There was fire and smoke everywhere, he could see the blonde woman pinned to the ceiling again, she was reaching for him,
" Dean!'', she called, her voice soft but full of pain, X5-494 awoke with a start, he'd been having the same strange dreams since he could remember, and it was always the same. Fire everywhere and the blonde woman reaching for him, calling him 'Dean', but he wasn't Dean, he was an X5 series, made, born and raised in a lab by the government, but why did he feel like he knew her so well?
He didn't really have any early memories of being at manticore, and what he could remember was hazy at best, as if the memories were not his own, as if they'd been placed there. He rolled over on his cot and let out a deep sigh wiping his hand over his tired eyes. He'd not been back long from a mission were he'd had to infiltrate an underground crime syndicate, posing as a nephew of one of the bosses and eliminate the threat that they posed to the government facility. The small band of mobsters were trying to blackmail manticore by threatening to reveal their whereabouts to the general public, the mole who was guilty of leaking the information had been dealt with in typical manticore style. The poor bastard being turned into a hunt for the younger X-series for training purposes.
494 had been instructed to make the elimination look like an opposing faction had taken out the gang, he'd done his job and returned to manticore with his report on his mission and had been given some much deserved down time. So he was surprised when two guards entered his room,
"On your feet, Colonel Lydecker wants to see you'' one of the guards growled,
"What about?'', the young X5 asked curious but rising to his feet none the less
"Didn't ask and he didn't say. Just that he wanted to see you".
The X5 followed the guards to the colonel's office, Lydecker was sat behind his desk with a manila folder in front of him, and he glanced at the transgenic and waited for the guards to leave.
"At ease soldier'' the X5 relaxed his posture but could feel tension running through his body, something was definitely wrong,
"There's been a development with your counterpart X5-493 and we need to send you to psy-ops. He's become a tad…..unstable'', the Colonel said frowning, his eyes still trained on the file in front of him,
"Psy-ops?!'', he swallowed the lump in his throat and attempted to bring some moisture to his mouth
"Err………………unstable how exactly?'' The colonel ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair and sighed heavily,
"We believe he may have been responsible for a string of murders and terrorizing his family''
"Wait…………………………what?! His family? I thought 493 had escaped the facility along with some other X5's''
"That's what we told you'', he gazed at the X5, assessing if to tell him the full truth or not. Coming to a decision he continued, "The real story is that you were both born into a family, but it was decided with the parents and us that you being the stronger twin would come to us and your brother would stay with the family. That was our agreement''
"They gave me up?'', even though he hadn't met these people he still felt abandoned and hurt, he swallowed the tears that wanted to fall and gazed back at the colonel,
"They came to us for help in conceiving and the terms were drawn out beforehand, they had to choose who to give up, so I suppose the answer to your question is yes'',
" Oh…right'', the X5 felt like he'd been punched in the gut, he had a family but they hadn't wanted him, what had this other him , this twin had that he didn't? , why would they just give him up? Why not run?
He suddenly realised that the colonel was talking again and pulled himself from his thoughts
"We've had to eliminate the threat, he was becoming too dangerous''
"Permission to speak freely sir?'', the colonel nodded and gestured with his hand for the X5 to speak,
"Not to be argumentative here sir but why do I have to go to psy-ops just because my twin went all Jeffery Dahmer?''
"Because 494 you're from the same DNA code, and we need to check that you're functioning properly'', he pointed his finger at the transgenic " Which means we need to check you out fully, that none of his faults are yours. He's had other problems also''
" Faults?!, you said he'd had some problems, what kind of problems has he had ?''.
The colonel gave the X5 a piercing gaze, the young transgenic held his ground although he wanted to squirm under the look he was receiving, but you never show any signs of weakness. Never, Lydecker opened the folder in front of him and scanned the pages,
"His mother was killed in a fire when he was 4, he apparently witnessed it''
"That's awful'', the X5 exclaimed the sudden image of the burning woman coming to his mind, he could even smell the smoke. Lydecker nodded but continued to read 493's life like it was a shopping list.
"Moved around a lot since then with his father and younger brother, There's been some questionable injuries since the age of 8 CPS have been called in twice but found no evidence of abuse''.
"You said he's been terrorizing his family. What's he been doing exactly?'', Lydecker sighed impatiently,
"Why does any of this matter 494? We've already eliminated 493 so this is none of your concern''
"I guess I'm just curious sir'', he shrugged,
"Why?''
"Can't a guy be curious about his evil twin?'', the colonel eyed him a moment longer then finally relented
"He's been witnessed to beat his younger brother and reports indicate that even the father has a fear of him''
"How come they keep him around if he's such a problem?'', the colonel shrugged
"You got me kid, not your concern anyway; it's time now 494''.
