behind the hollow } { they gave us two shots to the back of the head
[Set after THIS. Elena is ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
badever, Stefan is somanyadjectives.]
There is really only one good lesson that Manticore ever taught them.
Some lessons were helpful. How to load and reload a gun. The most effective way of picking locks, infiltrating buildings. When he left Manticore, methods of combat and assassination became methods of self-defense, so they were useful, but they weren’t good. Max taught him that when she taught him how to be an actual person. She helped him learn how to fit in in the world, and while her moral compass isn’t necessarily the straightest, it was better than his. Max took the mission imperatives and the brainwashing and turned it into something real. Still there is one good lesson that Manticore managed to teach them, and it was this:
You don’t abandon your unit.
They directed their human instincts, their familial instincts into the other X5s around them. It made them a stronger unit, made it more likely to bring soldiers home and complete their lessons effectively. Maybe in some way they hoped that if they had love for their unit, maybe they wouldn’t develop love for the outside world – it didn’t always work, Alec is living proof of that – but it helped them build faith in each other, and that was enough.
His unit at Manticore shifted to the transgenics in Terminal City, and when he landed in Mystic Falls, that necessity, that need for family transferred to Damon and Elena. They had families of their own, they didn’t need him (though maybe in some way Damon did), but he needed them, and they let him do that. It’s for that reason that he’s grateful. Most people would have wrote him off from the get-go, but they didn’t and that’s a debt he’s never not going to owe them. If he had been left in this world alone by himself, he would have probably lost his mind.
The problem with placing such a strong emphasis on family, and training them to be unstoppable killing machines, is that when that family is threatened, they will use every weapon in their arsenal to make sure their family safe. That’s how Max’s unit escaped when they were kids. After that they tried to wipe it out of them, erase that need to protect and replace it with the fact that their handlers always made the right decision “in the field,” no matter what, but that kind of instinct you can’t truly erase. It doesn’t go away.
And neither does the rage.
(Alec doesn’t make promises to family that he can’t keep, which is why he chose his words to Elena very, very carefully. He said he wouldn’t pick a fight he couldn’t win, but he had absolutely no doubt at all that this is a fight he’s very capable of winning. He’s fought vampires before and won, and he doesn’t intend to kill Stefan. He just needs an outlet for that rage somewhere, and Stefan clearly needs to learn a lesson about why you don’t threaten an X5’s family.
It doesn’t end well.)
See, Stefan? He isn’t family. Damon’s family, maybe, but not Alec’s.
The car ride back to the Salvatore boarding house is dead silence which didn’t really help his state of mind, either. He pulls his car into the driveway and stalks through the entryway, only pausing when he spots Damon coming out of the house and sliding on his jacket.
“Is Stefan home?”
“Down in the basement, plotting his diabolical revenge.” He glances up, confused and Alec knows why. Alec doesn’t ask after Stefan. Ever. If he was looking for Stefan, it probably wasn’t because he wanted to start a book club. “Why?”
He pauses, considering for a moment whether or not Stefan could hear him, given where he is, but at the same time, Alec didn’t really care. “I may need to kick his ass. But you can’t ask me why.”
“I don’t need it. I believe Stefan’s ass should be kicked as often as possible.”
“Glad we’re on the same page. I promise I won’t kill him.”
“Not worried about that. Him killing you, on the other hand? That I may be a little worried about.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m tougher than I look, remember?”
Damon regards him for a long moment, as though he’s trying to determine whether or not he should intervene. Whether or not he should be here. Then he shrugs. “I’m heading to the Grill. Happy hunting.”
After that, everything else fades away. He has purpose and direction, the kind of thrill that Manticore missons used to give him. It’s a place to direct the predatory instincts and the urge to kill in a safe way. It may not be entirely safe, as he does intend to do some damage, but on the other hand, he really can’t help how he was raised.
As promised, he finds Stefan in the basement, brooding, or plotting, or whatever the hell he does, and he releases all the anger he’s been clamping down on since Elena told him what happened at the bridge. A burst of speed, a strong hand against the back of Stefan’s neck, and the vampire’s head goes forward into the hard brick of the wall. He can instantly smell the blood, a scent that’s familiar but not, the same scent that was all over Elena and that only makes things worse. The hand surges him forward again, and again, but at this point, the shock has worn off and Stefan is getting his head in the game. He spins around, eyes red and fangs out, and he shoves Alec back against the opposite wall. There’s pain for a moment, but that’s more than fine. If anything, pain makes this easier.
