(Disclaimer: All Chapters of this story are the product of my own creation using the characters from the T.V. show Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles. I am making no money off it and write solely for my own entertainment)
Supernatural Series: Rinse and Repeat
Chapter 5
John sat in the bed of a stolen pick-up truck. In his hands was a long, thick section of drain pipe. Scattered around him were various tools. A drill, blowtorch, tin of gun powder…which was way the hell away from the blowtorch so as not to repeat past mistakes, and other odds and ends. They were the necessities for his latest project; a pipe bomb.
Yes, the very weapon responsible for saving his mother, killing his father…and him once, was his newest way of wasting time. The knowledge of its construction coming from his mother. God knows how many months he had spent learning everything he could from her. Some of which really being nothing more than an expansion on things he already had experience with. Such as automobile repair and field stripping guns of all sorts, but then he moved onto skills he had little to no experience with such as medicine, nature survival, and make-shift weapons.
As John began to seal one of the ends of the pipes his cell phone started ringing. Clicking the phone on, he brought it to his shoulder before returning to work.
"John Connor's J-Day Pizza Service. Is this delivery or pick-up?"
"John! Is that you?" Sarah Connor's voice asked from the other end.
"Oh hi, mom. What's up?" He asked as he started pouring some gun powder into the pipe.
"John! They're back! The machines! We have to get out of here! Where are you?"
Pausing he looked around. "Outside."
"Where?"
"New Mexico." He clarified.
"Where!?"
"Little piss ant town called Red Valley." He answered. The was beginning to get annoying.
"Where!!?"
"The middle of nowhere!" He answered with a testily tone.
"John! Where are you!?"
"Jesus Christ, Cromartie haven't you ever heard of a fucking map!?"
"…"
"Oops," John said feigning surprise. "Did I just call you Cromartie? Oh well, I guess the jig is up…How ya doing, asshole?"
"John what are you talking about?"
"Stop using my mother's voice. It's annoying. Can't you do someone famous? Like Stallone? Oh-oh! No, do Schwarzenegger! That Austrian accent kicks ass!"
"John, stop screwing around! We don't have time for games!"
"I agree whole heartedly. So if you can't tell the truth like a good little terminator, I'm going to hang up this phone."
"John-"
John shut the phone off, but he didn't set it down. "Three, two, one."
The phone started ringing once more. Turning it on, he brought it to his ear and went back to work constructing the pipe bomb.
"John Connor." A deep male voice spoke.
"Cromartie! My man! My number one…oh! Right that's Cameron. My number two machine! How's it going? Oh and don't take being number two hard. Cameron holds first only because I like making-out with her. We've been going…what is it now? Four…no. Maybe five…ah fuck it. Let's just say we're going strong and our time together is one of the few highlights of my day! Wow, you're being really quiet? What's wrong?"
"Where are you?"
"Cromartie we've been over this already. I'm outside in the state of New Mexico at the ass-end of nowhere."
"I have your mother."
"No you don't. You killed her already," he replied nonchalantly. "You know, that's another thing. It's really hard to consider you for the position of my number one machine when you keep killing her. You really should stop doing that."
"John! Run!" The frantic voice of Sarah Connor spoke. But the sound didn't faze him.
"Now, now Cromartie I already warned you. Stop using my mother's voice. Do it again and I'll hang up this phone and not answer it again."
"You are not John Connor." Cromartie stated.
"Now that's rude!"
"John Connor would not view the death of his mother with apathy."
"Ever hear of the psychological technique known as flooding? Let's just say that applies to my current situation." John explained. Spending time at the library with Cameron had been a rather informative if boring way to pass the time.
"Death is a onetime occurrence. You're explanation lacks logic."
"Says the super-advanced robot from the future to the teenage boy who is older than his father."
"Who is John Connor's father?" Cromartie asked. While skeptical, the person he was speaking to showed themselves to be a well of knowledge few were privy to.
"Since it doesn't matter…Kyle Reese. The soldier I break out of Century with and later send back to the past to save and knock-up my mother, Sarah Connor." John answered before continuing. "I tell ya, I'm living proof that a one night stand can really fuck up someone's day. Just look at Skynet, that bastard hates me enough that it tried killing me three times now. One of those being before I was even born! If you ask me, I think it would have been more successful to preach abstinence instead. Or at the very least, the values of safe sex."
"Thank you for the information. I shall make certain to ensure Kyle Reese is terminated."
"Good luck with that." John said sealing the other end of the pipe bomb. "So Cromartie, want to know where John Connor is?"
"If your information is reliable."
"It is, but I want something in return."
"…"
"I'll take your silence as an agreement. How many pipe bombs does it take to send a terminator of your size and stature into lower Earth orbit?"
The line went dead as Cromartie hung up. John cursed in annoyance. Setting the pipe bomb down on his lap he reached over and grabbed a small remote that was set off to the side. It was the detonator for the bomb.
"Time to see if it works." He said. If it did, he would die and the day would be reset. If not, then he'd have to consult his mother on the next reset to see what he did wrong. Worst case scenario, it only works partially and he spends anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours in excruciating agony. God willing that didn't happen again. T'was quite the unpleasant experience.
