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tigriswolfTitle: ceteris paribus
Chapter: III. From the Past
Fandom: “Supernatural”/“Dark Angel” crossover
Disclaimer: if you recognize them? They ain’t mine. I wrote this because school ain’t nearly interesting enough.
Warnings: spoilers for all of “Supernatural” and “Dark Angel.” AU for both shows. Character death.
Pairings: Dean/Sarah, Dean/Sam, Kat/Nathan(OMC), Nora/Billy(OMC), Haley/Charlie(OMC), Ben/Asher, Asher/Ben/Lucas, Ben/Alec, Alec/Ben/Asher
Rating: R
Wordcount: total—12520
Point of view: third
Dedication: violetlily18—jeeze, girl, patience is a virtue, you know. And I expect a comment this time!
Notes: I’m sick. And twisted. And obsessed. Forgive me.
More notes: ceteris paribus is Latin and means all else remains the same.
Notes cubed: I've taken liberties with supplies in a post-Pulse world, as I believe the Winchesters would have preparations.
Yes—still more notes: I’ve also taken liberty with transgenic abilities, as I’m not too clear on what they actually are.
Heir of notes: Until Alec is named as such, he goes by “Mirror.”
part 1
Dean sent everyone but Kat, Ben, Alec, and Rosie on various missions across the country. (He didn’t give any explanation why his two best soldiers weren’t allowed out, though Ben and Alec asked. Frequently and loudly.) So the four of them were alone in the house for over a week. Ben came downstairs on Thursday and found Alec holding Katie, softly singing.
He paused in the doorway of the den, listening. Alec looked right holding a child. Happy.
“How could Manticore hurt children?” Alec asked suddenly, raising his head to meet Ben’s eyes. “How could they kill children?” He sounded completely dumbfounded, lost.
“I don’t know,” Ben replied, striding across the room and settling next to him. “Honestly, I don’t. But there’re even some hunters out there who want to hurt Rosie and all the kids like her.”
“Because they’re gifted?” Alec cradled Katie against his chest.
“Yeah. Because they’re more than human.” Ben nestled close to his brother and Alec continued his lullaby.
-
That night, curled up together beneath the comforter, face-to-face and breath-to-breath, Ben asked for the first time in the waking world, “What did they do to you, Mirror?”
Alec shifted closer, tucking himself against Ben’s chest. “A few days after the escape, I was pulled aside. They gave me to the doctors, told them to find out if there was anything wrong with me. They cut me open, over and over and over again.” He shuddered, voice lowering. “I was awake for most of it, scared out of my mind. The few minutes I could sleep, I dreamed of running through the snow, of a man taking care of me. In my sleep, I was free.” Alec stayed silent for a handful of heartbeats. “Then they shoved me back with my unit. I heard that a few soldiers died during the testing. Over the next couple of years, there were new tests every now and then—more of the twins died. But not me.” He pulled back and stared into Ben’s eyes. “I refused to let those spineless bastards kill me.”
Ben tried thinking of something to say but Alec continued, “So I decided to quit following orders. I stopped holding my tongue. I wondered if they could kill me. Because no matter what they did, I never died.” Alec laughed and sat up, rubbing his eyes. “I should have, Ben.” He flopped back down. “And then they came up with some new drug. It knocked me out, slowed my heart. I was stuck, not awake but not asleep, and my body wasn’t responding. I could only listen as Renfro talked to the doctors. She said stuff about the war starting soon and how everything had to be ready. I shouldn’t have heard, but I did.”
Ben asked, “Were you the only one left?”
Alec nodded. “I knew I had to get out, that soon they would finally kill me, too. I was so tired, Ben. I just wanted to stop hurting.”
Running his hand along Alec’s chest, Ben slipped beneath the cloth of his shirt. He kneaded his fingers in Alec’s skin, purring slightly.
Alec’s sudden laugh broke the stillness of the room and he arched into the touch. “That’s enough talkin’,” Alec decided, and Ben agreed.
-
There were four more days alone in the house. Kat spent most of her time organizing supplies in the pantries, leaving her daughter with Ben and Alec. Alec would tell the baby stories, often pulling Ben in as well. Apparently, a fantastic imagination was inherited in the blood. Sometimes Kat and Rosie would listen, too. Ben and Alec would trade off with the tale, able to follow each other with ease, sharing a mind.
Ben loved that feeling. He’d noticed Dean and Sam often seemed so in-tuned with each other, and Ben had watched, wondering.
The last night before the family would start trickling home, on Sunday, Ben woke up in bed alone. He tracked Alec down the kitchen where he was talking with Rosie. He considered interrupting, since both knew he was there anyway, but instead backed off and returned to their room.
As he slipped back into bed, Rosie’s words to Alec replayed in his mind: You’ll have to choose. The knowledge is all in your head, Alec, buried deep. But you have to remember.
-
Michael, Nora, and Rich showed up first, noon on Monday. By three, Billy, Haley, Sarah, and Charlie arrived. Nathan and Ava didn’t make it home till six Tuesday morning. Lucas and Sam limped in just before dusk that evening.
No one had heard from Dean and Asher.
By Friday, Sam and Ben were frantic. Rosie had searched for them, sought out their minds—nothing. Ava tried summoning visions and got only headaches.
