Days of Future Passed (1/4) - The Great Spawn Crossover AU
Happy Birthday fonapola! You wanted an oddball JD adventure and here it is - finally.
Title: Days of Future Passed
Author: strangevisitor7
Beta: fonapola (Yes, I made her beta her own birthday present)
Rated: PG - Language
Fandoms: Supernatural, Smallville & Highlander
Pairings/Characters: Dean, Sam, JD and Mule Winchester; Chloe Sullivan (as imagined by pen37), Duncan MacLoed & Richie Ryan. Chloe/Dean and from Divas_Lament’s Universe: Holly Winchester
Disclaimer: The characters you know and love all belong to their respective creators. JD and Mule are mine and Holly is Divas_Lament’s.
Summary: An accident with the mirror sends JD someplace unexpected.
A/N1: Other spawn adventures in the Apoca!Spawn Universe can be found here.
Chapter List:
Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3; Chapter 4
Days of Future Passed: Dawn is a Feeling
It's true life flies, faster than eyes could ever see.
You're here today, no future fears,
This day will last a thousand years, if you want it to.
- Dawn is a Feeling, The Moody Blues
JD walked over to the mirror leaning against the wall in Holly's bedroom. "I should be getting back."
"I can't believe you were here for a whole day and nothing odd or dangerous happened," Holly teased as she snagged the dial for the mirror off her night stand.
"Next time I'll make sure I'm being chased by something interesting before I 'verse hop."
It had become routine for them to meet a couple of times a year to catch up. Sometimes the other mirror Winchesters would join them, and as one would expect when the five universes joined up, things usually got out of hand. But today it was just Holly and JD grabbing coffee and shooting the shit. It was a nice change.
"You really don't have to go to all that trouble." She faced the mirror and dialed in JD's universe. The image of his bedroom appeared in the mirror.
"That's my stop." JD smiled when he saw Mule sitting on the bed waiting for him in the other 'verse.
Holly waved at Mule who waved back and then pointed to his watch.
"Are you late for something?" Holly teased.
"Winchester poker night," he explained. "So I guess I'll see you in a couple of months."
"Since it'll be my turn to visit, do you think, maybe, you could clean your apartment?" She gestured to the pile of clothes discarded on the floor.
JD snorted. "No. The joy of being a slob was one of the reasons I got my own apartment in the first place."
"Boys!" Holy rolled her eyes and poked him in the shoulder letting a little of her electrical power out for emphasis.
"Cut that out, Holly," JD said. As he jumped back from his cousin's taser-touch, JD stumbled over his own feet and fell toward the mirror.
Dropping the mirror dial, Holly moved instinctively to try to stop his fall, bracing herself on the mirror as she reached for him. Her power crackled unexpectedly against the frame and she lost her grip on JD as he tumbled through the mirror.
Rubbing her thumb across her disobedient fingers, Holly stood staring at the darkened mirror. That was odd. Usually they stopped to wave goodbye before turning off the control. She retrieved the controller from the floor and turned the dial trying to bring JD's verse back into focus. After an unusually long delay, she was reward by the sight of Mule standing in front of the mirror, but there was no sign of JD.
"Where's JD?" she asked. Mule just stared at her not understanding. Sometimes she really hated that sound didn't travel through the mirror
He was craning his neck to view her universe from his limited vantage point before mouthing, Where's JD?
"On no, no, no," Holly chanted and only hesitated a second before passing through the mirror to stand in front of Mule. "Please tell me this is some weird-ass Winchester prank that JD is playing."
"You mean he's not - " Mule pointed to the image of Holly's room still displayed in the mirror.
Holly shook her head.
"Well then, where the heck is he?"
"Don't panic - yet," Holly said. "JD has his dial, right?" When Mule nodded she continued, "Then he should be coming through any minute."
Holly turned her device off and the two of them waited silently, staring at the darkened mirror. As the minutes ticked by they grew antsy and Mule started to pace, all the while mumbling to himself.
"Dammit JD, where are you?"
Muffled voices from the living room drew Holly's attention. "You don't think - " Holy left the rest hanging
"Wait, Holly!" Mule yelled after her, following as she rushed out of the bedroom door and skidded to a halt. Too late she'd remembered that JD had mentioned poker night. Three very familiar faces looked up from the dining room table upon her abrupt entrance.
"Holly," Sam said smiling. "Did JD invite you to poker night?"
