DISCLAIMER: i dont own these charactersunless it isnew never mentioned in the show

AN: i am so sorry the updates are now coming slow. all i can say is i havent given up on this but right now i have very limited internet access, so i apologize for the lengthy time in between updates now. i still appreciate a good review tho, so let me kno if this is still going alright or if it needs work. thanks!

Chapter 18: Dreams of the Past

Alec sifted through the results from his latest scam. He had pulled a good amount of money. Who would have thought Seattle would be such a great place for this type of work? On the outside it looked like a quaint little meaningless area, but there was still some good money here. He still would need to hit a couple more places up. After that, he could probably enjoy his gains for the next few months without any worry- even have a good amount for security. He wondered where he'd go next, and laughed as a thought came to him. Maybe he would hit up Logan's.

Max would kill me, he thought. But why should he care what Max thought, if she were to get upset? It didn't matter what he did it seemed, she was always mad about something. He thought of the other night, licking his lips again, picturing Max, still having her taste upon them. Damnit, he thought. He was getting nowhere with this.

He'd escaped Manticore just so he could figure out what his connection was with Max. It seemed the more he was around her, the more far off the answer seemed.

He thought about what Max said. They had some special purpose. He didn't want to believe it. Why shouldn't he be allowed to have some fun in a bar? It wasn't like he chose to be this way- have this bar-code, have these enhancements. He groaned. She had him getting all serious and she wasn't even there. He even found himself feeling slightly guilty about the money in his hands.

He stared around himself. This was a nice place. He had scouted it for a couple days- the owners were clearly on a long vacation, probably somewhere warmer and exotic. They wouldn't be back for months. He could at least allow himself to sleep here for the night. He pushed all thoughts of Max, his questions, and his guilt away as he allowed himself to sleep one of the comfiest beds he'd seen in a long time.

"494, time for your shot." 494 moaned as he got up. He really didn't like this damn ritual. He didn't feel like it today. He wished they would tell him what the hell they were injecting him with.

"Can't you just forget about it today?" he asked, phrasing it like a joke. He didn't want to ruin his image as the good, devoted soldier.

"No." was all the answer he got. Next he felt the strange chemical enter his body.

"Yea, I didn't think so," 494 said, wondering why a man was administering it today. Normally it was a lady who seemed to have taken a liking to 494. She was a lot more friendly than this grump.

"So what is that stuff, anyway?" 494 asked as the doctor sanitized his skin where he'd just administered the shot.

The doctor didn't answer him, and left without another word.

494's cellmate, who was normally silent, surprised 494 as he spoke. "You wanna know what it is?" he asked 494.

The golden light in 494's green eyes sparked with interest. His cellie didn't speak unless it was another one of this "truths". But 494 never had been one for conspiracy theories. He didn't want to seem too involved in questioning anything. "I don't care," 494 lied, "I was just chatting it up. He isn't much talk like the other doctor. What happened to her?"

His cellmate looked around, making sure no one was watching before answering. "Her own selfish desires overcame her," he said mysteriously. He had always been pretty creepy, always full of crazy ideas. 302 was too much for 494 sometimes. He was always blabbering about theories, conspiracies going on. Of course, as part of a secret government project, who could blame him? But 494 tried to think of his life as normal- if he didn't bother with questioning everything he seemed to enjoy himself enough.

494 remembered the time that 302 had told him another crazy theory. It was when they first became cellmates. It was also then that 494 knew he was crazy. "They put you here," 494 could remember the words of 302, "We are meant to be cell mates, to test you. Did you know you are being tested, even here in this cell?"

"Shut up," 494 had responded at the time. "I just want to sleep. This was totally random cell assigning."

"No," 302 wouldn't listen. "I know the truth. They think I'm crazy. Sent me to Psy Ops. I would still be there if it wasn't for you, I guess I should thank you. I'm part of your test."

494 shoved a pillow over his head, trying to ignore his weird new cellmate, but he couldn't deny that the thought of these constant tests didn't bother him. Why couldn't he just do his job, do his missions, and then be left alone.

But 302 continued, "They want to see if you believe me- if you're influenced, if you're unstable- like your twin soldier."

494 removed the pillow and threw it at his cellie. "Shut up." He couldn't even bring himself to joke, he didn't like what he was hearing. The thought of himself being a twin bothered him. Wouldn't Manticore have told him that if it were true? His new cellie must be a real head-case.

302 continued. 494 was starting to wonder if maybe it was an assignment, break down 494 from the utter annoyance of listening to 302's babbling. "You aren't like him, from what I hear. I never met him. But you certainly share the same DNA."

That was all 302 had said at that time, when they'd first met. Ever since then, he only opened up his mouth to ramble about other theories. By now, 494 had learned to completely ignore his bizarre theories. But he couldn't help being interested in what 392's take on these shots was.

"So she got fired for being selfish? You really are a psycho." 494 replied.

302 let out the quiet laugh of a crazy person. "I know the truth." It was something he always managed to say whenever he tried to share one of his ideas with 494. "She wanted you for herself. Refused to keep giving you the shots."

494 hated discussing this, these crazy ideas. But this time, he couldn't help himself. He had actually taken a liking to that doctor. "Now what do you mean by that?" he asked his crazy cellie. He had a worried feeling that his favorite doctor was in some type of danger.

"She's gone," was the answer he got. Not good enough for his liking, "What does that mean?" He was getting angry, he grabbed 302 and held him up by his shirt. 494 was the dominant one, going out and training, going on missions, while 302 just sat in his cell all day long, keeping his mind occupied with his insane thoughts and his muscles relaxed.

"They had to get rid of her," 302 explained at 494's aggressive action. "You really shouldn't have toyed with that one. She actually liked you, thought of you as more than a soldier. More than an experiment, more than a test subject to pick apart your twin's problems."

494 let go of his shirt, letting 302 fall to the ground, but still glared at him. He hated it when 302 brought up that twin crap. It just served as a reminder that he was completely deranged. He also didn't like people putting blame on him. He shouldn't care, he didn't. She was just some doctor. What did it matter if he was responsible for her departure, at least, that's what 494 told himself. He told himself that he just wanted to know what happened.

"What does her liking me have to do with her not being here anymore. It's not like it would get in the way of standard procedures."

"She wanted you to herself. She was selfish," 302 answered.

494 couldn't help getting upset. He didn't care about her, but she had always been a kind person. He didn't like 302 calling her selfish.

"So what? What does that have to do with those shots?" 494 demanded.

302 smiled creepily. He was genetically enhanced to look extremely attractive, but he had a crazy look in his eyes that took away from his charming features. "That is the right question," 302 responded. He was probably delighted that 494 was buying into one of his bogus stories.

494 decided to drop it. This was ridiculous. There it was, 'that is the right question.' This was nothing more than another one of his crazy cellmate's psycho ramblings. It had nothing to do with truth, it was just his crazy talk coming through.