Author's note: Yes, I know that was an especially mean cliffhanger, everyone.
Fair warning: this chapter's pretty dark – especially for a story called Timey Wimey. I grew up reading X-Men comics, and it really shows here. This is probably why I have such an issue with a lot of the monoliths established on TVD – because X-Men, ultimately, is all about love for your fellow living creature, tolerance, and acceptance of those who are different. It gets really dark at times, though – holy smokes. I definitely missed some of it as a kid, but looking back at the storylines, it's very O.O. With that said, the message is all about loving your fellow man, because we're all one people, on this Earth to help each other – and it's incredibly lovely.
Damon's undead heart sped up to the point that he wondered if he'd be having severe heart palpitations had he been mortal. This couldn't be happening. He forced himself to breathe evenly – to slow down – so as to not frighten Elena any further.
"What do you mean, Elena?" he asked quietly, slowly, with forced patience.
"I mean that we were in the cemetery. You threatened to turn me. And then I found myself here," Elena explained in a hushed tone, when her eyes suddenly widened in fear. "Oh my God, did you turn me? Am I a vampire? Is this how I ended up here? He said I was human – for now."
"No nononono, Elena – I swear to you, I didn't – I would never do anything to you that you don't want," he tried reaching for her again through the small opening between the cells but was dismayed when she backed away from him even further. "I was just trying to scare Stefan."
"How did we end up here?" She looked around frantically, not hearing him.
"Do you remember anything about the last few years?" he asked, desperate for some shred of hope that his Elena was still in there. "About taking the Cure? Or the meteor shower?" When she stared at him blankly, he tried some more unpleasant memories – perhaps those were more visceral and memorable. "Kai? Being under a sleeping spell? Me dying?"
"You died?" Elena asked, alarmed. That finally got her attention. She looked almost pained at the notion, which gave Damon a sliver of hope. Maybe whatever happened was temporary? And her memories could be retrieved?
"I got better," he grinned, affecting an air of carefree roguishness. "Turns out death is too boring, so I decided to crash the life party again."
Damon smiled genuinely for the first time in hours, when he saw that he finally teased a reluctant laugh out of Elena – but that quickly disappeared as Wes strolled back into the room.
"I just spoke to my graduate student, Nathaniel. He'll be in shortly to begin your procedure, Miss Gilbert," Wes delivered in a clipped tone, never taking his eyes from his laptop as he added some notes.
At the blood noticeably leaving Elena's face, combined with her backing away into a corner, Damon turned to Wes with a threatening inquisitiveness. "What procedure?"
"Miss Gilbert's presence here provides me with a unique opportunity in my quest to usher in the next step in mankind's evolution."
"You were never going to let her go, were you?"
"No, she's already seen too much. I can't take the security risk."
"I can compel her to forget everything," Damon ground out. "About everything she saw here – about vampires – even about the supernatural, in general. My compulsions stick. Just let her go," he swallowed thickly, forcing the next word from a deep part of his soul that firmly rebelled against it. "Please."
"Sorry, but no," Wes replied, sounding not even remotely apologetic. "One, I have no reason to trust either one of you – you could pretend to compel her, and she could just as easily pretend that it worked. And, more importantly, two, Miss Gilbert's presence here is kismet."
Wes finally turned to face them, studying Elena as though she were a particularly interesting mutation under a microscope.
"Miss Gilbert, huh? What, no number?"
"Not yet, two-one-oh-five-one," Wes replied, emphasizing the number with disdain. "Miss Gilbert here will serve the noble purpose of helping usher in a new, superior breed of humans by acting as my surrogate. My graduate student will implant the fertilized egg into her uterus, and it will receive weekly doses of my solution, extracted from my previous subject's heart."
"And you just happen to have fertilized eggs lying around, waiting for the occasion that a human woman should wander in."
"We offer fertility treatment at Whitmore Medical Center. I simply had my student obtain one set and replace it with placebos," Wes began nonchalantly, when a tall, stern-looking man walked into the room. "Ah, you're here. Wonderful! Nathaniel will administer the egg via in vitro fertilization," Wes announced, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "I've been looking forward to launching this phase of my experiment for too long. Should this fail, we will plan more properly next time."
"I won't do it!" Elena finally spoke up, forcing herself to stand on shaking limbs. Damon watched with admiration as she approached the bars despite her obvious fear – a show of courage. "I won't be a part of this psychotic plan! I refuse."
"I'm afraid you have no choice, Miss Gilbert. You will become the mitochondrial Eve of the next step of human evolution, and that's all there is to it. Your father would be very proud. Think of this as a way of redeeming yourself after aiding and abetting these monsters," Wes countered through narrowed eyes.
"The only monster here is you!" Elena roared as she railed against the bars, the tears that had gathered in her eyes finally falling.
"If you were never going to let Elena go, what incentive do we have to return Enzo?" Damon inquired, trying desperately and failing to appear unconcerned.