"Not exactly." She glanced at Mule and wondered how much they were going to have to admit.
JD had finally told his dad about the mirror and while Sam had initially been wary-as Dean had been-about jumping between the universes, he'd come to accept the idea that Holly and his son had regular visits.
"Where's JD?" Sam asked, glancing down the hallway.
Holly hesitated. That was the question of the moment wasn't it.
Mule nudged her shoulder propelling them both toward the men at the table who had risen to greet them. "You have to tell them," he whispered.
She stopped in front of Sam and looked up. She really did not want to tell him that JD was missing. "He - he went through the mirror - only he didn't arrive here," she said finally.
Sam stiffened. "What does that mean?" When Holly looked away, he swung his gaze to his son. "Sammy, where's your brother?"
"We don't know," Mule answered. "I saw him in Holly's 'verse and then the mirror shut off and when it came back on he wasn't in either 'verse."
The two Immortals came to stand beside Sam. "So where is he?" Richie asked.
Dean recognized the guilt in Holly's stance. "Holly, what did you do?" There was no accusation in the tone, simply a desire for information.
"Nothing!"
Dean arched an eyebrow at her.
"At least, I don't think so," she added meekly
"Walk us through exactly what happened."
Holly talked through the last minutes of JD's visit before the truth came crashing down on her. "Oh no! I think I may have - accidently - not on purpose at all - zapped the mirror right before he fell through." Holly stared down at the hands which had betrayed her. "Oh God, it's my fault."
"He's got the dial on him, right?" Dean asked
Holly and Mule nodded.
"Then we just wait for him to figure out that he's in the wrong place and comes home. Simple."
"But we did wait and he hasn't come though yet," she said.
"Dean." Sam sounded scared and Holly felt the guilt rising again as she saw the stricken look on his face. "We need to find him."
"Maybe we should check with the others," Dean suggested.
"Of course!" Holly said. "He probably got caught up arguing with Mary and will be coming through any minute."
Mule shook his head. "I don't think so. He knew I was waiting. JD would have come right back - I mean - if he could," he finished quietly.
Silence descended as they contemplated the enormity of JD's disappearance.
"This really sucks," Holly grumbled. "I didn't - "
"We should call Chloe," Richie interrupted Holly's self recrimination. "If the malfunction was because of your powers," he shrugged. "Maybe she can figure out how to make it happen again and we can find out where he went."
Dean smiled. "Well look who has a brain. That's actually a good idea, Richie. Chloe understands all that meta biology stuff."
"Gee thanks," Richie quipped. "And by the way, if Holly has to practice on anyone, it's going to be you this time."
"Hey! I'm way ahead on the 'killed by Holly' count. It's your turn," Dean laughed and then turned to Holly. "Don't worry, we'll find him," and moved off to a quiet corner to call Chloe.
Holly couldn't keep from smiling; they had a plan now and hopefully it wouldn't involve killing anyone - except for maybe JD, if he were just hanging out with one of their interdimensional siblings and lost track of time.
****************************************
JD landed hard on his butt. "Damnit, Holly!" He shouted before realizing that he was no longer in her room nor was he in his. He blinked; his eyes trying to adjust to the lack of lighting. "Great, just great," he mumbled. "She sent me to the wrong ’verse."
He retrieved the dial from his jacket pocket, having learned right from the beginning of their mirror adventures to always carry it with him, and tried to dial in his universe.
The mirror pulsed with a dim glow.
"What the hell?" That odd phenomenon was the mirror's version of a busy signal. It only occurred when the universe being dialed was already engaged.
JD turned it back to Holly's universe expecting it to be similarly engaged, but the mirror focused on a place he didn't recognize. That didn’t make any sense. The markings on the dial had never messed up before and he was starting to worry that something had gone sideways when he'd fallen through. He switched the setting back to his 'verse and the mirror once again pulsed with that familiar dim glow. So either someone, other than Holly, was calling his 'verse or he was already home and trying to dial his own number.
He allowed several minutes to pass and tried again. After additional failures, he decided he had to be in his own 'verse.
He pulled a pen light out of his pocket and examined his surroundings. He was in a small storage unit with barely enough room to stand upright. The only way out appeared to be an overhead hatch.
