Note: First of all, yeah Krycek and Billy!
I obviously don't own anything which is in any way related to the X-files... I mean, copyright and that sorta shit.
All right, this... Well, I decided to try an X-files fic. Why not?
So yah, here goes...
The man could feel the cold metal of the table against the skin of his back as he laid still, his eyes closed. Bright lights pounded at his eyelids, commanding him to open his eyes. For the moment, however, he kept them closed, simply taking in the silence, as well as the sensation of the room.
The sense of the room that the man got was that it was a cold place, a hard place. It was a place where lives could be lost without regret, where strange procedures took place almost daily. There was no differentiation between life and death in the room; that was what made it seem so cold.
He shivered, more from the table then from the sense of the room. He didn't mind if there was no difference here between life and death. He'd been in plenty of places and situations where it had been the same. Besides, breaking down the barrier of life and death was the reason he was on the table… Partly.
There was a pounding sensation in the back of his head, and though it bothered him, it didn't really hurt. Nothing hurt. That was the part that amazed him. He'd expected something to sting, at least. Maybe he'd have an itch. He'd at least expected to have a few scars. He didn't think that he'd gotten any.
It shouldn't have surprised him, really. They were intelligent, and they could do this without hurting the patient. He should've known… But then, it didn't really matter. So what if he'd been expecting pain? It was better to expect worse and be rewarded with less… He'd learned that over the years.
Yeah, he'd learned a lot. Maybe too much, but… No, not too much. As far as he was concerned, it was always better to be informed, always better to know. Even if it hurt, it was better to be aware.
That was how he'd stayed alive. He'd known what he was getting into, known what he was going to do. Information was what could get a person into the right place at the right time, and out of the wrong place.
Even when something had gone wrong, he'd reacted quickly. His mind was set to move, to keep going. Determination, but moreover self-preservation, was his way of living. It always had been.
This was another effort to add into his attempts at self-preservation. It was one that he was almost certain would work. It was one of their processes, and it seemed to have worked… At least, as far as he knew. He wasn't dead, for starters.
Slowly, though he didn't really want to, he opened his eyes. He was met with a burst of blinding light from above, and he winced against the table. Almost immediately, however, the lights dimmed, and his vision soon cleared.
Above him, there were perhaps ten large, powerful lights, all currently dimmed to a point at which he could look around easily. There were millions of networks of cables running over the ceiling, curving around, behind, and through the lights. To him, they almost looked like spider webs.
He sat up slowly, waiting for his body to protest. He'd expected that the operation would leave him feeling drained, with weary muscles. As he found himself sitting upright, he realized that it wasn't so. He felt fine. Even the throbbing in the back of his head had dulled.
The room in which he sat was fairly large, the size of his rooms at the apartment put together. That wasn't saying too much, but it was more than large enough for one room.
The same sensation he had felt with his eyes closed was conveyed in the physical sense of the room. Everything seemed to be made out of some sort of shining gray metal. He didn't even bother to guess what it was; it could've been anything. After all, they didn't necessarily get their materials from the Earth.
Various complicated machines and tools lined the walls, covered tables and desks. His table was in the center of everything, and he turned his head slowly, taking in the surroundings. It looked so cold, so senseless…
In fact, it reminded him of some of them. Why not? A lot of them looked harder and colder than any human he'd ever seen. It probably came from their lifestyle.
The equipment reminded him of them in a way other than that they seemed ineffectual. It all looked alien. It all WAS alien, and so were they.
"So am I," he thought vaguely.
The moment the thought ran through his mind, he realized that it was true. At least, it was true if the 'operation' had been a success. He thought it had, but…
He didn't feel any different, first of all. The pain in the back of his head probably meant nothing; even if connected to the operation it was probably from being knocked out. Besides that, he didn't feel any differently physically. There was no sensation of being stronger, of having more vitality. He didn't feel unbeatable. He certainly didn't feel the vertebra.
