Authors Note: Christmas break!!! Woot for no homework and staying up late to write chapters. =D
Disclaimer: There once was a girl who could see Russia from her house, but not quite, who enjoyed Jensen's face and Supernatural and Dark Angel, two shows his face is in a lot, and although she may wish she may and wish she might, upon the first star she sees at night, this girl just never could own any real rights to using the characters of these two shows, however sad it may be, and instead uses their characters and manipulates them to do her bidding inside this FanFiction you are currently reading.
Max didn't know what else to say, they'd all gone over everything they knew, and yet, couldn't figure out the genetic mystery before them. These two men, who looked and sounded the same, even seemed to think similar to one another. But, since Alec, just like Max, was born in a testing facility, he couldn't be sure of his exact birthday. Dean said January 24th, 1999, was his birthday, and Alec had given himself the birthday of May 7th, 1999, years ago, when he, too, had first heard of the concept of celebrating the day you left your mother's womb.
While Dean was absolutely correct about the day he entered this world, no one, not even Alec, could be sure of his, and so they decided that Alec's estimation was close, but not right on. "Wait, so you're telling me you picked your own birthdays?" Dean asked, still slightly in disbelief over their entire story, trying to pick it apart until he found some sort of inconsistency that would prove them demons, or, at least, liars.
"Yeah, Manticore wasn't really very enthusiastic about celebrating its soldiers' birthdays." Max finally said. Once again, she had her dark eyes focused into nothing, staring out Logan's window, turned and sitting sideways in the love seat. Seattle was raining, surprise surprise, and so, as she often did, she stared out the window to relax herself. "It'd be more like putting an assembly date on our asses like those plastic action figures you used to be able to get…" she said with the slightest hint of amusement in her voice.
Finding himself pacing now, he started thinking aloud again, "Just like a barc-" Dean stopped himself at the irony. "I mean… yeah. So look, this is all well and good, but this is getting us nowhere." He stood up and ran his hands over his face as he so often did when he was tired or frustrated. "Why don't we go visit that place, Mandible?... The place you two were created in? See if we can find any clues, records, anything like that?" He asked innocently.
Alec scoffed out loud, Max just grinned in obvious amusement, a slight squeak emitting from her lips, while Logan held up his hands in defense, repeating, "Whoa whoa whoa… Whoa. No, what?" He asked this, thinking (hoping, even) he might have heard wrong.
Dean stared at the trio, confusion etched on his features, with his mouth hanging open. Sam was mirroring his actions. "Care to explain why that is so funny?" He asked, clearly unamused.
Max spoke up first, her usual attitude returning, "In case you weren't listening, it's Manticore, to begin with, and it's destroyed. We destroyed it, over 6 years ago now. It's gone. Nothing to see." She paused, reading Alec's mind and Logan's suspicions, "Not like we'd go back there if we could, if there was something to see." Her last statement was bitter, hateful, but not towards the Winchesters for a change.
Sam seemed to understand first, and put a hand on Dean's shoulder, pulling him out of earshot for Logan – remember Alec and Max have superhuman hearing here – to discuss their next move. "So let's just go without them, we need to know what we're dealing with here." Both of them glanced over, and simultaneously both Alec and Max stared at each other, pretending not to listen. At that moment, too, both groups put on their cheesiest grins before the brothers continued, "Yeah don't need babysitters." "We don't even know if they're telling the truth!" Max and Alec could hear the anger in Dean's hissing whisper. Max's brow furrowed in confusion. Why is he so angry without reason?
Alec seemed to read her expression perfectly and stepped forward, saying, "I think he's got control issues… ya know, power trips." He said with a grin.
Max half-heartedly smiled and nodded, but turned away, listening to the brothers again.
Logan smiled at Max, gave her arm a gentle rub, and walked away towards another room. Moments later, the transgenics could hear fingers typing away rapidly at a keyboard. Now it was Max's turn to smile. Dean and Sam, however, didn't seem to notice, and were now having a very hands on, heated discussion about whether or not Max, Alec, and Logan were trustworthy or not. Sam argued that they were, whereas Dean wasn't nearly so trusting.