If this was truly his world then someone had to have moved the mirror, but he had seen his brother standing in his bedroom. Then again, he wouldn't have put it past Mule to project some kind of false image in front of the mirror and then prank him by locking it in this closet. His geek brother did have mad tech skills and it might be possible for him to rig something like that.
Even though it didn't make much sense, JD was sticking with that version of events because the alternative- that he wasn't in his 'verse and the dial was malfunctioning- was unthinkable just yet.
He reached up to examine the hatch, but there was no release on his side. He banged on it.
"Ok, Mule very funny. It's time to let me out!"
He banged again and then heard the sound of feet approaching. Suddenly he realized that if it wasn't Mule he might be in deep shit. JD removed the gun from his waistband and held it at his side, just in case. On the other hand, it would serve Mule right if he shot him.
The hatch opened and JD was relieved to see his Uncles Dean and Richie as the lid slid back. He was in his ’verse after all, and Mule was a dead man.
"Hey UD," he said as he hoisted himself out of the hole. "Just so you know, I'm going to kill Mule. A prank war is one thing, but messing with the mirror is justifiable homicide."
Straightening up he couldn't help but laugh at how his uncles were dressed. "What's with the cowboy clothes? You two decide to dress up for poker night?" He asked, taking note of their button down shirts and tan pants with suspenders. Then he noticed the looks of complete disbelief on their faces. He figured they were looking at the gun. "Whoops, sorry about that." He tucked the weapon back in his pants. "I wasn't sure who was opening the hatch."
" Tsai boo shr . JD?" Dean asked tentatively.
"What?" His uncle had spouted something that sounded like Chinese. Since when did Dean know Chinese?
"Are you Jonathan Dean Winchester?" Richie added for clarification.
"The one and only, but nobody calls me Jonathan, you know that, Uncle Richie." JD laughed.
"It can't be him," Dean said. "It just can't be."
"I think it is," Richie said.
"But he's not Immortal." Dean was still staring at him like he'd seen a ghost.
"Is this part of Mule's prank?" JD was getting frustrated. "'Cause I gotta say - lame pretending not to know me." He looked around trying to decipher his location. They seemed to be standing in some sort of cargo bay. It reminded him of a battleship he'd once toured as a kid. "Where the hell did Mule move the mirror?"
"Did you really come through the mirror?" Dean asked as he stepped closer to him.
JD nodded, surprised to see Dean's eyes heavy with emotion. "Are you ok?"
"I can't believe it." Dean reached out and pulled him into a fierce hung. " Ai ya, I've missed you, JD."
JD was shocked to hear snuffling as if Dean were fighting back tears. He was thoroughly confused, but he still wasn't ready to let go of the idea that this was his universe and his uncles were just messing with him.
JD wriggled out of Dean's grasp and was immediately enveloped by Richie. "Dude, I don't know how you rigged the mirror for a visit, but I can't tell you how great it is to see you again." Richie released him and stepped back next to Dean. The two of them stood there grinning at him like idiots.
"Chloe and Mac are going love this," Dean said. "Come on, kid, let's go up front." Dean tried to sling an arm around his shoulders to lead him away, but JD dodged the embrace.
"Just a minute!" His uncles had to be punking him and he just wasn't in the mood. "First explain why the two of you are acting like big girls," JD said. "You just saw me yesterday."
"Actually it was 500 years ago," Richie said.
"Give or take a few decades," Dean smirked. "You're what, twenty, twenty-one now? So closer to five hundred and thirty years ago."
Groaning, JD dropped his head shaking it. "Very funny guys. Ok you win. This is the best prank ever. Can we go back to my apartment and play some poker now?"
Without a word, Dean grabbed JD's arm and dragged him toward a transparent opening in the wall, which he realized on closer inspection was actually a closed hatchway like those on that battleship. Dean pointed to the small portal cut in the metal entrance.
JD stared out onto a field of stars. "Holy crap, where the hell am I?"
**************************************
Chloe sat in the co-pilot's chair, eyes glancing at the chronometer on the vid display every five minutes. When JD had told her the date of his little time traveling adventure, he'd neglected to tell her the time of his arrival and she couldn't very well sit herself in front of the mirror all day waiting for him.
"You got someplace to be?" Duncan asked.
"Hmm?" Chloe realized Mac had sensed her nervous anticipation. "Not exactly," she laughed. "Haven't heard from Dean and Richie for a while."
"Not much trouble they can get into in space." Chloe raised an eyebrow at him and Duncan laughed. "Point taken. Maybe you should go check on them."
