreat down the stairs when a steel fist connects with his gut, doubling him over and sending him to his knees. The Archangel looms over him, eyes glowing in a cold, emotionless fury as it intones, "You have cost me my prey."
"I woulda had it if you hadn't gotten your shiny metal ass in my way!" Dean snaps, wheezing. He knows it's a really, really bad idea to sass back at an Archangel, but, well, he's not the smart Winchester. He's the impulsive Winchester.
The impulsive Winchester who's currently getting his clock cleaned by said Archangel.
RAPH-1L snarls and grabs him by the leg and shoulder, hoisting him into the air before slamming him down onto the hard metal grate of the ledge. Dean makes a sound like "hhngfh" and reaches once more for his gun, but the Archangel stomps it into bits and reaches for him again-
-and suddenly goes down like a ton of bricks, collapsing onto the floor to reveal the other android- a service droid in a skinny, nerdy-looking little body- with a horrified expression and impossibly wide, electric blue eyes.
For a long moment they just stare at each other, Dean's breath slowly coming back. His gaze flicks down to the senseless droid at their feet. "What the hell did you do?"
"I-" The blue-eyed Angel suddenly leans down and hauls the Hunter to his feet, stepping uncomfortably close, staring searchingly up into the human's face. "I switched him off. He has an automatic reboot- he'll be awake in a moment. You should run."
"What? But you're..." Dean steps back, uncomprehending, unsure how to word his question. "You helped me. Not him."
"Yes," the android whispers, looking terrified again.
"Why?"
...
The green-eyed man is staring at him, looking somewhere between confused and angry, and CAS-T13L is simultaneously exhilarated and petrified. He's just attacked an Archangel, he's attacked RAPH-1L, possibly the most dangerous Archangel in the Legion, and yes, he'll have to face the wrath of said Archangel when he wakes. But here he is, the man from CAS-T13L's "dreams", impossible and real and looking right at him, and something sickening and dizzying and amazing passes through his nerves and circuits.
"Why?" The human demands again, looking angrier.
"I..." How can he explain this? He can't. "I just-"
He doesn't get the chance to finish, because apparently RAPH-1L's reboot is faster than he thought. The larger android roars back to life, grabs hold of CAS-T13L and flings him aside before sweeping one massive wing through the air at the Bounty Hunter's head.
The blow knocks the human from the ledge, plummeting into the enormous melting vat, toward the molten liquid steel below, and CAS-T13L doesn't even think, doesn't even hesitate for a second to fire up his wings and launch himself into the vat. He dives at such a speed that for an instant he thinks he is too late, that the human has fallen into the magma, before realizing that he has overshot him. He brakes, the heat at this depth far too much for anything living- his feet and hands have gone cherry-red, glowing orange, and he shoots back upward toward the falling figure, one hand gripping a shoulder tightly, feeling his superheated palm burn through the material of the jacket before he can stop it the other hand tangling in something under the man's shirt and feeling it snap. He pulls them up through the haze, raising the man back to the ledge, past RAPH-1L, down to the cool floor and depositing his charge gently. His hand comes away bloody, bits of skin clinging to it, and he realizes he's burned all the way to the flesh. The man should be in terrible pain, but RAPH-1L's strike knocked him out. In his other hand is a necklace, tangled around his fingers. It's a simple design, a leather cord and a metal trinket, torn from the Hunter's neck.
CAS-T13L tears off the sleeve of his white work suit, wrapping it around the wound, and stands, leaving the human as safe as he can as he turns to face his punishment.
...
Dean comes to with a headache and an overall sense of dull pain, like a full-body hangover. He groans, rolling over, and fumbles for his comm, switching it on to find a dozen or so angry messages from Sam.
"Nnh..." He calls his brother back. Sam picks up after the first ring.
"Dean? Where the hell have you been? I've been calling for-"
"Yeah, yeah, can we skip the part where you lecture me on what a horrible person I am and get to the part where you come scrape me off the floor?" Dean asks weakly, massaging his throbbing forehead.
He hears Sam sigh heavily over the speaker. "What, I thought you could handle 'only one Angel'."
"Yeah, I can!" The older Hunter snipes. "Just not when there's Archangels trying to pummel my ass into the ground."
"You got in a fight with an Archangel?" He can hear the car's engine being started up. "How are you capable of speech right now? How are you alive?"
"I'm uh-" He's about to say something about how awesome he is, or how he's too badass for even an Archangel to handle, when he spots the white fabric wrapped around his shoulder. Gingerly, he peels it back, wincing when he finds the perfect handprint scorched into his skin. What the hell-? His groggy brain drags quick memories to the surface- the Archangel, fighting, the target escaping, then nothing but flashes. Something painful. Blue eyes? Falling, heat, more pain. Something torn from him. Such sad, sad blue eyes.
He scans the factory, but it's empty and silent, all the machinery shut down, no sign of anyone but him.
"I don't know," he says at last.