SCP-1428 – "Cortexichildren"
Chapter 10: The A-Team
Disclaimers: During the writing process, all of the SCP number selections I have used were / are vacant. I don't intend to publish this on the wiki, so if the series number is now taken… I DON'T GIVE A FUCK FUCK IT. This is mainly a crossover fic, not a SCP event log that will go on the site.
Forever reminder that I do not own anything. Fringe belongs to J.J. & co. Each SCP belongs to their respective individual author. The SCP universe belongs to that collective on that site. I do not own anything. I am a fan.
Forever reminder of how I handle alt!characters: Over There: Bob. Over Somewhere Else: Bob.
Author's Notes: I don't know about you, but I am so happy to be writing more Fringe-based things. Like holy balls this is such a wonderful change.
But at the same time, I've been so caught up with Nick & Olivia… it was hard writing OTHER characters again. I don't want to count how many times I got stuck.
"So what you're trying to say… is that there is an entirely new universe, beyond ours and the Other Side? And that our Olivia Dunham is stuck in that universe, along with another Cortexiphan subject, Nick Lane?" Broyles lay back in his seat, trying to process it all. "And that you got all of this information from an Observer, no less?"
"Yes," Walter Bishop enthusiastically nodded his head. "He appeared right in the middle of my bear claw-eating. Oh, I should have brought some for you, Agent Broyles. They were quite good you see."
If Walter was going to go off on one of his tangents again, Peter recognized that he would have to take over. Like always. "September also explained to us that the softspots between our universe and that universe are unstable. The softspots are much more stable on the Other Side, so if we were to enact a rescue mission, that would be our best shot. But of course September didn't mention how we're supposed to convince them. And he didn't mention much of the specifics of the machine we have to build. Or where to go after we build such a machine." September hadn't told them much of anything.
"In his defense, the man was rather in a hurry. He's done enough for us already. Now we know that Agent Dunham is okay!" Walter couldn't help but jump up in the air and clack his heels together. "It's the best news we've received yet!"
Walter was being… Walter. Peter continued, "But September also shared who's keeping Olivia and Nick." Peter swallowed painfully; he couldn't share his father's enthusiasm and excitement, given the circumstances. Olivia was alive, but he didn't know for how long.
"Who?" Broyles leaned forward. "Who are we talking about here?"
Peter carried on, hesitantly, "The universe they're in is much like ours, except there's no Fringe division. The group that studies odd scientific phenomenon is called the SCP Foundation. And because Nick and Olivia are odd scientific phenomenon…"
"They're in the hands of this SCP Foundation." Broyles folded his hands and pressed them to his lips. "This is certainly a major turn of events, Peter Bishop; graver than we first thought." He closed his eyes and pursed his lips, "I thought David Robert Jones would be the most of our worries, but now we have another universe to worry about; a universe that doesn't even know that we exist, for the most part – which gives us an advantage. But this universe operates much differently than ours and is still relatively unknown." He opened his eyes and looked at the two of them, "What exactly do you need?"
"Wait, so you're just going to okay this yourself? You're not going to talk to anyone else?" Peter was skeptical to say the least. "Don't more people need to know? This is a highly delicate operation so-"
"If we don't get the Other Side's approval, telling those people would be pointless. And besides," Broyles got up and straightened his shirt, "It might be better to keep these matters… classified between us, being as delicate as it is.
"And even if I told those people now, we're only going off the words of one man; we don't have a lot of evidence aiding us. With the Other Side, there is something tangible for them to understand – a bridge. There are tangible doppelgangers; there are tangible effects and tangible threats. But up until now, this universe did not exist and for these men, until they see something of value or some threat that needs resolving – beyond that of an agent missing – they won't believe us." Broyles swayed to pick up his coat behind his desk. And he continued to speak as he hastily pulled it on. "After I get the needed clearance, I will be accompanying you to the Other Side."
"The needed clearance to speak with…?" But Peter already knew the answer to that question.
"With Secretary Bishop."
The three men stepped through the bridge to the Other Side.
Broyles still had his doubts. Walter was still a wild card. He had been responsible for Olivia's capture and imprisonment not too long ago. Broyles doubted he would be able to play the 'we refuse to leave no agent left behind' card with the likes of him. But playing up the threat of a new universe with this SCP Foundation… it could work to his – to their – advantage. Of course, that was assuming Walter would believe them. The word of one Observer… it seemed too precarious.
And that wasn't even counting the fact that they needed to use their side to get to Olivia, using some device that could possibly undo all of the recent healing of their world. And tearing the fabric of their universe just to save one agent and a civilian? It was unlikely that the Other Side would agree to such a proposal. Walter already harbored hatred for their side, for being responsible for the damage in the first place. And now they wanted to inflict possibly more damage?