It didn't take two people to fly the Impala, but it could be monotonous cooped up in the ship for days on end. Usually they ended up piloting in pairs just to keep the boredom at bay.
"I think I will go stretch my legs. Don't fly into a sun or anything while I'm gone," she teased as she extricated herself from the co-pilot's chair.
"Very funny," Duncan groused. "I think I can handle it."
********************************
Chloe arrived in the aft storage bay in time to hear JD wonder where he was. Perfect timing she thought.
"About time you got here, JD. I've been waiting all day," she said a huge smile on her face as she moved past Dean to embrace him.
"Chloe?" JD returned the embrace, still a little thrown by the situation.
"You knew he was coming?" Dean asked.
She nodded
"And?" Dean prompted.
As much as she was enjoying having the upper hand in the situation, she knew she had to explain. "The mirror malfunctioned. It sent him to the future of his ’verse instead of when he was supposed to be."
"This is crazy, Chloe," Dean said. "JD never told us about any time traveling adventure."
"But he told her," Richie said putting the pieces together. "JD needed someone who understood what had happened and would be prepared to help him get back." He eyed Chloe, jealousy and admiration warring across his features. "You knew all this time he was coming and never told us. You really know how to keep secrets, don't you Chlo?"
"I had no choice. I spent enough years working with the League to know that time travel is a very tenuous thing. Share too much foreknowledge and the whole thing can collapse. Besides," she grinned, "I didn't want to ruin the surprise."
Dean's eyes narrowed. "You should have told me."
"I promised," Chloe said softly as she reached to stroke Dean's arm. "I didn't want to risk messing this up because I wanted to see him too." Chloe glanced over at JD. He looked so young. He'd been an old man the last time she'd seen him and …she cut her thoughts off. JD was here, now. She knew that once JD understood where and when he was, he would be staying for a little while, or so he'd told her, and she planned to enjoy every minute of it.
Dean sighed. "So what do we do now?"
"I'm so glad you guys know what's going on," JD snarked. "But I don't understand. Am I in my own ’verse or not? And what kind of building is this, all I can see out that portal is the sky and it sure as hell doesn't look right."
Richie clapped a hand on JD's shoulder. "You're five hundred years in the future, on Dean's ship the Impala, traveling toward a moon called Freya, and now we have to send you home, but you can't tell past me and Dean about your visit or we might screw-up the time line." Smirking, he looked over at Chloe. "Does that about cover it?"
Chloe laughed. "Yeah, I'd say that about covers it."
***********************
JD shook his head. What they were telling him was impossible. "This is some sort of elaborate prank, right? Warped Immortal humor."
"JD, come with me." Chloe led him up a set of metal steps and down several claustrophobic corridors, through what looked like a ship's galley and into the cockpit of what was obviously some sort of flying vehicle. He stopped and stared out the front view screen into a sea of stars, no land in sight.
"I really am in space." Amazed, JD turned to look back at Chloe who nodded in response to his question before he returned his gaze back to the panoramic view. "Awesome!"
It was then he noticed the pilot staring at him, it was Duncan MacLoed. Gang's all here he thought.
"JD?"
"Hey Uncle Mac." JD sent him a weak smile. "It's me."
"Get out of the chair, Mac," Dean said. "I'll drive, you say hello."
Duncan hesitated, waiting for a better explanation-which Chloe quickly provided.
"But - " He shook his head as he pointed at JD.
"Yeah, we know. It's impossible." Dean waved a hand full of impatience at Mac. "Now get your Gorram ass out of my chair before you fly us into a sun."
Not waiting for further incentive, Duncan slid out of the pilot’s chair and embraced JD. "Ai Ya, it's good to see you, kid."
"Can that really happen? Flying into a sun?" JD asked as he broke the hug.
"If Mac's driving," Dean quipped as he settled himself into the pilot's seat.
"Tsway-niou," Duncan said. "I made one little navigational mistake almost two hundred years ago and Dean won't let it go."
"To be fair," Chloe interjected. "You did total Impala IX."
He pointed a finger at her. "That," he insisted. "was not my fault. And Dean still didn't let me pilot for almost a decade."
"You wrecked my boat! You're lucky I let you drive now." Dean reached out to stroke the counsel. "Impala XII doesn't like the way you steer. Do you, baby?"