“What the hell?”
“I know what you did to her. And it’s going to stop.”
“Trust me when I say you don’t want to do this.”
“Oh, no. I really do.” And with that he’s charging forward again, fast and hard, using everything he has because he can. This is what he was trained for—it might not have been facing vampires, but he’s been sparring against creatures with enhanced strength and speed since he was a child. This isn’t any different.
He only lands on his back once before the fight’s over, Stefan’s hand against his throat, but that doesn’t last long. He grips his arm in two places, one at the wrist, one on the radius, and with a hard twist, snapped both that and the ulna. Knowing it wouldn’t slow him down for long, he used his speed to his advantage and flipped him, wrapping him in a headlock to hold him in place.
“What are you? A vampire?”
“Not exactly. I’m still living, for one. But otherwise, that’s not what you need to know. What you do need to know is that I honestly don’t care about your revenge bullshit with Klaus. I know that Elena’s going to wind up in the middle of it whether I like it or not. But if you ever so much as lay a hand on her again, I will make you wish I killed you. We clear?”
“And what’s to say I won’t kill you, right here right now?”
“Because I think that you know at this point that Elena can’t really afford to lose anyone else. And if she knows that the reason they’re gone is directly because of you? She’ll never forgive you.” It’s probably more that reason than anything else that Alec isn’t killing Stefan right now. Another death on his conscience won’t kill him, but he couldn’t live with himself if Elena hated him. “So do we have a deal?”
Stefan’s silent for a long time. Maybe it was his own internal guilt, or maybe he just didn’t want Elena to hate him, but Alec knows for a fact that it isn’t his way with words that makes the vampire nod his head yes.
“You didn’t have to beat the crap out of me to get what you wanted, you know.”
“Maybe not.” He could have just yelled a lot, but there wasn’t really a whole lot of fun in that. “I definitely feel better, though.”
Then his arms twist with a quick snap! of Stefan’s neck.
“That was to make me feel better too.”
1382 words
badever, Stefan is somanyadjectives.]There is really only one good lesson that Manticore ever taught them.
Some lessons were helpful. How to load and reload a gun. The most effective way of picking locks, infiltrating buildings. When he left Manticore, methods of combat and assassination became methods of self-defense, so they were useful, but they weren’t good. Max taught him that when she taught him how to be an actual person. She helped him learn how to fit in in the world, and while her moral compass isn’t necessarily the straightest, it was better than his. Max took the mission imperatives and the brainwashing and turned it into something real. Still there is one good lesson that Manticore managed to teach them, and it was this:
You don’t abandon your unit.
They directed their human instincts, their familial instincts into the other X5s around them. It made them a stronger unit, made it more likely to bring soldiers home and complete their lessons effectively. Maybe in some way they hoped that if they had love for their unit, maybe they wouldn’t develop love for the outside world – it didn’t always work, Alec is living proof of that – but it helped them build faith in each other, and that was enough.
His unit at Manticore shifted to the transgenics in Terminal City, and when he landed in Mystic Falls, that necessity, that need for family transferred to Damon and Elena. They had families of their own, they didn’t need him (though maybe in some way Damon did), but he needed them, and they let him do that. It’s for that reason that he’s grateful. Most people would have wrote him off from the get-go, but they didn’t and that’s a debt he’s never not going to owe them. If he had been left in this world alone by himself, he would have probably lost his mind.
The problem with placing such a strong emphasis on family, and training them to be unstoppable killing machines, is that when that family is threatened, they will use every weapon in their arsenal to make sure their family safe. That’s how Max’s unit escaped when they were kids. After that they tried to wipe it out of them, erase that need to protect and replace it with the fact that their handlers always made the right decision “in the field,” no matter what, but that kind of instinct you can’t truly erase. It doesn’t go away.
And neither does the rage.
(Alec doesn’t make promises to family that he can’t keep, which is why he chose his words to Elena very, very carefully. He said he wouldn’t pick a fight he couldn’t win, but he had absolutely no doubt at all that this is a fight he’s very capable of winning. He’s fought vampires before and won, and he doesn’t intend to kill Stefan. He just needs an outlet for that rage somewhere, and Stefan clearly needs to learn a lesson about why you don’t threaten an X5’s family.