There was a way to check if that was there, of course. He raised his hand to his neck slowly, than settled it on the back of his neck. He could feel a bump there. It raised above the rest of his skin about half an inch or an inch, feeling like some sort of small mountain on his neck.
It was the vertebra. The operation had been a success, after all. He was an alien.
He half-expected to feel something about that though. Anger, fear, a sense of loss… However, there was nothing.
After all, what did it matter if he was alien? No… check that. He was more of a hybrid then anything else. He was still human. He'd simply become a part of them… He'd been given the piece necessary to become one, and yet he was still himself. He was a hybrid.
That was fine with him. He didn't mind being a hybrid. It was actually somewhat intriguing. He was basically the same, after all.
He had been told before the operation that there were risks involved. One of them had been that he could wake up with a different personality. That had been one of the few that he had considered when making his decision. What would've been the point of being 'renewed' if he woke up as someone else?
He was still the same old guy, though. His thoughts were the same and, above all, he felt the same about everything. His mind ran in the same direction as it had before, and for that he was thankful.
Looking around the room once more, he saw that his clothing had been folded and left on a table. For a moment he considered leaving it and waiting until after they came back to put it on. Then he decided that he'd prefer to be wearing something when they came in. Being naked… It seemed to give off a sense of weakness.
The man lowered himself off of the table and onto the floor which was, he found, even colder than the table had been. He walked across it quickly, then picked up his clothes and began to pull them on slowly.
As he dressed, his eyes fell on the table he had been laying and then sitting on. That was where the operation had been performed; he knew it. There was no blood, no sign that anything had happened, but he was sure of it all the same.
The operation. He wasn't sure exactly what had happened during it, or how they had gone about completing it. All he knew was that they had taken out one of his own vertebra and inserted one of their lab-made ones.
It was strange, but he was pretty sure that it had worked. It'd worked with others, so why not with him?
They'd been offering it for a while… Almost ever since he started working for them. That had been, what?, six months ago. He'd been contacted by one of them, and had been told that he'd be paid fair sums of cash for the kind of work he enjoyed.
The guy had been right, too. He had been enjoying his job. The only problem was that it had been getting more dangerous as the days passed by. People were becoming suspicious, forming their own ideas, and the like. If it kept up the way it was going, there would be many deaths for his side…
Yeah, his side. It was his side, because he was working for them. In the same way, it was the side of his partners.
They didn't know he was there. Both of them had been wary about the operation and its effects. They'd been discussing it quite often lately, and he'd finally gotten tired of discussion. He'd told his superiors that he was ready and there he was, dressing in a cold room at their base… One of their bases.
His partners would be surprised, of course. Surprised, but probably not terribly pissed. He'd never been one to be patient or wait around. He took action, especially when it felt necessary. If they didn't like it, tough shit.
Besides, they'd known the kind of person he was when they'd agreed to work with him. Of course, the aliens had wanted them together… They'd said that it would work well for the plan, especially if their partnerships could be kept secret.
It'd been working fine so far, and now he had the extra insurance. That bump on his neck… That would help immensely, maybe more than he knew at that time. Things were going to get ugly, and he knew it.
The vertebra was protection of the strongest sort. Okay, maybe it wasn't the strongest, but it was pretty damn close. The thing was amazing.
The aliens had always had the special vertebras in their spinal cords. For them, it was just a part of their life. The pieces had always been there, and always would be there.
How old there aliens were and how or if they reproduced, he didn't know. He didn't want to know either; he had an idea that it wasn't exactly a pretty thought. Then again, when did sex come with a pretty explanation?
He didn't know how the aliens created the vertebras for those who were to become aliens, either. He didn't know how his had been made. Honestly, he didn't even know if it would work. If it did, good. If not, ah well, too bad, would've happened without it, anyway. It wasn't as if he was going to go around chasing death because of the vertebra.