JD laughed. "Five hundred years and you still have an Impala and you still hate it when anyone else drives her."
"Trust me," Chloe said. "Very little about Dean has changed." When his uncle looked as if he was going to protest, Chloe leaned over to place a hand on his mouth. "And that's a good thing," she finished.
"Damn straight." Dean reached up to hold her hand giving it a quick kiss.
"I beg to disagree," Richie said.
"Shut it, Rich!"
"If it wasn't for that," JD gestured at the view in front of him, "I wouldn't believe I was five hundred years in the future because you guys are exactly the same. Guess you finally got over your fear of flying, huh, UD?"
"This isn't really the same thing and it's my ship so - " Dean shrugged off any suggestion that he was in any way afraid of space travel.
"Don't let him fool you, JD," Chloe smirked as she leaned in with a conspiratorial whisper. "Just listen for the humming; the Metallica gives him away every time."
JD laughed. Yep, everything was exactly the same.
Lights began flashing on the control consul and Dean pressed a few buttons. "We're coming up on Freya," he announced, all business.
"Then, I think it's time we sent you home, JD." Chloe said.
"What!" JD protested. "No! I just got here. You have to let me stand on another planet. You can't tease me with all of this and then just send me back."
"Does he really have to go?" Dean was almost pouting.
"We have a hunt," Duncan reminded him. "It wouldn't be wise to put JD in danger."
"You guys are still hunting? That's awesome!" JD sent Mac his most pleading expression. "You have to let me come." Mac shook his head, immune to the patented Winchester puppy dog eyes. "Please!" JD pushed. There was no way they were sending him home now. Not with the promise of an adventure on an alien planet.
He appealed to Chloe, knowing she had the most power in this group - even if the guys would never admit it. "Come on, Chloe. You know I can handle myself on a hunt."
"I say he stays," Dean insisted.
"What's the big deal?" Richie added. "We can send him back after."
Chloe shared a look with Mac. "It seems the kids want to have a friend over," she quipped.
Duncan laughed and finally caved. "Ok JD, you can stay."
"Whoo Hoo!" JD pumped one fist in the air. "This is gonna be great. I can't wait to tell Mule I went hunting on another planet. Hey, what's earth like now? Are there flying cars? I bet there are flying cars."
Chloe placed a hand on JD's shoulder trying to calm him down. "JD, you can't tell anyone where you've been, except me of course, and, I'm sorry, but we can't tell you anything about the future."
"But I have questions and - "
"The time line has to be preserved," she explained.
"Oh, right." JD deflated. He may not get answers to all his questions, but they were taking him to another planet. He could live with that compromise.
*************************************
Dean had encouraged JD to sit in the copilot's chair as they entered the planet's atmosphere and prepared for landing. The others headed back to the galley area to strap in.
Dean couldn't stop smiling at his nephew, but the joy he felt at being reunited was tempered by the fact that it was only temporary. JD had a life to live back in the 21st century. As much as he cared about all his nieces and nephews through the years, JD had always been the special one, the one that felt most like his own son. There was no one he missed more except for Sam, of course.
"Pretty amazing," Dean prompted, turning away from maudlin thoughts.
JD sat mesmerized by the colors of the atmosphere as they descended toward the planet. "It is. I really can't tell anyone about this, can I?"
Dean shook his head. "No. Well I guess you do tell Chloe some of it."
"Have you two been together all these years? Are you married or don't people do that any more?"
Those were not questions Dean wanted to answer. He and Chloe had gone their separate ways a few times. But since they'd met up again at Serenity Valley, Dean had been determined that this time it was forever. He had asked Chloe to marry him, but she kept putting him off.
He cleared his throat. "On and off, and no we're not married, and yes people still do that. It's just…you know… Immortals. It really isn't necessary." At least that's what Chloe kept telling him.
JD was studying him. "You blew it at some point and she's not gonna commit to you until she's sure you won't do it again. Am I right?"
"Sorry dude, can't share details of the future."
"You're such an idiot, UD."
He looked over at JD, ready to glare at his nephew, but just couldn’t, he was too happy to see him sitting there. "Ai Ya, I've missed you, kid."
JD returned the smile. "I'll be sure to remind you how much you enjoy my company when I get back."
"You can't, remember?"
JD got a wicked gleam in his eye. "Maybe I'll write a book: some fantastical SciFi novel about my adventures in the future." Underlying the statement was the question of whether or not he'd actually done that.