The X5's shoulders slumped he'd been to psy-ops before on two previous occasions, his latest when he'd been 8 for mouthing off to a guard. He'd never forgot it, the first time had been when he was very young, and his memories from then where always hazy. Now because of a stupid twin that he had no control over he had to go back.
"Sir, what happens if I'm on a mission and they think I'm 493, won't the objective be compromised?"
"All evidence pertaining to 493's guilt will be destroyed''
"What about his family? Won't they come looking for him?''
"Let me worry about that okay?''.
The guards from earlier re-entered the room and escorted the X5 to psy-ops for his check up. His heart was hammering in his chest, he was sure that everyone could hear it, because to him it sounded like a loud drum solo. They led him through the door one on either side gripping him tightly and forced him into one of the cooler cells.
The X5's were fast and strong, but a long period of exposure to the cold and they became weak, which made them easier to manage. 494 spent a week in psy-ops being prodded and poked his DNA spliced open and re connected, his system swept clean, so it was with much confusion that he followed the herd of other transgenics as they left the manticore compound in flame and ruin. He felt in a fuzzy haze and had no memory of who he was, where he'd been, or what had happened to him. He was led to a truck where a young woman with brown eyes told him he was being taken to Ohio to start a new life, to lay low, don't expose yourself.
When he next awoke he was in a motel room lay on the bed with a stack of money on the bedside cabinet, no memory of getting there, checking in, or even where the hell he was. He suddenly felt very hungry as if he hadn't eaten for a week and decided to go in search of food; he left the room and saw a small diner over the road so made his way towards it. His mind still felt foggy, and he still didn't know who he was, and it was beginning to scare him.
He'd just finished his food when two officers approached him,
"Hey son, shouldn't you be in school?'', one of the men asked, he had a kind face and was in his late forties with greying hair and soft brown eyes,
"Err………." he didn't know what to say he couldn't remember "I'm not sure'', he said scratching the back of his neck feeling uncomfortable with the close scrutinisation, the man gave him a concerned look,
"Are you okay kid, you don't look so good'',
"I'm fine, thanks sir just feel a bit queasy is all. I'll head back to my room now if that's okay with you'', he stood to leave but a hand on his forearm had him stopping, it was the other officer who was in his late twenties rich red hair and bright blue eyes,
"Where's your family son? The manager of the motel said you checked in alone and looked pretty out of it. You on drugs?''
"Drugs!?'', the X5 gulped "No sir no drugs''
"Your family then? Where are they?''
"I don't know'' he whispered eyes downcast "I don't remember much, don't even know who I am''
"Okay kid, come with us we'll see if we can help you. I'm Officer Jenkins and this young stud is Officer O'Neill'', the young X5 nodded and went with the two officers, when they reached the station his finger prints were taken and he was led to an interview room until his results came back through IAFIS.
"Did you get a hit on those prints Harry?'', Ross O'Neill asked his partner, he handed him a mug of coffee as Harry Jenkins nodded at him,
"Strangest thing to, this kid was reported missing''
"Yeah, what's so strange about that?'' O'Neill interrupted, Harry grunted at him
"Well if you'd let me finish''
"Sorry'' O'Neill said with a smirk and took a gulp of the warm bitter brew,
"He was reported missing….12 years ago!! It was a kidnapping case; kid went missing the night his home burnt down. Mother was killed in the blaze, police suspected arson and the father at the time but couldn't prove anything. Kids name is Dean Winchester, I was just going in to talk to him now, see if he remembers anything yet. I'm going to get the doc to take a look at him an all, he looks like he's been through a war zone, did you see all those bruises?'', O'Neill nodded his head, the young man that they'd brought in was not only bruised but looked like he hadn't slept in days,
"Okay I'll go get the doc you can go talk the kid'', O'Neill said making his way to the infirmary, Harry shot him a glare but then smiled and shook his head, the younger officer had grown on him he could be cocky and a smart ass, but he also cared about people. Harry made his way to the small interview room, he knocked before he entered and offered the X5 a can of soda, he took it gratefully popping it open and taking a long drink.
"So what'd ya find out five-o? Was it me who shot JR?'', he said grinning at the officer,
"Quite a lot actually, Does the name Dean Winchester mean anything to you?'', the X5 swallowed hard,
"Dean?'' he said furrowing his brow " That name, Dean it…..I don't know, maybe that rings a bell, but the Winchester part'', he was suddenly hit by an image of a tall man with dark hair smiling at him broadly, dark eyes sparkling with amusement,
"Dean why'd you draw a picture of a gun next to your name? you freaked your teacher out kid''
"I can't spell Winchester daddy and we's named after the rifle I member you said so. So I drewed a picture of one a Winchester rifle'', the man ruffled his hair and picked him up pulling him close to his chest
"That's pretty smart kid, you must get your brains from me'', he was brought back to the present by a hand on his shoulder
"Hey kid you okay? You zoned out on me there''
"Yeah, I'm good……I think……..I think I just remembered something about when I was young. That name Winchester it sparked something, is that me? Dean Winchester? Is that who I am?'', Harry nodded,
" We think so, got in touch with your father through a contact number he'd left'', he looked at the file he'd brought in with him " A Pastor James Murphy do you recognise the name?'', Dean shook his head
"No sorry that name means nothing. So this dad……he's…he's coming?''