Everyone met in the dining room and tried to think of what could possibly have gone wrong. Sam beat himself up for letting Dean and Asher go somewhere alone. Ben paced around, thinking up every possibility, torturing himself with horrific ideas.
On Saturday, a week after everyone else made it home, Rosie woke the house with a scream. Ben and Alec were the first to her room, Sarah just behind them. “Rosie, Rose,” Ben said, lightly shaking her. Her eyes stared sightlessly and she trembled in his grip, gasping and whimpering. Sarah told everybody to go back to sleep; only she, Alec, and Ben stayed with Rosie.
It was a long five hours before Rosie woke up. When she finally did, she whispered, “I found them,” and collapsed in Sarah’s arms.
-
According to Rose, Dean and Asher were together, thankfully, being held by Manticore. “The same place you were, Alec,” she said, gulping down hot chocolate. “They’re trying to figure out what Dean is.”
“What he is?” Sam repeated. “He’s human.”
Rose looked at him and shook her head. “You know better than that, Sam. He’s like you.” She turned to Ben and continued, “They’ve realized he shares your DNA, Ben, yours and Alec’s. And they’re gonna turn to Asher next, because he’s with Dean. And he won’t survive that they do.”
Ben ground his teeth, clenched his fists. “We have to go,” he declared. “Now.” He rushed from the dining room, Alec just behind him. They armed themselves from the gun cabinet and no one tried to stop them. No one got in their way or said a thing until Ben paused at the door. He glanced back to meet Sam’s eyes.
“I know you want to come with us,” he began, moving his gaze to cover everyone. “But this is something that’ll be easier with just the two of us.” He strode forward to grip Sam’s shoulder. “I’ll bring him back to you, Sam. I promise.”
-
Ben drove no slower than 100mph the entire way to Seattle. They left the car in the woods, ten miles away from the perimeter.
“Think they’ll have tightened security?” Ben whispered.
“It’s been about half a year,” Alec murmured in reply. “If they did, it’ll be loose again.”
They waited the couple of hours till sundown and hopped the fence, snuck in. A technician never saw them coming and Alec snapped his neck, stole his ID card. They ghosted down the hall, searching out either of the familiar scents, killing every human they came across.
At last, Ben paused, tilting his head. “This way,” he whispered and took off down the hall to the right. Alec followed and Ben slammed into the door, peeling his eyes for a control, but it was blank. He slapped at the door then the walls, cursing and snarling. Alec tried sliding all of their stolen badges through the reader and none of them worked.
“Asher and Dean are both in there,” Ben said, slumping against the cold metal. “Both alive.”
Alec leaned beside him. “If we find Renfro,” he suggested, “we can get them out and learn everything that’s been done to them.”
Ben felt the bloodlust rising. “Let’s do it.”
Alec tracked down the command center by following Renfro’s scent(“Never could forget that bitch,” Alec’d snarled) and Ben kicked in the door; they tore through the humans inside until only one was alive.
“Renfro,” Alec growled and she hissed in reply, “494.”
“Alec,” he said. “My name is Alec.”
The steel-haired woman turned her sharp gaze on Ben. “493?” she guessed and laughed.
Ben shivered at the hollow sound.
“You’ve come for Winchester and the boy?” she continued, ignoring the carnage around her. “You’re too late. It’s already started.”
Lunging forward, Ben grabbed her neck, ripping off her ID badge. “Come with us,” he suggested, pulling her along.
The alarm had been sounded and Alec hit a button. He stayed behind a moment before catching up and the horrific noise ended. “Told ‘em one of the technicians is a jumpy fella,” he explained. Ben nodded.
Renfro scoffed. “You can’t hope to win.”
Ben ignored her and shoved her to Alec, who grinned nastily, when they reached Dean and Asher’s cell. He ran her card through the reader and the door slid open.
Dean was in the corner, limp and barely breathing. His favorite jacket—beat-up, leather, older than Ben—had been spread over him. Asher was curled up beside him, whispering about their life at the house and how they’d go back there, and Sam and Ben would greet them, and the world would be good again.
Renfro’s voice cut through his babble. “We broke Winchester.” She sounded gleeful. “Take him home, if you want—he won’t be the same.”
Asher flinched and shot to his feet, whirling around to face them, hovering protectively above Dean. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. “Ben.”
Asher flew across the cell and Ben caught him buried his face in Asher’s neck. “I’m not hurt,” Asher assured him. “But I can’t wake Dean up.”
Alec slammed Renfro into the wall and pressed against her. “What did you bastards do to him?”
She smirked. “Same thing we did to you, 494. Interesting blood amongst the three’a ya.”
Ben crouched down next to Dean and lifted up the jacket, examined what he could. There wasn’t a lot of blood, not like when he’d found Alec. But there were numerous cuts—slim, narrow slices—all down Dean’s torso. He was breathing shallowly, pale and cold.
“If we don’t get him home soon,” Ben said, slipping Dean into the leather jacket, “he might not be fine.”
“He won’t be fine either way, 493,” Renfro laughed and Alec shoved her harder against the wall.
“Shut up,” Alec hissed. He knocked her head into the wall and she slumped down. He let her fall to the floor.