"September mentioned no other solution to saving Dunham?" Broyles asked. He had his doubts. He was hesitant. He wouldn't hold his breath for Walter's approval.
"Unfortunately no." Peter turned to Broyles. "You're seeing all the cracks in the plan, aren't you?"
Broyles nodded, "Too much hangs in the balance. Every angle points to Walternate vetoing us down cold."
"What about Secretary Bishop are we talking about, gentlemen?"
Peter's eyes shot up at Olivia. He wasn't expecting to see her again, especially like this.
She rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her black windbreaker, snarling, "First Agent Lee, now the three of you? Is there something I should know?"
"I'm not sure you have the proper clearance to ask us that question," Broyles countered, coldly.
"Oh really?" She arched her eyebrows and blocked the door behind her, "Let me guess – my doppelganger is still hopelessly lost and you need to use some equipment to find her sorry ass?"
"How DARE you talk to Olivia like that, you vile viper vessel!" The insults rolled off of Walter's tongue. And with the insults, came projectile spitting – much to the disgust of Peter, who was standing right next to him and getting an ample amount of the saliva blast. "Don't you dare think I've forgotten about you and your twisted schemes. Your vagenda will not triumph over man today; we – shall – pass!" Walter put down an imaginary staff, hoping to command her out of the way.
It didn't work.
Olivia looked at the man blankly, and then looked to Peter, seeking for guidance to comprehend his mess of a father. And then to Broyles, hoping to understand whatever the hell was going on in the first place. The HELL was this band of hooligans barging in for?
"Y'know I think we should just tell her." Peter knew he would sound crazy – especially to his father – but it was worth a shot. "Now listen to me Walter, before you start frothing at the mouth. We need someone who knows the Secretary, well enough to negotiate for our cause. And if the negotiation pans out, we need someone to help form the support team – someone with high enough clearance to truly understand what we're doing. And dare I say it… we need someone that we can trust." Peter looked deep into Olivia's eyes, which were the same color as his Olivia's, possibly even deeper in tone. "Walter may not trust you, Broyles may not even trust you, but I do. You're good at your job, Agent Dunham, and we could use you here."
Olivia folded and unfolded her arms across her chest as she turned over the compliment, along with the hidden plea, in her mind. Finally she planted her arms on her hips and spoke, "What kind of a situation are we talking about?"
Peter finished explaining the entirety of it all to her. They were in a small conference room, not far from the bridge. The three of them were on one side of the table and Olivia was on the other.
It was amusing to watch her face fall as she comprehended the severity of the issue – and all the issues with the solution to the problem. And just her constant state of motion. One minute she would have her feet up on the table; the next, she would be twiddling her thumbs next to her breasts; the next, she would be resting her chin on both her hands, tapping and shaking her legs nervously. She was Olivia and yet… she wasn't.
Now her arms were behind her neck while the rest of her body leaned back in her chair. Her posture may have been relaxed, but her voice shook. "But in order to do this… you have to rip open the universes again?"
"Not necessarily." This was the first time Walter had spoken since he slandered the agent. "I could refine my device to slide open the seams between the universes, rather than rip them. I understand how vital the bridge and its healing have been to your world. Believe me when I say that we do NOT want to disrupt it."
"And you shouldn't," Olivia snapped, violently leaning forward and sending her red hair in every which direction. "It's already fragile to begin with and…" She shook her head, hair still cascading around her, "I've gotten used to freeing people from amber, as opposed to sealing them in amber. I've gotten used to a much more stable and safer world. And the everyday people… they shouldn't have to be blasted back into that hell just because of one person. Why should their lives, their safety, their world, hang in the balance just for the sake of your agent? And then some other man that I don't even know about."
There it was – the needs of the many versus the needs of the few. Broyles was afraid they would run into that same roadblock with the man who REALLY made the decisions. But now was the perfect time to test his bait.
Broyles put his hands and his words on the table. "As Peter told you, the SCP Foundation is holding Olivia captive. At this point in time, we're not sure if they know of our universes. But if they do, we can't afford to take chances. An entire foundation obsessed on scientific anomalies sounds like a government-funded David Roberts Jones brigade just waiting for the right moment to strike. And with the delicate matter of Cortexiphan up for grabs… I can't leave anything up to mere chance.
"Agent Dunham. I applaud your commitment and duty not only to your job, but to your universe. And that is precisely why we need you. We don't know what we're facing with here. This Foundation could be peaceful, purely knowledge-based and knowledge-motivated, but it could not. The Observer specifically mentioned that we need an armed team – that doesn't cry out purely educational to me. In the event that they have their own guards, perhaps their own small militia, we need your assistance and we need the assistance of your universe to subdue this Foundation and save our agent and another innocent person's in the worst case scenario, this SCP Foundation may be a threat the both us will have to face in the future. And I say it's better we face the issue now, while we still can, rather than later."