"Yeah kid he's coming should be here in a few hours. Listen kid, can you remember anything, you're pretty banged up?'', again Dean shook his head, it was all so foggy and in all honesty trying to remember anything gave him a headache,
"No sorry, and to be honest it kinda hurts to think about it'', Harry gave him a concerned look
"I want the doc to check you out kid, make sure you got nothing serious going on with ya okay?''
"Yes sir'', he said slouching in his chair. Ross came in the room followed by a man who was older than Harry, he had silver hair and hazel eyes, was tall but slender he approached the young X5,
"Hey I'm Doctor Williams but you can call me Jake. I'm just going to check you out son okay?'', he waited until his patient gave him an accepting nod before he continued with the examination. He used quick experienced hands and ghosted them over the boy before him, slight hissing and wincing received in certain areas he examined,
"Any pain anywhere?''
" He said his head hurt'', Harry offered which earned him a glare from the young man, he grinned at him not at all bothered that he had shared that information with the doctor.
"Is that true Dean? Do you mind if I call you Dean?'',
"Seems to be my name, shame not to use it'', Dean said wincing slightly as the doctor's hands probed his head gently, the man nodded
" My brother was called Dean, he was a good man, massive pain in my butt, but a good man none the less'', he said pulling out his pen torch to examine Deans eyes, but at seeing the light Dean leapt from the chair and backed into the corner,
"Please don't put that in my eyes'', he said almost sobbing, the three men stood there shocked by Deans reaction from being calm and allowing the examination, he'd gone to practically hysterical. Jake raised his hands in a calming gesture,
"Hey, it's okay it's just to check for a concussion. Would it make you feel better if I did it to one of the officers first?, showed you, you got nothing to worry about'', Dean nodded trying to pull air into his lungs, he knew he was panicking but that light had freaked him out in way he couldn't understand.
"Okay then. Harry would you mind?'', Harry shook his head
" Not at all'', Jake inspected Harry's eyes, watching Deans reaction whilst he was, Dean moved closer and seemed to have settled slightly,
"Can I do yours now son, it won't hurt I promise'', Dean nodded and sat still while the doctor examined his eyes " There ya go, no problems thank you for trusting me Dean'', Dean let out a shaky laugh,
"Not a problem doc. So do I get a clean bill of health?'' he said grinning,
"Yeah, just some cuts and bruises that should heal in time, no sign of concussion which is good, but you do have a slight bump on your head. Have you remembered anything else?'', Dean drew his brows together in concentration and shook his head,
"No sir, can't remember a thing form before, although I think I remember my name, some bits have come back to me from when I was a kid'', Jake smiled reassuringly
"That's good, try not to worry about it though okay?''
"Yes sir'',
"Try and get some rest, I'll have them bring a cot in for you, you need some sleep, I'm going to give you a mild sedative that'll help you rest for a couple of hours'' Dean opened his mouth to protest but Jake stopped him " Doctors orders son, you need to sleep''
"Okay'', Dean relented. A small cot bed and some blankets were brought in for him, he lay down on the bed and waited for the doctor to give him his sedative, he was drifting away as soon as he had, I'll be okay he thought to himself, maybe a couple hours of shut eye would help some, can't hurt right?.
"So doc is he going to be okay?'' Ross asked concerned
"He should be , I don't know what's happened to that young man, but it was obviously very traumatic, in actuality he may never remember, but that maybe a good thing''
"He said he remembered something from being young, his name'' Harry said, the doctor nodded his head and a small smile came to him,
"That is good, if he can remember that is a good sign. But his years after he may never get those back, and from his reaction to the pen torch, I'd say that would be a good thing'', Ross blew a long breath from his nose, a part of him wanted the kid to remember so he could go and exact some justice on those who had taken him, for doing whatever they'd done to the boy, but another part of him hoped he never did. That's were nightmares came from, so he hoped that Dean didn't remember to save him from those at least. As the officers went about their business they left Dean to sleep in the interview room, he slept happily in a so far dreamless sleep.
John Winchester pulled the impala up outside the police station, he couldn't believe it, one son had gone missing and one that was missing had been found, he'd decided that in some past life he must have been a real bastard, all the crap that had happened to him and his family, he must have been Hitler, or maybe even Rasputin. Fate certainly liked to fuck with him, but as he, the Pastor and Sam left the truck he thought that maybe his life was making a turn around.