Ben gripped Den’s shoulders and lifted; Alec rushed over and grabbed his feet. Between them, they cradled him, and Alec told Asher, “Pick the bitch up. We hafta get outta here.”
It was entirely too easy. Ben looked over his shoulder the whole way to the car. They tossed Renfro in the trunk and Asher sank shotgun. “Stay with them,” Ben told Alec. “If I’m not back in half an hour, go home.”
It was entirely too easy. The whole thing. So Manticore must know something they didn’t, or had some sort of tracker in Dean, or—Ben stopped that train of thought. He hurried back to the control room and bypassed the bodies, made immediately for all the flashing buttons. He hit each of them, one after another, letting all of the transgenics out. He glanced at the screen, taking stock: there were few, if any, humans still alive in Manticore.
And it had been entirely too easy.
The soldiers peeked out of the cells and slowly left, unsure, but Ben had to find if they’d placed a tracker in Dean. Learning from Renfro miles down the road wouldn’t help one bit. He searched everywhere he could think of, time running out, and then he heard a voice calling, “This way! Leave this way!”
He followed the sound, dodging through the crowd of transgenics, and paused when he saw a man/dog thing, standing a full head above everyone else—he might even be taller than Sam. Behind him, he pulled another man/dog person, almost identical, though not quite.
“Huh,” Ben said and hurried back the way he’d come.
-
Ben sat in the back, supporting Dean, making sure Dean breathed. Dean never moved on his own, beyond his chest barely rising and falling. “Hurry, Alec,” Ben whispered, running his hand along Dean’s forehead.
Asher shotgun and explained what he remembered: they’d been tracking what they thought was a werewolf and got jumped by a posse of kids. “They fought like tornados,” Asher said, shivering. “Like the two’a you.”
Alec met Ben’s gaze in the rearview. “X7s,” he guessed. “Creepy suckers.”
“I woke up in that cell, alone,” Asher went on. “I don’t know how long I was in there, but finally the door opened and they tossed Dean in.” Asher’s voice shook. “He wasn’t moving, Ben. He just laid there. So I pulled him away from the door, terrified they’d take him again. They’d left me his jacket and taken his gun, his knives and mine—everything that could be used as a weapon.” He fell silent and wiped his eyes.
“You did what you could, Ash,” Alec told him softly. “All you could.” His voice sincere and warm, he added, “You did good, Asher. Even Ben and I couldn’t’a done better.”
“He’s right, Ash,” Ben confirmed, then said, “Alec, drive faster.”
-
The hours passed slowly. Finally, Asher drifted off, slumped against the door.
A few minutes after, Alec said softly, “It was too easy, Ben.”
Ben sighed, “I know.”
Alec tossed his phone behind him and Ben caught it. “We’ll need Rosie,” Alec commanded. “And Sarah.” He thought for a minute. “Nathan, too.”
Ben stared at the phone, then the back of Alec’s head. “What?”
“Ben, we can’t risk the house. We have no idea what’s been put in his body. So call them. Tell Sarah to meet us at the fallback location, and to bring Rose and Nathan with her.”
So Ben, after a moment, did. As he spoke to Sarah, Alec suggested, “And Charlie, to take Ash back home.”
But Ben was hit with a sudden thought. “What if they put something in him, too?”
Alec slapped the wheel. “Damnit. We’ll need to get answers outta that bitch before anyone can go home.”
Sarah promised to meet them and Ben said, “We’ll call once we hit the city.”
-
Asher slept the entire way to the safehouse and Dean never stirred. Once they entered Phoenix, Ben called Sarah. Alec and Ben hadn’t talked in over fifty miles and Ben’s voice filled the car.
After he parked, Alec gently picked Asher up and carried him in, then came back to help with Dean. Again they cradled him between them, and softly set him on the bed in the back room.
Alec reclaimed Asher from the main room’s sofa and placed him in the next room over.
“Anything?” he asked Ben, who’d carefully prowled around. Ben shook his head. “Yeah,” Alec sighed. “Me either.”
Waiting for Sarah, they paced from one room to the next, silent. Almost half an hour passed before they heard a car on the gravel drive.
“They brought the Impala,” Ben laughed in disbelief.
Alec said, “I’ll get the bitch outta the trunk.” He paused to harshly kiss Ben, then headed out the door.
-
Ben hadn’t come up with a plan for how to determine where or how either Asher or Dean had been marked. Or even if they had. How Rosie would know escaped him.
Sarah checked Dean then Asher and said, “They’ll both heal. No permanent damage.” She sank against the wall. “Thank god.”
Rose looked in on Asher first, walking up to the bed and tangling her fingers in his hair. She leaned over him, pressing their foreheads together, and closed her eyes. Ben watched her; Sarah, Nathan, and Alec were in with Dean. Charlie was checking the perimeter.
Rose sagged forward and Ben rushed to catch her, cradling her in his arms. “Rose,” he called softly, gently tapping her cheek. “Rosie, look at me.”
Her eyes fluttered open. “He’s clean,” she whispered. “He can go home.” She shifted, turning her face into his chest, nestling close.
“How d’ya know, Rosie?” he asked, sinking down beside Asher, still holding her.