Olivia looked down at her hands, swallowing and continually folding and rubbing them. She took a shuddering breath and looked up at the ceiling. She blinked rapidly as she tried to form words. After a few minutes of nervous silence, "Ultimately it's not my decision; it's Walter's. I don't see why you're so desperately trying to sway me."
"We need to speak to the Secretary, but we also need you."
She tentatively swallowed, eyes still wavering, breath still shaking, "Okay. But I'm not sure if this is all going to work."
Peter got up from his seat, "Even if he vetoes it, we'll probably go through with it all anyway. It's the Bishop way."
Walter was seated at his desk.
The four filed in. Or three filed in and one skipped in, tripped a little bit when he saw Walter, and hid behind Peter.
"Agent Dunham? I wasn't expecting you." Walter looked her up and down. "Are you with them, or is there another matter I need to oversee?"
"They've enlisted me for their cause, sir." Olivia would've smiled if the issue had been lesser, but it wasn't. And she still didn't think they had a shot of winning the man over.
"And you're here to help sweeten the deal?" Walter sighed. "Fine. Proceed then, Olivia. Tell me everything they told you."
Walter began to zone out. At first, he thought about all of the abstract paintings and miscellaneous art pieces on the walls. They were all very pleasant, like the paintings Nina used to make when she joined them [a rare occasion] on one of his and William's LSD trips. Especially the one with the purple swooshes immediately behind Walter. Walter was absolutely positive that Nina had drawn the same thing however many years prior. Perhaps it had made its way to the other universe without their knowing? Or perhaps a shared consciousness over this same scene happened with another person in this universe? He would have to look into it.
But then… Walter thought about the room in general. And the man in front of him in general.
Seeing your double puts your own life into perspective. What have you done with YOUR life, versus the similar being in front of you? Walter pondered this. This man, unlike Walter, had not gone to St. Claire's. The man in front of him was mentally sound – sound enough to be trusted with a government position in the Department of Defense. And the man oversaw everything there was with Fringe science and Fringe events. He was the man Walter used to be… and even more powerful than that.
Quite frankly, Walter was jealous. Like Olivia had been jealous of her doppelganger's life without Cortexiphan-induced struggles, Walter was jealous of this man and his success – free from the physical and moral complications stealing a child and living with the consequences brings. The objects in this room, and everything the room stood for, mocked Walter. This Walter had everything he did not. This man was wearing an expensive suit, the finest money could buy, while Walter was slathered in dull, rough browns and greys. And a childish floppy hat to top it all off. Walter spoke in sharp spasms and rhythmic jolts, while this man's cadence was smooth, calm, and commanding. He was a presence – a force – to be reckoned with, while Walter was just a senile old man who sometimes got things right. Walter was a man constantly distracted by immature fixations; this man let nothing stand in the way of his goals. Absolutely nothing.
At least, that was what it looked like on the surface. But the surface was all Walter cared about. He still saw Olivia simply as a harlot with a vagenda, not the actual complex human being that Peter saw her to be. To Walter still, this woman was less than human; this woman had wronged him and was incapable of gaining – of deserving - forgiveness or even humanity [not now, maybe not even ever.] The scar had faded over time, over recent events since the two sides were in closer contact and cooperation, but the scar still remained. She was still a viper and Walternate would be the master of ALL vipers.
"Walter? He asked you a question." Peter had been shaking Walter's arm for quite some time now; he just didn't recognize it.
"Oh, dear me." He looked back up to the Walter in front of him. "What did you say?"
"Approximate what you'll be doing in my universe."
His voice bled importance. And power. His voice was not meek or gravitating toward the irrational. He was almost a perfect Walter, a better Walter, and a Walter he would never be. Walter was overcome with waves of inadequacy, causing his voice and his hands to tremor, "I'm not entirely sure about the specifics. I'll need to find my old plans of the device-"
"The device capable of ripping apart and destroying worlds." Walter's eyes narrowed, voice cold and calculating to the core. "Go on."
Walter even shivered at this man, this man so much his opposite. "W-well yes, but I am hoping to build a newer device. H-hopefully one which will do less damage to this world, and to the other universe we need to cross into."
"Hopefully? You don't sound as confident as Agent Dunham led me to believe."
Peter recognized that Walter needed help. He was swimming in fear, just being in the presence of this man. Peter would have to look into it later, but that was later. "We didn't get the best advice from September. We don't know exactly how to tune the device – what frequency that universe vibrates at. We don't even know where we'll need to put the device. We're really waiting for a return visit. In the meantime, Walter needs to find the plans and stand-by."