"I can see that despite having no soul, you seem to care for her well-being. So, the incentive is this: she will remain here, but her level of comfort in her captivity is negotiable. Your choice will decide whether she keeps her name or becomes a number, as you so eloquently put it," Wes stepped forward menacingly, looking at Damon for the first time since he re-entered the room. Damon's blood ran cold when he realized that the threat wasn't idle. "Bring Miss Gilbert into the examination room and begin the procedure, Nathaniel," Wes continued, unblinking.
"Wwwwaaait," Elena stuttered, stalling. "Aren't you supposed to stimulate fertility with a shot first? My friend's mom had this done. It's a whole, lengthy procedure –"
"I checked your medical records, Miss Gilbert. According to your primary care physician, your last menstrual cycle was two weeks ago, which puts you in the perfect window of ovulation. Given your age and general physical condition, I think fertility would be a safe assumption. If I am mistaken, I can find other uses for you once I turn you into a vampire," Wes replied matter-of-factly. "Today, Nathaniel," he urged impatiently.
Nathaniel opened the cell, receiving an immediate kick to the groin from Elena that caught him by surprise. As he doubled over, she punched him in the jaw, momentarily startling him as his mouth bled. Seizing the opportunity to escape and call for help, she bolted past them, but was swiftly caught by Wes. "I guess I have to do everything myself," Wes sighed, and dragged a struggling Elena out of the room, to Damon's increasingly loud screams of protest, knuckles bloody from banging against the steel bars of the cell.
"LET HER GO, YOU PSYCHOTIC –!"
Once inside the examination room, he began strapping her to a table when a sudden noise gave him pause. "She doesn't leave this room until the embryo has been implanted. Is that clear?" he instructed Nathaniel.
"Crystal," his graduate student nodded, strapping Elena's other hand in, as Wes left to evaluate the disturbance.
What Wes found when he entered the room was beyond anything he could imagine – never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined the entire room in controlled flames. It was as though they had a mind of their own, carefully avoiding his work, but destroying everything else in sight.
His subject had evidently escaped, given that the cell door was wide open. There was a young woman waiting for him, holding flames in her hands.
"I've been waiting for this for a long time," she uttered in a hushed tone that he found more threatening than the loudest scream. When she finally turned, he saw her eyes glowing. It was a truly terrifying sight.
"And who are you supposed to be?"
"Someone who's going to give you what you deserve. You've done unspeakable damage to two of the people I love most of this world, and you were about to do it to a third. I'm not a vindictive person, but I'm going to enjoy this."
Realizing that this is likely the witch he was warned about, Wes sought to capture her before she could damage his lab further. He barely caught her next words, because after that he only knew indescribably bright light and exultating pain – and after that, he knew no more.
"Phasmatos incendia," Bonnie chanted.
"What the hell is wrong with both of you!?" Elena screamed, kicking at Nathaniel, who began strapping her feet to the examination table. "I didn't consent to any of this!"
"I'm beyond caring what you want. The Doc wants it done? It's getting done," Nathaniel replied tersely, still nursing his shaky tooth and shakier ego from her earlier attack. In his distraction, he failed to notice that the second strap on her leg was loose. When he moved to inject her with the syringe, she kicked it out of his hand, the contents spilling upon impact with the examination room's floor.
"You little bitch! Fine, you want to play it that way? You think you can get away from this by destroying the vials? Guess we'll just have to do it the old-fashioned way," he sneered, grabbing her by the throat and shoving her flat onto the table. Elena only had seconds to ponder the underlying threat in his statement, as her vision darkened around the edges from lack of oxygen, before he was abruptly removed from her. She sat up shakily to find Nathaniel dead at Damon's feet, his neck twisted in an unnatural angle. Damon killed him without even bothering to feed from him. Or maybe he had ingested vervain? Elena a little surprised at the direction of her thoughts, considering her trembling hands, and knees, and very being.
"Elena, are you okay?" Damon asked soothingly as he quickly unstrapped her hands and foot, moving to draw her into an embrace, from which she violently flinched away. She barely caught the wounded look in his eyes before he covered it and took a step back from her.
"I'm fine," she swallowed thickly, wrapping her arms around herself. "Let's just get out of here. Where's Bonnie?"
Damon was about to answer, when the woman in question ran into the examination room. "We have to go. Now!"
"Wait, we have to get his files – figure out what he's done to her memories," Damon urged. "You left them, right?"
"Yeah, grab them and let's go. I can't control the flames for much longer."
The three of them ran out of the basement just as flames began to engulf everything in the basement, taking with them Wes' laptop, files, and a few vials that they were certain weren't dangerous illnesses – in case one of them may contain a lead to Elena's mysterious memory loss.
"Elena, you should really take some of Damon's blood. Those bruises on your neck look really bad," Bonnie advised, wincing, once they were finally by the car. Elena had immediately slid to the backseat.
Bonnie moved to sit in the front, but Damon shook his head, gesturing to Elena. "She needs you more," he mouthed silently, hoping she understood him.
"Why? So that he could forcibly turn me like he threatened?" Elena rasped, annoyed, as soon as Bonnie sat next to her. "What's with you, Bonnie? Since when do you take his side?"