“There’s nothing in his body that shouldn’t be,” she muttered drowsily. “I’ll go look at Dean after I rest.”
“Okay. You did good, Rose.” He kissed her forehead and moved around, trying to make her more comfortable, content to hold her while she slept.
Alec and Sarah looked in on them from time to time, Sarah smiling at the picture they made.
Finally, five hours after Sarah and the others arrived, Rose and Asher stirred. Asher curled into Ben and Rose stretched, slipping out of his arms. “You’re fine, Ash,” she said, smiling and patting his shoulder. “I’m gonna track down some food, then I’ll see Dean.”
As she walked out of the room, Ben leaned down and gently kissed Asher, slowly deepening it. “You worried me, Ash,” he admitted. Asher lifted his arms, curling one around Ben’s neck, the other slipping beneath his shirt.
“I worried me,” Asher replied. “And I was terrified that Dean would die in front of me, and I couldn’t—” He shuddered and Ben kissed him again.
-
Asher ate a sandwich then Charlie drove him home. Ben and Alec wrapped around him for a few minutes, promising to see him soon. “The house is safe,” Alec whispered. “We’ll come back in a while.”
Asher had never been good at goodbye. He didn’t say anything and he didn’t look back as Charlie drove away.
“He’ll be fine,” Alec assured Ben.
Ben nodded. “I know, Mirror. I’d just feel better if one of us was at the house.”
Together they turned and reentered the building. Nathan had taken up Charlie’s post and Sarah sat next to Dean. Rose was on his other side, kneeling and leaning over him, hands on his face. Her eyes were closed and her mouth open, though she made no sound.
“Ben,” Rose said, voice hollow and soft. “Touch my arm.”
He did and everything wrenched.
-
He hits the ground with a thump, all air rushing from his body. He lies on the rocks for a moment, waiting for the pain to fade, but it never lessens. So he forces himself up, settles on his haunches, and looks around.
It’s wild terrain, barren and empty, though he hears wind whooshing overhead and birds calling in the distance. Trees are in a circle around the rocky area he landed in and it appears to be either dawn or dusk; Ben’s internal clock tells him the former.
“Where the fuck am I?” he demands, slowly checking his body over to see if anything’s broken. Now that he’s taken weight off his chest, the pain is receding, and his X5 capabilities will swiftly deal with the bruising.
“We’re in Dean’s safe place,” Rosie says from beside him and suddenly he notices she’s there.
“You’re getting stronger,” he observes, trying to decide if he should fear her or not. He looks at her, studies her—she’s haggard and worn, green eyes weary and dark hair escaping its’ tie.
He knows this girl, knows her well. He can’t fear her any more than he fears Sam. She wouldn’t hurt him, not for anything in the world.
Rose’s face lightens and a delighted smile curves her lips. “Thank you,” she cries, tears spilling over. “Ben, thank you so much.” She wraps her arms around his dully aching torso and sobs into his shirt.
“’s’alright, Rosie,” he whispers, rubbing her back. “It’s alright, sweetheart. I’m here now, so you can rest.” He murmurs, keeping his tone calm and gentle, for a handful of heartbeats before she fades out of his embrace and he’s left holding air.
Ben hopes he’s even in the right continent of what to do, because if he fucks it up, both he and Dean are probably lost forever.
He wishes Sam were here. Sam could reach Dean no matter how far down he’d buried himself.
“Dean’s safe place,” Ben echoes, looking around with fresh eyes. It’s calming, he supposes, in a desolate sort of way. Quiet. He rises to his feet, picks a direction, and walks.
The trees thicken then thin out; the birds sound further away. The sun hits the middle of the sky and that’s the only way he knows time passes. He keeps his mind occupied by imagining time with Asher and Alec, by listing every single thing he’ll do to that Renfro bitch, and each dessert he’ll fix and consume.
The sun sets and he keeps walking, not tired, not hungry, not thirsty. He’s left behind the forest for a lake and he skirts the edge, without a clue of what to do now. He has no idea where Dean might have hidden himself.
He wishes Rosie would pop back in, tell him what to do. But she doesn’t; he’s on his own.
No pressure.
Ben hasn’t been alone since Michael found him in the snow.
And then a sound breaks the freaky stillness: a scream. Ben takes off at a lope, intent on finding Dean and waking up, because if time remains the same on the outside—Asher needs them.
The scream echoes in the air, haunting, and Ben can’t find the source. So he shouts, “Dean! Dean, where are you?”
No answer. Complete silence. Dead silence.
Fear wells up in him. Something is wrong. He’s inside Dean’s head, deep inside, and has no idea of where to go to get out—but he can’t leave without Dean. He swore to Sam he’d bring Dean back.
They need Dean. All of them. The kids, the girls, the guys, Sam, Michael—
And Ben. Ben needs him, just like he needs Alec and Asher. Dean taught him to live where Manticore taught him to survive.
Dean gave him a life, trust—love. And Dean only ever asked for trust in return.