Broyles, who had been silent, finally decided to speak. "But you won't help us, will you?" He saw the look in Walter's eyes. He knew the bitterness that lay within. "I am here – we are all here – because we want to save two innocent lives. We are not here to steal from a universe that which is not ours. We will not interfere with their universe, or with your universe, to an unnecessary degree."
"But what am I supposed to trust, Agent Broyles? Your word?" Walter pounded his fist against his desk, like Zeus throwing a bolt of lightning from Mount Olympus. He proceeded to snarl, "This man in front of me, I cannot trust his word. I cannot trust a man that downright stole something right from under me. I cannot be expected to trust a man of HIS character."
'The thing he stole is standing right in front of you,' Peter wanted to retort, but he bit his tongue. He tried to work at it from another angle. "You can supervise the creation of the machine. In fact, it might be best if the two of you work together on this. It'll be double the expertise, double the input. Walter can perfect the design of the device and you can minimize the negative effects on your world."
"Peter, why would you even suggest that? The man HATES me and I will not deny: the feeling is still mutual." Walter narrowed his eyes at his doppelganger, who narrowed his back at him. The tension could only be cut with a freshly sharpened saw.
"I doubt I would be able to work with such a selfish being," Walter hissed.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen," Olivia put her hands up, hoping to barter a truce. "We need to think about the big picture; put your petty little strife aside." She leaned in, "Permission to speak freely, sir."
"You could have asked that sooner, Agent Dunham." Walter did not like being referred to as a gentleman with a petty strife, but he would allow her to continue. "But permission granted."
"We have the opportunity to save two innocent lives, sir. We have the opportunity to cooperate on something, something that could protect both universes. This SCP Foundation is a threat until proven otherwise. If they somehow developed the technology to jump to either universe, who knows what could come of our worlds?"
"I am especially concerned for Olivia's sake." Walter looked at her double. She had red hair and a much different disposition, but she still had that face. And those same eyes, even if they were a bit darker, but a lot more cheerful. But in that moment, talking to his doppelganger, she sounded like their Olivia. In that moment, those eyes did look the same and that face was the same. In that moment… He continued, "If they were to find out the true specifics of Cortexiphan, whether by harming her or by any other means… they could reproduce it. They could put it into their own children and create human weapons. And because I doubt there are no specialists on Cortexiphan in their universe, they WILL make mistakes – catastrophic mistakes. They will either harm their children, harm their world, harm OUR worlds, or a combination of those three scenarios."
"Nick Lane, as it's come to our understanding, is a ticking time bomb," Peter added. Finally, they were gaining some ground. "If they find out how to manufacture more abilities like his… who knows how many deaths will be on their hands. We have a responsibility to prevent that from happening."
"And besides, Olivia means so much to me, and to the rest of us." Walter looked back at his double now, hoping to stir up the little humanity this man had left. "And to this universe. She is the strongest, but I fear for her safety. We must unite to protect her. She is the guardian of our universes and now she's been taken Somewhere Else. She isn't safe, ergo we are not safe."
"What do you mean, the strongest?" Olivia hadn't been exposed to this kind of rhetoric before. Sure she had heard about her double's drug-induced abilities, but what was this about being the strongest? About her being a guardian? Was she some kind of superhero?
Walter turned to her, "Belly and I always knew that she would be the best soldier in the coming war. Perhaps the war is coming, and she's not even here to fight it."
"What WAR?" Walter was riled up now. "War with whom? The other universe? Our universe? What? I demand to know, as someone vital to protecting my own world."
"Who knows. Perhaps with David Robert Jones, perhaps with this new universe; I can't seem to remember who's who now," Walter's brow was furrowed, but was hidden underneath his hat. "But the fact of the matter remains: we must SAVE Olivia. We must save her before the other universe has time to find out her secrets – and Nick's secrets. We must save her in order to save ourselves."
"And we have to hurry." Broyles looked at all of the people gathered in the room. "David Robert Jones and his men are still terrorizing at large. If he were to find out we were down an agent, especially an agent as talented as Olivia, he might get wise – try to plan something big. We need to take action immediately." Broyles faced the man at the desk, the man with the power, "What say you, Secretary Bishop?"
The man was silent, lost in thought. He was turning over every possibility, weighing every option. That's why he was picked for this job – because of his intellect. And now…
"Fine. I will allow it. And I will oversee Dr. Bishop's construction of the device." His colder eyes burrowed into Walter's, "I will accept nothing less than minimal damage. MINIMAL. I don't want to have to explain to the President of the United States why the end of the world is coming."