Crash and Burn
“So, this is Seattle,” Alec said. He glanced at Ben who shrugged, clearly not seeing what was so exciting about the city. Alec figured it didn’t look nearly as much fun as Sunnydale had been or Cleveland was during their occasional visits to Faith.
“Who do you think is here?” Ben asked. This time it was Alec who shrugged.
“It’ll be nice to see one of us again,” Alec said. “It’s been a long time.”
“We don’t need them,” Ben said, tone aggressively defensive the way it always was when someone implied Adam wasn’t enough for them. Alec wrapped an arm around Ben’s shoulders as they walked down the street.
“Maybe not,” Alec agreed easily. “But it’ll still be nice to see them, catch up a little, flee for our lives.”
Ben snorted, relaxing a little, as much as he ever did surrounded by people who weren’t his family.
“Like the family would ever let them take us.”
Alec grinned, imagining the wrath of the family if Manticore did ever actually get hold of them. Besides, Faith had all her Slayer friends and Clint had joined SHIELD. Alec considered if it would be possible to down Manticore anyway. He’d been concerned about them so little since Adam took them in that it hadn’t actually occurred to him. But there were plenty of other transgenics out there who never got an Adam of their own.
“I’m calling Clint and Faith,” Alec told him. Ben looked at him curiously. “We’ve got plans to make.”
...
Alec and Ben were at Crash, a bar they’d found three days into their stay in Seattle, when they heard the news of Manticore’s takedown. The TV screen above the bar went static for a moment before a pair of eyes showed up on screen. Alec thought they looked vaguely familiar.
“Looks like Tony,” Ben murmured and Alec nodded, realising that’s what seemed so familiar. The picture was washed of colour, but Alec was almost positive if it hadn’t been the eyes would be the same shade of green as Tony’s.
“Weird.”
Ben nodded, gaze focused on the screen.
“A group called Manticore has been exposed and taken down,” the distorted voice continued. “This group was performing illegal experiments on children and conducting unsanctioned operations on US soil.”
Eyes Only went on to detail who’d been in control of the facility and responsible for the project. Whatever came after, Manticore would have little power or authority to go after the other transgenics. Alec was also sure that Faith, and to a lesser extent Clint, would ensure that the transgenics were relocated safely.
He and Ben high-fived each other.
“I’ll go get us another round,” Alec said, standing up and clapping Ben on the shoulder. He was stopped on his way to the bar by an attractive woman approximately his age.
“Ben?” she asked. Alec shook his head.
“Sorry, you’ve got the wrong guy,” Alec told her. He would have flirted, but he didn’t know how she knew about Ben and if she was a threat, he’d rather have his brother at his back.
“Max?” Ben asked, coming up behind Alec.
“Ben!” she said and pulled him into a hug. “Have you heard about Manticore?”
Ben nodded but didn’t elaborate. It had been almost a decade, who knew what side this Max was on these days.
“Come on,” she said, looping her arm in Ben’s and dragging him toward the bar. “Let me get you a drink. The other one, too.”
Alec rolled his eyes but followed them both. It wasn’t long before they were subsumed into a group possibly even more quirky than their family.