“You know,” Ben says, sinking down to the dirt, “I’m bettin’ you can hear me. You just can’t remember how to reply. Whatever they did to you—it made you shut down because your body it’n built for the pain. Alec barely survived Manticore. It hurt; believe me, I know.” He licks his lips and turns his face to the darkening sky. “Sam’s waiting for you, Dean. Back at the house. Rosie tried findin’ you, wherever you’ve hidden yourself in here, but you bested her.” He huffs out a small bark of laughter. “You know, for a minute I considered fearin’ her? Little Rosie, the gentlest soul I’ve ever known. She’s strong, stronger than you can imagine—but she wouldn’t hurt me if her life depended on it.”
He lets himself fall back, stretches, nestles himself a spot in the warm dirt. He keeps talking. “You have a good life, Dean. A family. Remember when you told me family’s everything? I believed you. Believed in you. You gave me a family, you and Sarah and Michael and Sam. You could have kicked me out, but instead you kept me. Did I ever thank you for that? Thank you, Dean.” He falls silent, trying to think of words adequate. “Dean, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to say just how thankful I am.”
A little boy steps out of the darkness, pale and slight with large hazel eyes that shine in the receding sunlight.
Ben doesn’t react except to smile. “Hey, Dean,” he says. “It’s good to see you.”
“How’s Sammy?” Dean asks, crouching out of reach.
“Worried, when I left. He couldn’t come with me, but he wanted to.” Ben keeps his voice soft, trying to make Dean come closer.
“You got us out?” Dean sinks down, crossing his legs; Ben sits up, movements slow and sure.
The sun sets and fire billows into life between them.
“We did,” Ben answers. “Me and Alec. Asher was scared for you, but they didn’t hurt him.”
Dean looks around for a bit, watches the sky and mountains, studies the fire. “I’m safe here,” he finally tells Ben. “Nothing can hut me. No one can lie or twist the truth.”
“But you’re alone, Dean. There’s no one to lie, but no one to tell the truth, either.” He pauses and says, “Sammy isn’t here.”
Dean looks down, digs his fingers into the dirt. “I miss Sammy.”
“Sammy misses you. He’d do anything to be here instead of me, but it would have put the whole family at risk.” Dean lifts his head and scrambles closer, through the fire without hesitation. Ben winces, but Dean had been right: nothing can hurt him here. “We can’t lose you, Dean,” Ben continues. “We couldn’t survive it.”
“If I wake up,” Dean whispers, “it’ll hurt.”
Ben nods. “But you’ll heal. And you won’t be alone. Don’t you get lonely here?”
Dean throws himself forward and Ben catches him, enfolds Dean in his arms. “I got you, Dean,” Ben says, trying not to cry. “I’ve got you. Let’s wake up now, okay? So you can be with Sammy again.”
-
Ben woke in degrees. His whole body was numb and he realized he was spread out over Alec’s lap and legs. “How long?” he rasped, throat aching and dry. He tasted dust in his mouth.
“Two days,” Alec answered and held a glass of water to his lips.
Ben gulped it down and choked. His eyes teared and feeling came back in a rush. His legs and torso ached, his back hissed at him, and his head pounded.
“Remind me to never go in anybody’s mind again,” he gasped out, trying to sit up. Alec helped him and settled Ben against his chest, cushioning him.
“I’m sorry,” Rose said, stepping into view. “But I couldn’t, and I thought you could—and you did, so I was right, but I’m still sorry, because it hurt—”
Sarah shushed her. “How’s Dean?” Ben demanded. “Did he wake up?”
With a nod, Sarah smiled tremulously. “You did it, Ben. He woke for an instant, then slipped back under, but Rosie says she can feel him now.”
Ben sighed in relief and closed his eyes, falling into an easy sleep.
-
He shot from his dream when Sarah answered the phone and gasped, then cursed. Dread soared through his body and he lunged out of the bed, hurried to the main room and asked, “Sarah, what?”
But she just looked at him, the phone loose her grip. He rushed across the room and yanked the receiver from her, snarling. “What?” into it.
“There’s been an accident,” Michael said. “Charlie took Kat, Lucas, and Haley on a supply run.”
“Michael,” Ben said when the man paused. “What happened?”
“They were attacked. We don’t know who did it yet. We only found out because Ava had a vision. Sam’s got Lucas and Haley back, but Charlie and Kat are still missing.”
“Okay,” Ben decided. “Michael, if you haven’t yet, shut down the house. No one in or out—even Sam. Me or Alec will be home soon.”
-
Rose felt for Kat and Charlie but there was nothing. “I can’t feel anyone from the family,” she cried, eyes wide and fearful. “ Phoenix—it’s blank.” She turned to Sarah, searching for explanation. “What does that mean?”
“I don’t know, baby,” Sarah replied softly, pulling the girl close. “But everything will be fine.”
Ben and Alec slipped from the room. “One of us has to go,” Ben told his twin. “Do you?”
Alec studied him for a moment. “I can take care of Dean, but I’m not the one who pulled him from his mind, who woke him up.”
“Have we gotten everything from Renfro?” Ben asked.
Alec nodded. “Me and Sarah decided while you were asleep. Since it was Dean at risk—and you—we had to ask Rose to go into the bitch’s head.” Ben met his eyes, horrified. “We had to, Ben,” Alec reiterated, self-loathing coating his voice and face. “We hated it, but it had to be done. Sarah wrote down everything.”
Ben sucked in a deep breath, held it, then exhaled. “Okay,” he muttered. “Okay. Take Nathan and go home, find Kat and Charlie.”