"Stop fishing, JD," Dean said as he returned his focus to the planet in front of him. "I'm not gonna tell you anything. Dong le ma?"
"Uh, Uncle Dean,” JD hesitated, not sure how to respond. "Is that Chinese? What's up with that?"
"It's just the slang all the cool kids are using. Now if you don't mind - " Dean indicated that he had work to do maneuvering the Impala to their chosen landing sight on the outskirts of the mining town.
JD returned his gaze to the vista in front of him. As they skimmed along the planet's surface, he laughed. "Damn this is a flying car."
*************
TBC
Some helpful Firefly slang:
Dong le ma - Are we clear?
Ai ya - Damn
Tsai boo shr - No way!
tsway-niou - Bullshit
Title: Days of Future Passed
Author: strangevisitor7
Beta: fonapola (Yes, I made her beta her own birthday present)
Rated: PG - Language
Fandoms: Supernatural, Smallville & Highlander
Pairings/Characters: Dean, Sam, JD and Mule Winchester; Chloe Sullivan (as imagined by pen37), Duncan MacLoed & Richie Ryan. Chloe/Dean and from Divas_Lament’s Universe: Holly Winchester
Disclaimer: The characters you know and love all belong to their respective creators. JD and Mule are mine and Holly is Divas_Lament’s.
Summary: An accident with the mirror sends JD someplace unexpected.
A/N1: Other spawn adventures in the Apoca!Spawn Universe can be found here.
Chapter List:
Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3; Chapter 4
Days of Future Passed: Dawn is a Feeling
It's true life flies, faster than eyes could ever see.
You're here today, no future fears,
This day will last a thousand years, if you want it to.
- Dawn is a Feeling, The Moody Blues
JD walked over to the mirror leaning against the wall in Holly's bedroom. "I should be getting back."
"I can't believe you were here for a whole day and nothing odd or dangerous happened," Holly teased as she snagged the dial for the mirror off her night stand.
"Next time I'll make sure I'm being chased by something interesting before I 'verse hop."
It had become routine for them to meet a couple of times a year to catch up. Sometimes the other mirror Winchesters would join them, and as one would expect when the five universes joined up, things usually got out of hand. But today it was just Holly and JD grabbing coffee and shooting the shit. It was a nice change.
"You really don't have to go to all that trouble." She faced the mirror and dialed in JD's universe. The image of his bedroom appeared in the mirror.
"That's my stop." JD smiled when he saw Mule sitting on the bed waiting for him in the other 'verse.
Holly waved at Mule who waved back and then pointed to his watch.
"Are you late for something?" Holly teased.
"Winchester poker night," he explained. "So I guess I'll see you in a couple of months."
"Since it'll be my turn to visit, do you think, maybe, you could clean your apartment?" She gestured to the pile of clothes discarded on the floor.
JD snorted. "No. The joy of being a slob was one of the reasons I got my own apartment in the first place."
"Boys!" Holy rolled her eyes and poked him in the shoulder letting a little of her electrical power out for emphasis.
"Cut that out, Holly," JD said. As he jumped back from his cousin's taser-touch, JD stumbled over his own feet and fell toward the mirror.
Dropping the mirror dial, Holly moved instinctively to try to stop his fall, bracing herself on the mirror as she reached for him. Her power crackled unexpectedly against the frame and she lost her grip on JD as he tumbled through the mirror.
Rubbing her thumb across her disobedient fingers, Holly stood staring at the darkened mirror. That was odd. Usually they stopped to wave goodbye before turning off the control. She retrieved the controller from the floor and turned the dial trying to bring JD's verse back into focus. After an unusually long delay, she was reward by the sight of Mule standing in front of the mirror, but there was no sign of JD.
"Where's JD?" she asked. Mule just stared at her not understanding. Sometimes she really hated that sound didn't travel through the mirror
He was craning his neck to view her universe from his limited vantage point before mouthing, Where's JD?
"On no, no, no," Holly chanted and only hesitated a second before passing through the mirror to stand in front of Mule. "Please tell me this is some weird-ass Winchester prank that JD is playing."
"You mean he's not - " Mule pointed to the image of Holly's room still displayed in the mirror.
Holly shook her head.
"Well then, where the heck is he?"
"Don't panic - yet," Holly said. "JD has his dial, right?" When Mule nodded she continued, "Then he should be coming through any minute."