"Well, here goes nothing."
*CLICK*
…
…
…
"Damm-"
*BOOM*
XxXxXxXxX
*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*
Eyes snapping open John quickly shot up out of bed.
"Yes!" He exclaimed happily. So excited was he that he turned off the alarm clock in a civilized manner for a change. The fact that there had been a few seconds delay meaning little to him.
Now if only he could figure out the answer to his question.
XxXxXxXxX
"Is that your only name like, Madonna?"
"Madonna? Why? No." Cromartie responded to Mary's question. It had been a while since he had last confronted Cromartie at school. Not wishing to wait a moment longer, John raised his hand.
"Yes?"
"How many pipe bombs does it take to send a terminator of your size into lower Earth orbit?"
John never got his answer since Cromartie's response was to kill him.
XxXxXxXxX
"Yes?" Cromartie asked having seen John's raised hand.
"If Earth's escape velocity is eleven kilometers a second, how great an explosion would it take to send your metal ass into space?"
Once more John didn't get his answer before he died.
XxXxXxXxX
"Yes?"
"Is it possible to send something weighing over three-hundred pounds into space via an explosion?"
"No. The force of an explosion regardless of size would diminish rapidly when factoring Earth's gravitational pull. In order for such an event to occur, you would require a constant source of force pushing away from Earth."
"Dammit!" John swore. There went his plans of adding a new satellite to Earth. He would have to find a new use for his pipe bombs. "Fine…Let's just get this over with. I'm John Connor, let my death commence."
And so it did.
XxXxXxXxX
"…Here." Cameron responded when Cromartie called her name for attendance.
"Reese. Do we have a John Reese?"
*BOOM*
The teacher's desk exploded sending large fragments to minute splinters. John had broken into the school the night before and had loaded it with pipe bombs in every drawer and a few strapped under the teacher's chair. A large hole in the wall caused by Cromartie's body being slammed against it led to the adjacent classroom.
John surveyed the damage. Most if not all of the front row died in the explosion, those who were left suffered hearing loss and shellshock causing him to idly wondered if he would be counted absent since no one could hear him say, "Here".
XxXxXxXxX
I feel a frown tug at my lips. John is losing his sense of self in these resets. That was not something I had anticipated. At least, not so soon. Not even a year has gone by and already he is developing a lack of care for the lives of those around him. Though I wouldn't be so bold as to say the death of his mother didn't hurt. I'm sure on some level it does, but he has grown accustom to it.
I had tolerated his actions when he started using the machine. Since humans, even special cases such as John require some source of comfort. And while he is essentially manipulating the machine for his own selfish desires, it was something I could consent to. Now however, things are different. The lives of the people around him no longer had any meaning. Hell, not even his own life seems to matter. Seeing him resort to suicide is proof enough of that. As far as he is concerned, everyone and everything is expendable.
I say that, but at the same time he is also using these resets in a way I was hoping for. Using the never ending time loop to better himself. And while the harshness of this time period is clearly taking its toll on him, he is maturing.
Still do the benefits outweigh the cons? I can't say. I don't understand humans. Even after living amongst them since they first learned to walk upright has not helped me in figuring them out. In some ways they are incredibly predictable. However, I have also noticed that depending on the situation and all that factors into it, humans can react in ways that even a demigod such as myself finds surprising.
I should probably end this time-loop. It was amusing at first, but if John loses his sanity, I will be unable to right my wrongs. But just like I should, I also should not. Aside from entertaining me, this was meant to be a test and John has yet to pass it. Perhaps I should give him a warning? Move time forward another day so he learns that these events are not permanent. If I do that, I might be able to use John's guilt to set him back down my desired path. I suspect he'll repeat the events that lead to day three, but that's fine. I control this world. I decide the conditions for advancing in it. Just like how I made it mandatory for John to interact with the machine and his mother on day one.
Because when it comes to fixing my mistakes. Cameron is the equation. John is the solution. And Sarah is the remainder I need to serve as his anchor to humanity.
(End of Chapter 5)
And there is the fifth installment of the Supernatural Series: Rinse and Repeat. For those who have been reading this since it was first posted, the ending of this chapter may seem confusing. If you go back to the first chapter I added a short prologue. The first-person character was always a planned character of the story, but I felt they should be introduced earlier so it doesn't look like they sprung up out of nowhere. Moving on.
I know it has been a while since I last posted anything and while I'm upset with myself for not having a new chapter for Who is John Connor? It cannot be helped. Between work, school, and my work with the fan-made season 3 The Connor Chronicles I have not had much time to write. But! The semester is almost over and I will have a new chapter for Who is John Connor? By the end of the month. I am shooting for at least two chapters for it because I want to complete it and move on to season 2 where the story will really go AU.
Also, I'm going to break one of my rules and respond to a review in my AN.
Lesshiding
I'm glad you enjoy the dark humor of this story. And you are right about Let's Start a Riot. It was a collection of drabbles and had no real plot which is why I ended it. The Supernatural mini-series is achieving what I wanted to do with Let's Start a Riot. I know there are some who like the story, but I personally do not. The only reason I leave it up is to serve as an example of how far my writing has come.