Alec caught his gaze, sought absolution. “She agreed, Ben. She knew it was the only way. She’s strong, stronger than you think.”
Ben remembered back to Dean’s safe place and nearly shuddered. “I know, Mirror,” he whispered. “I know.”
-
Alec took the Impala and Nathan, leaving them with one vehicle. Rose never left the room that Asher had been in, Dean woke up for one moment then slipped back under, Sarah paced around like a nervous horse, and Renfro tried escaping hourly.
If Kat was never found—or found dead—Ben didn’t know what Alec would do. He’d designated himself Katie’s protector, and one way to keep the baby safe was to take care of the mother.
Ben hadn’t lost anyone since the escape from Manticore, no one he cared about. And Kat was one of the first—
The look in Nathan’s eyes as Sarah told him of the trouble at home haunted Ben as he sat beside Dean. Was that how he’d look if Asher or Alec went missing? Hollow, broken—terrified.
Dean stirred. Ben reached down to pet his forehead. “Rest, Dean,” he murmured, thinking back to that talk they’d had when he was still a boy, when Dean had gathered him up and soothed away all his fears. He owed Dean so much—everything. Because of Dean, he had Asher and Alec, Sarah and Michael—Michael had found him, but Dean welcomed him, gave him a home, a family, a life—and that Renfro bitch nearly took it all away. Still might.
Because Dean still hadn’t woken for a full minute and they didn’t know what all damage might be done.
Dean quieted and Ben slipped from the bed, asked Sarah for the papers on Renfro. She handed them over silently and he settled back next to Dean.
He read for thirty minutes and had to pause.
She was insane. Some snake cult would take over the world after humanity got wiped out by a virus? Manticore formed purely to create the perfect DNA? Alec tortured because he was Ben’s twin, Dean tortured because he was the original donor? And what they’d found—if Renfro could be trusted…
Dean wasn’t human. According to Renfro. Never had been, never would be. And it all became clear in Ben’s mind, how Dean had never felt like Sarah or Michael, but not like Ava or Rosie, either—
Dean and Sam were unique. Together, they were apart from anyone Ben had ever known. Different from the transgenics, different from the psychics, different from the humans.
Ben glanced over at Dean, took in the sweat on his face, the grimace twisting his lips, the tiny whimpers he made low in his throat. “You want Sam, don’t you?” he whispered, setting the papers on the table next to the bed. He’d have to read over it again later, examine it closely.
And he’d have to talk to that bitch Renfro.
“I wish Sam was here, too,” Ben continued, stretching and molding himself to Dean’s body, enfolding Dean in his arms, trying to offer what little comfort he could since he was the wrong man.
But Dean just sighed and quieted, his face smoothing out. “You’ll be fine,” Ben promised. “Whatever they did, it won’t be enough—because you’re strong, you’re the strongest man in the world. You’re Dean Winchester.” He gently kissed the back of Dean’s neck and softly started purring, slipping slowly into sleep.
-
He turns, looks around: empty field dotted by purple and gold wildflowers. “Not again,” he groans. “Whatever happened to normal dreams?”
Alec chuckles from behind him. “You know, big brother. Don’t you? We both do, always have.”
Ben turns slowly, meets Alec’s hazel eyes. “You’re not him,” Ben says quietly, certain beyond all doubt.
NotAlec grins. “You’re a Winchester alright, Benny-boy. Blood of his blood, flesh of his flesh—and that makes you mine.” NotAlec’s eyes shift from hazel to gold and Ben’s stomach clenches.
“You,” he whispers. “You’re the thing that killed Dean’s parents.”
“Yep,” NotAlec laughs. “I just want to talk to you, Benny, get to know you a bit, is all.”
Ben backs up, searches for a way out.
“You won’t wake until I let you, Benjamin.” NotAlec lunges forward and grips Ben’s neck; Ben jerks, tries to pull away, but NotAlec holds him fast. “I’ve spent the past fifteen years gathering my strength, boy,” NotAlec tells him, golden eyes hard and cold. “I want Sam and Dean on my side—tell them that. And you, Ben—you and ‘Mirror,’ as you’ve named him. The four of you, with me…” NotAlec chuckles then purrs, “The world won’t stand a chance.”
“They’ll never help you,” Ben snarls, everything in him flinching from NotAlec’s mimicry of Alec’s touch.
“If the only way to keep Dean alive is to join me, Sam will. And if the only way to keep me from breaking Sam apart is to stand by my side, Dean will make the first step with a smile.” NotAlec lightly presses his lips to Ben’s, then licks his way down to Ben’s neck, bites into the skin. “And your pet human, that beautiful boy—come to me or he dies. Slowly. Painfully.” NotAlec smirks and flicks his gaze to Ben’s. “Your brother will follow you, Ben, no matter where it is you lead.”
NotAlec pulls back, releases Ben. “I’ve watched Dean and Sam since they were children, Benny. I’ve studied and learned. They’re mine. And because you were formed with Dean’s blood—” NotAlec pauses and twists his lips into a parody of Alec’s comforting smile. “So are you, Ben. You are mine.”