"Well if they are telling the truth, and I severely doubt they are, then why won't they take us to Mantrickle?" he whispered in anger again.
Sam came to their defense, saying, "They don't want to go back, it sounds pretty traumatic! Come on Dean, it's just like you and Lawrence, our old house… it took how many years and how much persuasion to get you to go back? We have no reason not to trust them other than we are not very trusting people… what other leads have we go to go on?"
"You call this a lead!? Sam, open your eyes! If we do trust them, that means we're not going to follow up on the Matador lead! If we stay here with them," he turned and gave the transgenics a very fake, forced smile, "then we're at the mercy of these killing super soldiers! Sam, they might as well be assassins! We'd be like sitting ducks!" It took all self restraint he had to remember to whisper and not to flail his arms about while he was speaking so adamantly about it all.
Max rolled her eyes and couldn't hold back anymore, "Oh my god, you two!" She threw up her arms in frustration. "Dean, right? Yeah, it's Man-ti-core," she said it slowly, as if to a child, only angrier, "And we are not going to stop you from going to check out Gillette if you really want, but we're not going to help you, either." She folded her arms, stared at them, and stopped blinking for about a minute, "You're right though, you have no reason to trust us. Just like we have no reason to trust you. However, I can assure you I won't hurt either of you any more than I already have… without good reason." She smirked at them and glanced at Alec, who looked confused, "I'm afraid I can't speak for him or Logan," she jerked her head backwards slightly in Logan's direction, "however. You are more than welcome to leave town now and never come back, if tha--" Alec stopped her there, having had enough fuel thrown on the impending rant.
"I, for one, am in favor of you two staying here until we can figure out this whole mess, and why we're wearing the same face. I'm sure you share those sentiments." This last statement was barely a question.
Dean stared at them, blinked twice, and turned to look at Sam. Whispering once again, he voiced his confusion, "How did they hear all that? I wasn't talking that loudly, was I?"
"No," Alec answered, "however we've just got good hearing… like, really good hearing." He shrugged.
This casual attitude toward it all just made Dean more uneasy, but actually made Sam smile a little. "Just what are you smiling about?" Dean demanded.
"They're good. I believe them. And I also think we should go take a look at," he paused, and looked at Max while he said this, "Manticore," he smiled a little when she nodded at his proper pronunciation, "without them, have some fresh eyes on it and see if we can pick up anything they missed." He left out the part where he had dreamed about this meeting several weeks before they got word of supernatural activity in Seattle. That fact, however, made him trust Alec and Max even more.
In his dream, Max was perfectly visible, Alec not so much. He was more of a known presence, but not identifiable in any way. Max was helping Sam do something, but he woke up before he found out what it was. Logan wasn't there, this apartment wasn't there, and Dean wasn't there. The place Sam and Max were talking in felt… different. He wasn't too sure where it was, but it was concrete, not glass. More public, not a house. He'd recognize it if he saw it, but for now, Sam had no idea. If he had described it to Max, she would have been able to identify it as her place of work, Jam Pony Express office, but neither of them would have been able to understand why they were talking there or how Sam got there. And in front of Dean, Sam wasn't going to venture as far as to describe a dream to a stranger, even if she was in it.
Meanwhile, Dean glanced at Sam, back at Alec, and nodded. "Fine. You two, just tell us where to go and we'll get out of your hair…" he sighed, "for now." He added for safe measure.
Within minutes, Sam and Dean were out of Logan's penthouse and bickering about Sam driving Dean's car, instead.
At the same moment Max shut the door and turned towards Alec with a skeptical look on her face, a victorious "Aha!" sounded from Logan's office, and excited steps grew closer until Logan was visible. "Where'd they go?"
Not that long, yes I know.... however chapter 5 is already a few paragraphs in. This time I promise more updates than one every 3 months or however long it's been... probably more. (How many times have I said it and never followed through? Damn...) Remember: Comments always more than welcome, honesty and opinions I love them!!! It's what improves me. I love me some reviews!!!