The police had found Dean, they'd found his green eyed boy after all this time. It was the only way to really tell the twins apart Ben's eyes were more brown than green, they had green running through them but Dean had had his mothers eyes, a bright green that danced with light when he was happy. John just hoped that his boy would remember him, so he entered the station with a feeling he hadn't felt in nearly 12 and a half years, hope.
He approached the desk and spoke to the young red haired man there,
"Excuse me, my name is John Winchester, I got a call about my son, Dean Winchester, someone said they'd found him'', Ross O'Neill eyed the man before him, he had that hopeful look of a parent, and he finally smiled at the man noticing the younger kid who was attached to his sleeve, John noticed him watching Sam,
"This is Sammy my youngest son'' he offered, placing his arm around the slight shoulders of the skinny boy next to him,
"Yes sir, we found your boy. He's sleeping at the minute, if you'll follow me I'll take you through to Harry and he can explain everything'', John nodded and the three of them followed O'Neill to one of the desks in back, where Harry was sat cursing at the computer in front of him. Ross cleared his throat to draw his attention
"Err Harry, this is John Winchester, Deans father'', Harry looked up from the computer he had been insulting and took in the three people before him. John Winchester was an imposing sight, well built, tall and obviously in good shape, he had a military bearing about him. The kid who stood next to him looked a little thin, but he was tall like his father and just needed to grow into his body, and then there was another man, he was tall but a few inches shorter than Winchester, he had greying hair and bright blue eyes, the man seemed to notice he was being observed he offered his hand in greeting, a smile on his kind face,
"Pastor Murphy you called me with regards to Dean''
"Oh yes of course. Ross get the kid a soda would ya. Would you gentle men like a drink?''
"Coffee would be fine, thank you'', the Pastor said nodding his approval, Ross went off grumbling about not being a damn secretary which had Sam giggling. Harry gave Sam a smile and a wink,
"Where did you find my boy officer?'',
"Harry, call me Harry. We found him at a diner; he has no memory of where he was, or even who he was. The doc's checked him over and says he'll be fine, but that he's been through a traumatic experience and he may never remember where he's been. He thinks he remembers his name though said he remembers a few bits here and there of being a young child''
"Was he…..was he….how was he hurt?'', the horrific possibilities of what had happened to his boy raced through Johns mind,
"He was pretty beaten up when we found him, but the doc's main concern was his lack of memory. No sign of concussion, but he had a pretty bad bump to the back of his head. Doc gave him a mild sedative so he could rest and he's been sleeping peacefully for the past 4 hours'', John nodded then looked to Sammy,
"Hey kiddo, go get us some candy from the machine would ya?''
"Okay dad'' he left the adults and headed to the candy machine.
John looked to the officer again, a war going on inside of him, someone had beaten his boy, to say Winchester was not happy was an understatement ,he was going to tear the culprits limb from limb, he took a deep breath then asked the question that was making his stomach rebel,
"Was there any sign of sexual assault?'', the Pastor looked to John for a brief moment before his eyes flicked to the officer,
"In all honesty Mr. Winchester we didn't check for that, but I can get the doc to if you'd like'', Winchester shook his head
"No that's fine, I….I just want him home and safe'', Harry nodded, he understood were the father was coming from and why he'd sent his youngest away. Sam returned with some candy and grinned at his father's surprised look
"Damn kid did you buy all of it?'' John asked raising an eyebrow,
"I didn't know what Dean would like so I got a variety'' he smiled sheepishly
"I think that's very thoughtful Samuel''; the Pastor said gently "Perhaps we could see Dean now and take him home. Unfortunately Johns other son Dean's twin brother has gone missing and we need to be near a phone in case he contacts us'',
"I'll keep my eyes open for you; see if he turns up'' Harry said
"Thanks I'd appreciate that, we left a report with the locals but another set of eyes can always help'', John said. Harry led them to the interview room where Dean was sleeping,
"Don't be upset now if he doesn't recognise you, it's been a long day, and it may take him some time, "they all nodded and Harry let them in the room.
Dean was lay on his back watching the ceiling, he turned his eyes to the door as it was opened and Harry came in with three strangers, he sat up shakily and rubbed his head wincing in pain,
"You need some pain meds kids?''
"Nah, I'm fine'', Dean replied "So, am I the only fish in the tank, or is it my unbelievable good looks that have you showing strangers into my……err…room'', he smirked cockily. Harry rolled his eyes at the smart alec reply,
"Dean this is your Father'', Dean looked to the man with the dark eyes and hair who was looking at him, then to the young kid at his side who gave a small smile and wave, he smiled back and was suddenly hit with a feeling of protection and warmth that he felt he'd not had in a long time. This he thought was going to be interesting.