Seeing Double
Chapter Thirty-Five
.
"So this is Terminal City?" had been answered with "I'll show you around." Of course that led to a fair amount of walking and a large number of curious transgenics; a couple of hours later Dean had lost count of the number of people he'd met, although he'd a fairly good idea of the layout of the transgenics' stronghold.
"You've got a good set up here." He stared across the random collection of roofs and streets from their vantage point underneath Joshua's flag of freedom, finding himself impressed by the way the refugees had set up home in a way that was both organized and individual, but at the same time feeling uncomfortable at the way people like his little brother were forced to live like rats in a trap.
Alec shrugged, downplaying his own role in the whole affair, as he had throughout the tour. "Mebbe one day we won't need it." He flicked a grin at Dean. "But hey, it's a tricky situation and for now, it's a whole lot better than nothin'." He glanced at the white dove on the flag, thinking that, for the first time since the standard had been raised, he felt as though things were looking up.
"C'mon. I dunno about you but I could use some of that coffee and there's somethin' down here a car guy'll be interested in." He jerked his chin at Dean in a 'follow me' gesture and set off for the vehicle maintenance sheds.
.
Sam lowered the transgenic onto one of the beds in the dim motel room and straightened up with a grimace of relief. Ben mumbled at him, eyeing him through half-raised eyelids before rolling carefully onto his side. Within minutes his face was slack as he drifted off into an exhausted sleep. He was fading, Sam thought, wondering at the real cause; it seemed deeper than something just physical.
He watched Ben sleep for a while. It didn't look as though the younger man was capable of moving far, let alone leaving. It was a good time to buy food and scope out a likely vehicle for the following day, so Sam stretched his back, wincing a little as he took weary steps in the direction of the door. He didn't know when or where Dean was, but Ben was right there and needed care and he, Sam, could give that care. Then later, when Ben was out of danger, there would be some talking to do. If this was really another clone, it seemed he wasn't all that much like Alec, apart from his looks.
.
It wasn't long before Dean's jacket was hanging off a mirror and he was elbow deep in the 6.6 litre guts of a 1979 Pontiac Firebird Formula.
"It's a good thing you came by. We don't have too much experience with the older models." The aptly named Grease Monkey, in charge of the mechanical repair division, slapped Dean on his back approvingly. Dean gritted his teeth at the impact, but his grin was genuine. The glossy blue Firebird had been found in storage in a locked garage within the parameters of Terminal City and she was a beauty, almost mint condition. Getting her running again was a privilege in his books.
He was so engrossed in his task that he didn't notice Mole's arrival at the far side of the workshop. The transgenic supervised the delivery of some spare parts, all the time aware of the easy interaction between Alec's donor and the mechanics. He was about to leave when a roar and splutter turned into a throaty rumble and announced the coming to life of the Firebird. He nodded slowly, eyes narrowing as he caught Dean's eye above the excited heads of the mechanics peering under the hood. For a moment they stared at each other, calculating, assessing, and then Mole was gone.
.
When Sam pushed the door open it met with resistance, a solid, fleshy thump against something on the floor. He forced himself through the gap, sharp words jumping to his lips when he saw that it was Ben.
The transgenic beat him to it, rolling his head so he could look up at Sam with betrayed eyes. "You left."
Sam's sharp words were swallowed hastily. "I'm not leaving, I told you that. Okay? I got food, that's all." Sam raised the paper sack and shook it to demonstrate his point before placing it on the small table. "C'mon, let's get you back on the bed."
He hauled Ben upright and manhandled him back onto the lumpy mattress, noting the dark stain spreading around his knee.
"You're bleeding again," he said breathlessly. "I thought it was starting to heal?"
Ben was sweating, gnawing at his lower lip, squinting as he concentrated on Sam's voice. "The doctor," he asked carefully, between breaths. "What did he do to me?"
Sam explained as well as he could and saw understanding and horror dawn on Ben's face. "What's wrong?" he asked, sharp.
"The metal pins." The younger man's head sank back on the grimy pillow. "My bones, they're trying to grow back, but the pins are in the way."
Sam stared at him, not really understanding.
"Transgenic bones grow back in their original form." Ben's voice was so quiet that Sam had to lean forwards to make out the words. "The pins are shattering the bones…over and over."
"Oh crap." Sam's throat tightened, a sick feeling settling in his stomach. The pain must be unbearable, even for a transgenic. No wonder Ben was fading. "You need to go to the hospital. Those pins have gotta come out. Now."
"No!" A red stain of distress spread over the pale cheek bones. "I can't."
That at least was genetically inherited from Dean, thought Sam with a wry smile. "They can help you there, Ben," he said persuasively.
"No!" The transgenic was adamant. "They'll shoot me."
"What?! Of course they won't shoot you!"
Green eyes, dark with fear, stared into his own. "Or they'll send me back to Manticore and they'll put me with the 'nomalies; they're gonna tear me apart to study." Ben swallowed hard, his adam's apple bobbing up and down in his lean throat. "Help me get to the High Place. One step an' it'll all be over. Mebbe she'll want me back then."
"Who?" Sam heard the catch of stress in his own voice. "The Blue Lady? She wouldn't want you to do that. And you're not going back to Manticore; I swear no-one is gonna take you back, not on my watch."
"Why are you helping me? What do you want?" It was Alec's voice Sam heard, hoarse with pain and fear.
"Why wouldn't I help you?"
"You don't get anything for free." Bitter words. The words of someone who'd had to pay too high a price, too many times, for help in the past.
Sam's heart stuttered; the face before him so like Dean's face when he was hurting. It burst out, unbidden. "Because you're family, that's why! I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you." I mean it, Sam realized, knowing he was committing himself to someone he really knew nothing about.