-
Ben woke with tears on his face. Dean had shifted in his sleep, turned, and Ben was now curled up partly on Dean’s chest. Dean’s eyes were open and clear, watching Ben with worry.
“You’re okay,” Ben said, sitting up in one smooth movement. “Right?”
Dean stayed silent and Ben had a second of fear, but then Dean replied, “I’m fine. Sore and pissed as hell, but no worse for the wear.” Dean slowly pulled himself up and Ben helped prop him against the wall. Dean studied him for a few heartbeats then asked, “You were in my head?”
Ben nodded. “You’d locked yourself somewhere in your mind and Rosie couldn’t find you, so she shoved me in there with no warning and hoped you’d reveal yourself to me.”
Dean stared at him. “She can do that?”
Laughter welled up in Ben’s throat and he doubled over, fell against Dean. He couldn’t calm himself, couldn’t control himself—he just collapsed into Dean and laughed until he couldn’t breathe, until Dean was laughing with him, and Sarah poked her head in to see what the noise was.
But finally Ben caught his breath and settled next to Dean, shoulder to shoulder and hip to hip.
“How long’s it been?” Dean asked.
“Over a week.”
Dean hissed. “Sam?”
Ben answered, “Worried out of his mind. But he couldn’t go after you himself—too much of a risk.”
“He was pissed, huh?”
Ben didn’t even deign to reply and Dean chuckled.
“Rose says you’re clear.” Sarah walked in, checked Dean over quickly. “So, soon as you’re up to it, we can go.”
Dean tried lunging off the bed but Ben anticipated him and gripped his shoulder, held him down. “You have to rest a little longer,” Ben said firmly and Dean snarled at him.
“I need to get home,” Dean said, turning to Sarah with entreating eyes.
But Sarah shook her head. “Eat something. Sleep some more, and we’ll head home tomorrow.”
Dean glared and Sarah raised an eyebrow. “I’m the final say, Dean,” she told him sweetly. “So don’t annoy me.”
She swept out, calling over her shoulder, “I’ll bring you some food, then you’re takin’ a shower and goin’ back to bed.”
Dean grumped and Ben looked him out the corner of his eye, weighed the pros and cons of asking.
Dean interrupted his thoughts with, “Ben, just ask already.”
“Huh?”
“I have a brother.”
So Ben took a deep breath and said, “Tell me about your meeting with the demon.”
-
While Dean showered with Sarah overseeing, Ben visited Renfro. She was held in a cell away from the house, built to contain—well, Ben wasn’t sure what it’d been built for. The house belonged to one of Dean’s dad’s old friends, a big game hunter.
Renfro was tiring herself out, throwing herself against the door, trying to pick the lock, searching for a loose bar. But even if she got out of the cell, she’d still have to get off the property, past all the dogs.
Ben slipped in silently and slunk close to the cell door, then cleared his throat. She jumped and whirled around; he smiled, said, “’lo, bitch.”
Renfro flinched back then visibly forced herself to hide the fear. “Where’s the girl?” she demanded.
Ben laughed darkly. “She scared you,” he purred, pacing forward. “Terrified you.”
Renfro glared but had no defense. The closer Ben came the further she moved away, until she’d reached the back of the cage.
“We have everything we need from you,” Ben gleefully told her. “So now, I can do with you what I wish.”
Renfro’s eyes widened and he heard her heart speed up. He allowed himself a small smile. “See, here’s the thing, Ma’am,” he said quietly. “You tortured my brother. You tortured my friend. You terrified my lover and made him relive some of his worst memories.” Ben’s voice grew steadily harsher and colder. “We’re going home tomorrow, Elizabeth. Which gives me the rest of today and all of tonight.”
He opened the cage and flew across it, grabbing her arm and slamming her into the bars. “I knew it,” she hissed, bucking, trying to claw at him. “You’re just an animal.”
“Sweetheart,” he laughed, “you ain’t got a thing I want.”
He pulled her out of the cage; she kicked and cursed the whole way. Finally, he gripped her neck and said calmly, “You have no allies here, bitch. You’re just wasting energy.”
Renfro raised her arm; he allowed her the freedom of slapping him, relishing the slight pain. It grounded him, helped him keep his focus. He didn’t want to kill her too soon—that’d ruin the fun. She kicked low, hissing, and he caught her foot, tossed her on her ass.
“Calm yourself, dear,” he lightly suggested with a dark laugh. She glared up at him, rage warring with fear. He smirked and she paled. “You have no allies here, Elizabeth,” he repeated. “None.”
By the despair bleaching all strength from her eyes, he knew she finally began to understand what that meant.
He remembered Alec when they first met, remembered Dean trapped in his mind, remembered Asher’s pale face in that cell.
“Do you have any children?” he asked, crouching down to meet her eyes.
“What?”
“Children.” He tilted his head, staring down at her. “Any of your own?”
“N-no,” she answered.
He smirked. “Good.” Reached out with one hand to grasp her neck. “Husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, lover?”
Again she said, “No,” gaining strength, body tensing.
He leaned forward, getting right up in her face. “So tell me, Elizabeth,” he murmured, “who in the wide world will miss you once you’re gone?”
And she quelled, shrank back.
“I am what you made me, Renfro,” he said. “A hunter. A predator.” He stood, pulling her with him, and whispered coldly in her ear, “A killer.”