The vertebra would prevent death. It would prevent it by making certain that the one who the vertebra was a part of couldn't be destroyed. It meant regeneration… A sort that the aliens claimed was painless and quick. The man was yet to find that out.
As the man was slipping the heavy black jacket over his shoulders, the doors slid open and three figures entered. Two reminded beside the door for a moment, while the other walked forward.
This one was a woman… So she was a hybrid. The true aliens were all males… If they could be given genders. She was a hybrid like himself. "Mr. Krycek?" she inquired, looking down at the clipboard that she held in her hands.
The woman was almost shocking beautiful. She had a slim, agile-looking body, with blond hair that was organized in an almost careless manner. She had crystal blue eyes, and…
"Mr. Krycek?" she asked again, and this time she was smiling slightly.
"What?" he said, almost too quickly.
"I need to ask you a few questions… if you don't mind."
Krycek had a feeling that he'd be asked the questions even if he DID mind. "Shoot," he said.
"All right…" she began. "First of all, do you feel different in any way?"
He raised an eyebrow. The question was ambiguous… He had the feeling that the woman was new to this. Still, he'd try to answer. "No."
"No personality changes?" she was scribbling notes onto the paper on the clipboard.
"Not that I'm aware of," he replied, wondering why the hell they even bothered with that. He had a feeling that if a person changed personalities, they wouldn't be sure.
She guessed what he was thinking. "You'd know if you changed. Next question. Any pain at all?"
"In the back of my head…" he answered.
The question continued for nearly fifteen minutes. Krycek answered most of them without much thought… They didn't exactly require very much. Finally, the woman finished with the questions. "That's it for now."
"For now?"
"You'll be called back sometime for an examination. It's too early to do one now," she explained bluntly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got work to do."
"Yeah, all right, Miss…?" he tilted his head, looking at her quizzically.
Without replying, she walked away. Krycek looked after her for a moment, then shrugged. He'd never understand women… How was he supposed to understand women hybrids?
As the woman walked out, the two others who had entered with her stepped forward. These were both men, and they were the typical sort that he saw when he looked at the true aliens. Strong-looking and firm-faced, with intense styles of hair and dark eyes. They stared at him with a look that conveyed nothing, and he found himself wishing that they would change their face in some way to express some sort of emotion.
"Mr. Krycek, please follow us," the shorter said.
He was about to reply when both of the aliens turned and started to walk away. Krycek sighed, then dashed after them. As he exited the room, the door slid shut swiftly and firmly. Krycek wondered if the force it slammed shut with would be enough to cut a few fingers off, should one be unlucky enough to get his or her hand stuck in the door. Senseless though, what hey, what if?
Krycek followed the two men… "Or the two aliens," he thought, but men seemed easier to think. After all, they were basically men, and they weren't alien on the ship… Or base… Or wherever the hell they were.
They walked through long, brilliantly lit corridors. Most of them housed floors and walls of the same metallic substance that had been in the operation room. A few were different, brilliantly colored and shining.
"Those are special corridors," the taller of the two said without looking at Krycek.
He found the answer to be entirely amusing, though he didn't say so. Special corridors… It sounded like something a parent would tell one of their little kids.
Krycek almost stopped at that thought. They were treating him like a goddamn child. That wasn't fair, that wasn't…
He continued walking, calming himself. Of course it was fair. He probably wouldn't understand; this shit was deep. He was lucky to know what he did. Hell, he was lucky that they'd performed the operation. He'd been told that they'd needed as many people as they could to undergo it, but still…
Gah, it didn't matter. All that mattered was getting out of there and getting back home. He'd go back and start working again. Easy as that. It was what he wanted to do. There was a strange attraction in his new job… One that would compel him to work.
He'd asked his partners and they'd said that they felt the same. It was strange… Yet not too strange. All four of them were compelled by the mystique of it. The intrigue drew them to it daily… Hell, it was why they'd all been through the professions that they'd been through.