It doesn’t end well.)
See, Stefan? He isn’t family. Damon’s family, maybe, but not Alec’s.
The car ride back to the Salvatore boarding house is dead silence which didn’t really help his state of mind, either. He pulls his car into the driveway and stalks through the entryway, only pausing when he spots Damon coming out of the house and sliding on his jacket.
“Is Stefan home?”
“Down in the basement, plotting his diabolical revenge.” He glances up, confused and Alec knows why. Alec doesn’t ask after Stefan. Ever. If he was looking for Stefan, it probably wasn’t because he wanted to start a book club. “Why?”
He pauses, considering for a moment whether or not Stefan could hear him, given where he is, but at the same time, Alec didn’t really care. “I may need to kick his ass. But you can’t ask me why.”
“I don’t need it. I believe Stefan’s ass should be kicked as often as possible.”
“Glad we’re on the same page. I promise I won’t kill him.”
“Not worried about that. Him killing you, on the other hand? That I may be a little worried about.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m tougher than I look, remember?”
Damon regards him for a long moment, as though he’s trying to determine whether or not he should intervene. Whether or not he should be here. Then he shrugs. “I’m heading to the Grill. Happy hunting.”
After that, everything else fades away. He has purpose and direction, the kind of thrill that Manticore missons used to give him. It’s a place to direct the predatory instincts and the urge to kill in a safe way. It may not be entirely safe, as he does intend to do some damage, but on the other hand, he really can’t help how he was raised.
As promised, he finds Stefan in the basement, brooding, or plotting, or whatever the hell he does, and he releases all the anger he’s been clamping down on since Elena told him what happened at the bridge. A burst of speed, a strong hand against the back of Stefan’s neck, and the vampire’s head goes forward into the hard brick of the wall. He can instantly smell the blood, a scent that’s familiar but not, the same scent that was all over Elena and that only makes things worse. The hand surges him forward again, and again, but at this point, the shock has worn off and Stefan is getting his head in the game. He spins around, eyes red and fangs out, and he shoves Alec back against the opposite wall. There’s pain for a moment, but that’s more than fine. If anything, pain makes this easier.
“What the hell?”
“I know what you did to her. And it’s going to stop.”
“Trust me when I say you don’t want to do this.”
“Oh, no. I really do.” And with that he’s charging forward again, fast and hard, using everything he has because he can. This is what he was trained for—it might not have been facing vampires, but he’s been sparring against creatures with enhanced strength and speed since he was a child. This isn’t any different.
He only lands on his back once before the fight’s over, Stefan’s hand against his throat, but that doesn’t last long. He grips his arm in two places, one at the wrist, one on the radius, and with a hard twist, snapped both that and the ulna. Knowing it wouldn’t slow him down for long, he used his speed to his advantage and flipped him, wrapping him in a headlock to hold him in place.
“What are you? A vampire?”
“Not exactly. I’m still living, for one. But otherwise, that’s not what you need to know. What you do need to know is that I honestly don’t care about your revenge bullshit with Klaus. I know that Elena’s going to wind up in the middle of it whether I like it or not. But if you ever so much as lay a hand on her again, I will make you wish I killed you. We clear?”
“And what’s to say I won’t kill you, right here right now?”
“Because I think that you know at this point that Elena can’t really afford to lose anyone else. And if she knows that the reason they’re gone is directly because of you? She’ll never forgive you.” It’s probably more that reason than anything else that Alec isn’t killing Stefan right now. Another death on his conscience won’t kill him, but he couldn’t live with himself if Elena hated him. “So do we have a deal?”
Stefan’s silent for a long time. Maybe it was his own internal guilt, or maybe he just didn’t want Elena to hate him, but Alec knows for a fact that it isn’t his way with words that makes the vampire nod his head yes.
“You didn’t have to beat the crap out of me to get what you wanted, you know.”
“Maybe not.” He could have just yelled a lot, but there wasn’t really a whole lot of fun in that. “I definitely feel better, though.”
Then his arms twist with a quick snap! of Stefan’s neck.
“That was to make me feel better too.”
1382 words
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