Damon shut his eyes tightly, his knuckles white against the steering wheel as the Camaro finally left Whitmore University's parking lot. He prepared himself for this when he first arrived – knowing that Elena would probably still hate him, still love Stefan – and he calmed himself that it was still worth it, because she'd be safe. He'd even resolved to possibly keep her at a distance, really give her a chance to live a happy, normal life, outside of supernatural interference.
But it hurt so much more now after learning she followed him – after happiness had been so close within reach.
"There's a lot more to this than you know, Elena," Bonnie said softly, taking her friend's hand, and smiling when Elena leaned into her embrace, though a few seconds later, she frowned in consternation. Something felt very odd to her about Elena suddenly – different than before, almost on a magical level.
"Where to?" Damon asked.
"We can't go to my place," Bonnie lamented. "Grams might give me a magical aneurysm if I invite you inside," she smirked, despite the seriousness of the situation.
"The Boarding House is out, too. We can't bring Stef in on this – not yet," Damon replied.
"You killed him," Elena accused, snapping out of her stupor. "You just killed his assistant."
"He tried to hurt you, Elena," Damon responded in a clipped tone. "I have a general rule that if someone hurts you – or even tries – they don't get to live. He's just lucky we were in a hurry, so his death was quick and painless."
"You follow rules?" Elena asked dubiously, a surprising warmth filling her with the familiarity that came from teasing him. "Since when?"
"Even I have to break my rule about breaking rules sometimes, Elena. Can't be too predictable," he grinned, feeling hope flourish in his chest for the first time in hours at the sight of the smile Elena was desperately trying to hide through the rearview mirror.
As they drove into the night, Elena was startled by the thumps coming from the trunk. "What's that?"
"Oh, that's Enzo. I guess he finally woke up," Bonnie sighed, though Elena could hear the trepidation in her voice.
"Who's Enzo?" Elena asked, alarmed. "And why is he in Damon's trunk?"
"He's the vampire we rescued from Doctor Creepy," Damon supplied. "No need to worry. He's so close to desiccation that he won't be able to break out until we let him out."
"That's not why I'm worried, Damon! Why is he in the trunk, and not in here with us?" Elena asked, exasperated.
"He's not exactly mentally stable –" Damon winced.
"Oh, and you are?" Elena interrupted, a smile teasing her lips. "The height of mental balance and measured behavior?"
"I'll have you know, Elena, that brooding and forehead wrinkle cultivation isn't the actual definition of psychological health. You shouldn't listen to my brother so much on that front – or any, really."
They reached a comfortable silence. Banter and teasing were where they met – how they found each other – the secret hideaway and home they created for themselves in the first place. Maybe, with hope, they'd find it again.
"Foreclosure?" Damon asked.
"Isn't Isobe—?" Bonnie began asking.
"Not until we open it," Damon interrupted, looking at Bonnie meaningfully. "It should be fine for now, and we can just pick a different one," he continued, to Bonnie's confirming nod.
As they drove to Mystic Falls, the night was filled with Enzo's annoyed thumping in the trunk, Elena and Bonnie holding each other for shared comfort, and Damon trying to will the shattered pieces of his heart whole again, desperately trying to infuse himself with hope.
Okay, firstly, I want to apologize. I know I said that we'd learn the source of Elena's memory loss in this chapter, but it was getting to be waaaaaay too long. To make up for it, I'll try – very hard – to post the next chapter, which will absolutely reveal it and deal with it, tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then Tuesday. So not that long a wait, right? :D I'm actually pretty psyched to reveal it because it's a major plot point. Ahaha, regarding Enzo. They're just scared he'll attack Damon while he's driving. They'll ease him into it when they get where they need to get.
So, Wes somehow became Mr. Sinister/Nathaniel Essex from X-Men. Go figure. (Marvel Comics writers love that term for some reason.) :D For those who aren't familiar, he was a geneticist and his whole thing was creating the perfect genetic specimen. He was obsessed with the Summers family, for some reason, even though they honestly weren't all that interesting. (He also loved experimenting on himself, much like Wes in this story.) It's just as creepy as it sounds – maybe more. I named the graduate student after him, in case anyone's wondering. He'll be showing up in WGP, too. Consider this a bit of a sneak preview if you're following that story, too. They're going to be a much bigger threat there, and the main villains of the story (probably). I don't know if the "breeding the superior being" part will factor into it (though Essex was really into that) since I don't know if I can stomach it for more than one chapter, but the self-experimentation to make himself superhuman definitely will be.
Anyway, that's it for the Augustine Society in this story. Bai-bai! They play a much bigger – and more menacing role – in With Great Power. I know this might have seemed like an easy win – but this is post-S8 Bonnie, who stopped and redirected actual hellfire. She's incredibly powerful. The Augustine Society was never going to be a major player here – but they served their purpose. The real villains of the story have yet to be introduced here. Althea provides a little hint in the first chapter, but that's all we know of them so far.
Huge love and hugs to the lovely Clarissa for asking for a time-travel fix-it and starting this whole adventure. Big appreciation to you all, especially scarlett2112, Kriz03, and Florencia7 for being utterly lovely.
Until next time (which will be very soon), please love yourselves and each other. Many hugs, much love, and happiness for all.