Holly turned her device off and the two of them waited silently, staring at the darkened mirror. As the minutes ticked by they grew antsy and Mule started to pace, all the while mumbling to himself.
"Dammit JD, where are you?"
Muffled voices from the living room drew Holly's attention. "You don't think - " Holy left the rest hanging
"Wait, Holly!" Mule yelled after her, following as she rushed out of the bedroom door and skidded to a halt. Too late she'd remembered that JD had mentioned poker night. Three very familiar faces looked up from the dining room table upon her abrupt entrance.
"Holly," Sam said smiling. "Did JD invite you to poker night?"
"Not exactly." She glanced at Mule and wondered how much they were going to have to admit.
JD had finally told his dad about the mirror and while Sam had initially been wary-as Dean had been-about jumping between the universes, he'd come to accept the idea that Holly and his son had regular visits.
"Where's JD?" Sam asked, glancing down the hallway.
Holly hesitated. That was the question of the moment wasn't it.
Mule nudged her shoulder propelling them both toward the men at the table who had risen to greet them. "You have to tell them," he whispered.
She stopped in front of Sam and looked up. She really did not want to tell him that JD was missing. "He - he went through the mirror - only he didn't arrive here," she said finally.
Sam stiffened. "What does that mean?" When Holly looked away, he swung his gaze to his son. "Sammy, where's your brother?"
"We don't know," Mule answered. "I saw him in Holly's 'verse and then the mirror shut off and when it came back on he wasn't in either 'verse."
The two Immortals came to stand beside Sam. "So where is he?" Richie asked.
Dean recognized the guilt in Holly's stance. "Holly, what did you do?" There was no accusation in the tone, simply a desire for information.
"Nothing!"
Dean arched an eyebrow at her.
"At least, I don't think so," she added meekly
"Walk us through exactly what happened."
Holly talked through the last minutes of JD's visit before the truth came crashing down on her. "Oh no! I think I may have - accidently - not on purpose at all - zapped the mirror right before he fell through." Holly stared down at the hands which had betrayed her. "Oh God, it's my fault."
"He's got the dial on him, right?" Dean asked
Holly and Mule nodded.
"Then we just wait for him to figure out that he's in the wrong place and comes home. Simple."
"But we did wait and he hasn't come though yet," she said.
"Dean." Sam sounded scared and Holly felt the guilt rising again as she saw the stricken look on his face. "We need to find him."
"Maybe we should check with the others," Dean suggested.
"Of course!" Holly said. "He probably got caught up arguing with Mary and will be coming through any minute."
Mule shook his head. "I don't think so. He knew I was waiting. JD would have come right back - I mean - if he could," he finished quietly.
Silence descended as they contemplated the enormity of JD's disappearance.
"This really sucks," Holly grumbled. "I didn't - "
"We should call Chloe," Richie interrupted Holly's self recrimination. "If the malfunction was because of your powers," he shrugged. "Maybe she can figure out how to make it happen again and we can find out where he went."
Dean smiled. "Well look who has a brain. That's actually a good idea, Richie. Chloe understands all that meta biology stuff."
"Gee thanks," Richie quipped. "And by the way, if Holly has to practice on anyone, it's going to be you this time."
"Hey! I'm way ahead on the 'killed by Holly' count. It's your turn," Dean laughed and then turned to Holly. "Don't worry, we'll find him," and moved off to a quiet corner to call Chloe.
Holly couldn't keep from smiling; they had a plan now and hopefully it wouldn't involve killing anyone - except for maybe JD, if he were just hanging out with one of their interdimensional siblings and lost track of time.
****************************************
JD landed hard on his butt. "Damnit, Holly!" He shouted before realizing that he was no longer in her room nor was he in his. He blinked; his eyes trying to adjust to the lack of lighting. "Great, just great," he mumbled. "She sent me to the wrong ’verse."
He retrieved the dial from his jacket pocket, having learned right from the beginning of their mirror adventures to always carry it with him, and tried to dial in his universe.
The mirror pulsed with a dim glow.
"What the hell?" That odd phenomenon was the mirror's version of a busy signal. It only occurred when the universe being dialed was already engaged.