"I can't be your family. I was cooked up in a test tube." Ben shifted, his distress coming off him in waves that made Sam's skin tingle.
It was time to take control of the situation. Sam squared his shoulders, laying a solid hand on Ben's shoulder. "You're family," he said firmly. "Now you sit here and drink this protein shake and I'll tell you about Dean and Alec. Okay?"
He didn't wait for an answer, but as he turned away to get the shake he didn't hear any protest either.
.
The candles flickered and smoked, dribbling molten wax down their sides to pool in the bottom of the jelly jars. The smell was heavy and greasy in the air, tugging at Dean's gag reflex as it mixed with the pungent smell of processed cheese.
He poked the pile of food on his plate with his fork, swallowing against a sudden surge of unwanted saliva. Mac'n'cheese, a staple of their childhood. He couldn't even begin to guess how many times he'd cooked it up over a single burner in some dilapidated motel room, adding extra butter to make it just the way Sam liked it. Sam. Who wasn't there, where he should be, next to Dean.
He let the conversation flow over him, chewing slowly, forcing each mouthful down his throat, unwilling to offend Joshua because Joshua was Alec's friend.
Alec lounged easily in the chair opposite him and it was his voice wrapping around the table, his gestures that stirred the dark yellow of the candle flames and sent the black smoke rising in lazy spirals. At Max's prompt, Alec was explaining how he'd ended up in another universe and found his donor. He'd been trained by Manticore to be eloquent, to captivate an audience if need be, the perfect cover for an assassin who had to mingle in all levels of society. Dean listened, awed by the smooth delivery, his deeper voice filling in the gaps when Alec pulled him into the story. And all the time it seemed that Alec's intense gaze kept returning to Max, as though he was tangled in a net cast by her chocolate brown eyes.
Mole was diagonally opposite, his face stern and his posture deliberately a little aggressive. Occasionally he sent quick-fire questions across the candle flames, picking up points about Ames White and any possible threat to Terminal City.
Dean's jaw slowed, his fork coming to rest on the cold mass on his plate. His shoulder was throbbing, head aching after the long day, his mind drifting in a quiet place of his own making until a sharp note in Alec's voice snapped him out of it as surely as a bucket of ice-cold water.
Max. Her brows screwed down and her lips pushed out in a pout. "I'm curious, that's why. How come you bailed? You were that attached, you shoulda stayed there."
Alec tilted his chair back, bracing a boot against the table leg. He ducked his chin, eyes catching the fire of the candle flames as he looked up from under his lashes. "Yeah," he said easily with a little shrug of his shoulders. "Mebbe I should've."
Dean's head came up, his chair scraping beneath him at the sudden movement. Irritation scratched at his skin, his eyes caught by the motion of Alec's fingertips as he worried at the knee of his jeans. "Hey Alec," he drawled. "Sounds like Maxie here was getting all bitter and twisted about you not being around."
"What?!" She spun to face him, face flushing dark under her olive skin. "I'm not gonna get all rotated about some smart-ass being outta town for a few days."
"Huh…" Dean flicked an eyebrow up and nodded slowly, switching his gaze to Alec's startled face and then back to Max. "I guess Alec was wasting his time then, coming back to this hell hole for you." He scowled at the other occupants of the room. "For all of you. 'Cause he didn't want to let his friends down."
Mole's intervention was unexpected. "We couldn't have done it without pretty boy here. Everybody knows that." He jabbed his cigar in Max's direction. "Max here knows it too."
"So how come he didn't say anythin' about all this before?" Her eyes were angry.
Then Dean stepped in, for Alec's sake, and broke the habits of a lifetime by talking about losing the memory of someone you viewed as a younger brother. He spoke only to Alec as though it was just the two of them in the room, saw some of the tension drop away from his clone's forehead as he realized he hadn't been the only person to forget.
Dean looked around then and told them all how he'd come to be there, at the table, somehow managing to explain he'd come looking for a younger brother without mentioning why or how he'd inexplicably lost another one in the process. He even managed to flirt a little with Max until her face darkened with something that may have been irritation and may have been something else, but his heart wasn't really in it and he let it drop as soon as Alec began to scowl.
When his voice petered out, Joshua took up the conversation, turning it to Terminal City matters in a simple but effective way that made Dean suspect he was far brighter than his speech patterns suggested.
About the same time as it became physically painful to stay awake, Alec caught at his elbow, pulling him towards the stairs.
"C'mon. You're gonna pass out on me there if you stay much longer."
"I'm fine." Dean told him, fighting his eyelids but not fighting the tug on his arm.
"Yeah, sure." Alec sounded agreeable but kept up the pressure until Mole stepped in front of them.
"Here." Mole's voice was gruff as he planted a weighty bundle on Dean's chest. Dean caught hold of it reflexively, feeling the familiar shape of his weapons through the cloth. He opened his mouth to speak but Mole was already gone.
Instead he allowed Alec to steer him upstairs. He staggered on the steps once or twice, tired but not really caring, knowing Alec wouldn't let him fall.
.
The boys are running with this, just like they did in part one! One thing for sure, once they meet up we'll find out how Sam came to be with Ben and how they end up in the same time frame as Dean and Alec.
Really appreciate you reading, and thank you for your reviews which keep my muse happy!
Thanks to reviewers of chapter 34:
alisonmichal, waitingforAslan, eliane314, Idreamofivan, MaraDixen413, ngregory763, Donkey and Minion79.
(Sorry I couldn't answer your question direct Minion79 but your pms are disabled – the 'Rewind to the beginning' and 'Omens in the wind' stories are written under the pen-name Dreamsnake…still me but writing in a different style so I wanted to keep them separate!)