-
He crept into Dean’s room that night. Sarah had fallen asleep on the couch, and Ben just needed warmth. He felt like he was shivering deep inside. He slipped into Dean’s bed and slid beneath the downy quilt, curled up as close as he dared.
“You dealt with her?” Dean asked and Ben shuddered. Dean reached out and threaded his fingers in Ben’s hair. “s’alright, Ben,” he soothed quietly. “You did what you had to for the safety of our family. She wasn’t a good person.”
Ben had killed before but it’d never affected him like this. He trembled, tears building in his eyes. He pressed forward, settled against Dean’s chest; nether paid attention to the small wounds still dotting Dean’s skin from Manticore. Dean wrapped his left arm around Ben’s shoulder, held him tightly. “s’alright, Benny,” he whispered again, gently kissed Ben’s hair. “You did what was necessary, nothing more.”
It wasn’t the first time Ben cried in Dean’s arms. He didn’t make a sound, just silently wept—though he didn’t know for what. He wasn’t mourning that bitch; she wasn’t worth tears. But he couldn’t stem the flood.
“I’ve got you,” Dean told him softly. “I’ve got you, Ben.” He lightly kissed Ben’s hair, his forehead. “You’re safe. Just sleep.”
Ben drifted off, finally, focusing on Dean’s heartbeat, half curled up on his chest.
-
“Killer,” NotAlec hisses, circling him. “Lovely killer. You’re closer to me now, you know.”
Ben flinches back, averts his eyes. “Leave me alone, demon,” he demands, searching for strength. “I’m not.”
NotAlec reaches out, trails his fingers along Ben’s jaw. “But you are. You are Dean’s blood, and Dean is mine.” He grips Ben’s chin and leans in, nibbles at Ben’s lips. “You taste like Winchester, Benjamin.” He bites Ben’s bottom lip hard, digging his teeth in, sucking at the blood. Ben winces and tries to pull away, but NotAlec tightens his grip.
“Tell Dean that we still have debts to settle,” NotAlec whispers, digging his thumb into Ben’s cheek. “Tell him that he can keep Sam—and you boys—if he wants.” NotAlec looks into Ben’s eyes and smiles. “It’ll cost him some blood, but he can do it. Tell him that.”
NotAlec leans close again and nips Ben’s lip one final time. “Tell him, boy—tell him that he and his brother and his two precious clones—they are Mary’s sons and so… they are mine.”
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-20 06:13 am (UTC)I ♥ this crossover so very much. Dean and his clones, and Ben with a second chance. Gods I wish Ben had lived because he was the bestest thing on DA for the longest time till Alec entered into the picture. I love how you manged to draw the over-arching myths together - Manticore and their Snake Cult, and SPN and its Demon. How the one links the other, and that it was alway Sam and Dean because Mary was so much more than she ever let on.
Love how Ben is so innocent yet so old at the same time. The mental picture of Ben hugging a child-Dean makes me all sniffly.
Also, I'm not sure if you did it purposely or not, but the sense of time having passed, of the YED re-shuffling his plans by realising Dean was an important part of the puzzle rather than just dismissing him. LOVES!
Can't wait for the next part.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-20 01:54 pm (UTC)Ben is the _best_ part of DA, hands down.
My own canon? Mary's the reason for everything.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-20 06:41 am (UTC)I don't know if I want to watch DA now, just in case it doesn't live up to the expectations I've built up with all these lovely SPN/DA crossovers I've been reading so much lately.
Sometimes, the fanfics do better than canon.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-20 01:56 pm (UTC)Thank you for reading!
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-20 06:51 am (UTC)DNt; know what else to say but - More please:)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-20 01:56 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-20 12:48 pm (UTC)Very well done. I'm looking forward to the next part.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-20 01:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-20 05:17 pm (UTC)*flails*
*hugs the pretty fic*
*hugs you*
Just so you know?
You want coherency, stop writing such delightfully hurty fics! :)
I didn't realize just how much I've missed your writings.
And this AU rocks like nothing before!
More?
*flutters her eyelashes as prettily as she can*
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-20 07:44 pm (UTC)*twirls you*
I'll be posting more stuff on Tuesday.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-20 10:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-20 10:32 pm (UTC)*giggles*
I almost missed part 2
Date: 2007-05-21 06:20 am (UTC)Re: I almost missed part 2
Date: 2007-05-21 01:08 pm (UTC)Thank you for reading, though!
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-25 07:13 pm (UTC)poor Ben, how much did I squeel when that pairing showed tself. Loved how he claimed Ben, that Asher all growd up. --sighs--
The mix of the Spn in the DA verse is awesome!
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-25 09:28 pm (UTC)You're reading all the long ones, aren't you? *hee*
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-25 10:08 pm (UTC)I had to read I was too curious. lol.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-11-04 10:39 pm (UTC)I cant wait for the next installment. What is the demon going to do?
(no subject)
Date: 2007-11-05 02:03 am (UTC)This is a 'verse I need to come back to. As soon as I start watching DA again, I will.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-11-18 06:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-11-19 12:55 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-24 03:51 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-24 09:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-09 05:54 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-10 06:25 pm (UTC)Thank you for reading, though!