Eventually, they reached a door that stood out in the hall. Instead of being silver, it was a white that seemed too bright to look at. One of the two aliens opened the door, and Krycek followed them in.
The alien who sat at the desk near the back of the small office had a different appearance than the two who had brought Krycek down. This one was thinner, and didn't look nearly as cold. Krycek had a feeling that this man was like him; a hybrid.
"Mr. Krycek," the man nodded, extending his hand.
"Yeah," Krycek shook the guy's hand. He was obviously a hybrid; the true aliens never shook hands.
"Please sit," the man motioned to a chair.
For a moment Krycek stood, feeling amused. It was simply an amusing situation. There was no way to explain it… Not really. He could only feel amused. It was his reaction, nothing more.
As he sat down, he heard the two aliens who had brought him down exit. He tensed himself, ready for something, anything. At the same time, he was relaxed, collected. In theory, it didn't make sense. In practice, it helped him immensely. He could react to almost anything, and could give off the impression that he had the situation under control.
The office, unlike the hallways, was not metal. Instead, there was actual wallpaper as well as a soft carpet, and wooden furniture. This was somewhat comforting, though it seemed a little out of place.
"Mr. Krycek, I am Dr. Cozak," the man said, shifting through a few papers on top of his desk.
"Cozak?" Krycek repeated, questioningly.
The man nodded and, anyway, it made sense. They'd been receiving orders from Cozak for a little while, without knowing who he was. Seeing him was strange; Krycek had pictured him as having a firmer face, with a broader body. Ah well, never judge someone by their orders.
"Nice to finally meet you," Krycek said, shifting his eyes over the walls. They were covered with various degrees and awards… Those definitely looked out of place next to the halls outside.
"The same is extended to yourself." Cozak smiled warmly. "As you've no doubt realized, I am one like you… A hybrid."
"I thought as much," Krycek said absently, his eyes settling back onto the desk.
"Yes, I suppose you did," Cozak nodded quickly. "Now… business. The operation went as planned. Not a problem during the whole thing. Of course, there hardly ever is one."
"Of course," Krycek agreed, though he wasn't paying much attention. He'd already been thinking in this manner. Why should he listen to it as it was explained to him?
Cozak seemed to catch the idea that Krycek wasn't in the mood for the talk he knew of. "Right, cutting to the chase," Cozak bent over, and Krycek could hear a drawer sliding open. When the man sat up again, he had a thick file in his hands. This he set on the desk gently, as if it were fragile.
Krycek raised an eyebrow. "For me?"
"And your partners," Cozak shoved the folder across the desk. "You're next assignment."
"Uh-huh…" Krycek murmured, taking the thick folder. He flipped through it idly, glancing at documents and, Christ, pages and pages and still more pages of documents. Finally, he looked up. "A lot here, isn't there?"
"It builds off of your last one," the man behind the desk shrugged. As an afterthought, he added, "It's quite important."
"I wouldn't have guessed," Krycek put on one of his traditional half-grins that tended to drive people bugshit. It seemed to work on Cozak… It wouldn't have on an alien.
"You should be going," Cozak said firmly, motioning toward the door. "You've got work to do. Please inform your partners of the new assignment, and please do carry it out."
"Oh yeah," Krycek nodded as he rose, holding the file under his left arm. "It'll be a hell of a good time."
Cozak ignored the remark. "Take the shuttle back. You'll be home soon… And keep your secret from the uninformed members of the world."
"Aw, damn, I was gonna show everyone. Make it a world wide deal, y'know? Run around screaming, "Look! I'm an alien! Kill me now!" Krycek's half-grinned turned into a full one as he turned around.
"Mr. Krycek," Cozak sounded impatient, which made Krycek want to laugh. "This is serious. Now please, have a safe trip home."
"Yeah," Krycek grinned, opening the door and walking out. "Absolutely." With that, he started off to the dock.