JD turned it back to Holly's universe expecting it to be similarly engaged, but the mirror focused on a place he didn't recognize. That didn’t make any sense. The markings on the dial had never messed up before and he was starting to worry that something had gone sideways when he'd fallen through. He switched the setting back to his 'verse and the mirror once again pulsed with that familiar dim glow. So either someone, other than Holly, was calling his 'verse or he was already home and trying to dial his own number.
He allowed several minutes to pass and tried again. After additional failures, he decided he had to be in his own 'verse.
He pulled a pen light out of his pocket and examined his surroundings. He was in a small storage unit with barely enough room to stand upright. The only way out appeared to be an overhead hatch.
If this was truly his world then someone had to have moved the mirror, but he had seen his brother standing in his bedroom. Then again, he wouldn't have put it past Mule to project some kind of false image in front of the mirror and then prank him by locking it in this closet. His geek brother did have mad tech skills and it might be possible for him to rig something like that.
Even though it didn't make much sense, JD was sticking with that version of events because the alternative- that he wasn't in his 'verse and the dial was malfunctioning- was unthinkable just yet.
He reached up to examine the hatch, but there was no release on his side. He banged on it.
"Ok, Mule very funny. It's time to let me out!"
He banged again and then heard the sound of feet approaching. Suddenly he realized that if it wasn't Mule he might be in deep shit. JD removed the gun from his waistband and held it at his side, just in case. On the other hand, it would serve Mule right if he shot him.
The hatch opened and JD was relieved to see his Uncles Dean and Richie as the lid slid back. He was in his ’verse after all, and Mule was a dead man.
"Hey UD," he said as he hoisted himself out of the hole. "Just so you know, I'm going to kill Mule. A prank war is one thing, but messing with the mirror is justifiable homicide."
Straightening up he couldn't help but laugh at how his uncles were dressed. "What's with the cowboy clothes? You two decide to dress up for poker night?" He asked, taking note of their button down shirts and tan pants with suspenders. Then he noticed the looks of complete disbelief on their faces. He figured they were looking at the gun. "Whoops, sorry about that." He tucked the weapon back in his pants. "I wasn't sure who was opening the hatch."
" Tsai boo shr . JD?" Dean asked tentatively.
"What?" His uncle had spouted something that sounded like Chinese. Since when did Dean know Chinese?
"Are you Jonathan Dean Winchester?" Richie added for clarification.
"The one and only, but nobody calls me Jonathan, you know that, Uncle Richie." JD laughed.
"It can't be him," Dean said. "It just can't be."
"I think it is," Richie said.
"But he's not Immortal." Dean was still staring at him like he'd seen a ghost.
"Is this part of Mule's prank?" JD was getting frustrated. "'Cause I gotta say - lame pretending not to know me." He looked around trying to decipher his location. They seemed to be standing in some sort of cargo bay. It reminded him of a battleship he'd once toured as a kid. "Where the hell did Mule move the mirror?"
"Did you really come through the mirror?" Dean asked as he stepped closer to him.
JD nodded, surprised to see Dean's eyes heavy with emotion. "Are you ok?"
"I can't believe it." Dean reached out and pulled him into a fierce hung. " Ai ya, I've missed you, JD."
JD was shocked to hear snuffling as if Dean were fighting back tears. He was thoroughly confused, but he still wasn't ready to let go of the idea that this was his universe and his uncles were just messing with him.
JD wriggled out of Dean's grasp and was immediately enveloped by Richie. "Dude, I don't know how you rigged the mirror for a visit, but I can't tell you how great it is to see you again." Richie released him and stepped back next to Dean. The two of them stood there grinning at him like idiots.
"Chloe and Mac are going love this," Dean said. "Come on, kid, let's go up front." Dean tried to sling an arm around his shoulders to lead him away, but JD dodged the embrace.
"Just a minute!" His uncles had to be punking him and he just wasn't in the mood. "First explain why the two of you are acting like big girls," JD said. "You just saw me yesterday."
"Actually it was 500 years ago," Richie said.
"Give or take a few decades," Dean smirked. "You're what, twenty, twenty-one now? So closer to five hundred and thirty years ago."
Groaning, JD dropped his head shaking it. "Very funny guys. Ok you win. This is the best prank ever. Can we go back to my apartment and play some poker now?"
Without a word, Dean grabbed JD's arm and dragged him toward a transparent opening in the wall, which he realized on closer inspection was actually a closed hatchway like those on that battleship. Dean pointed to the small portal cut in the metal entrance.
JD stared out onto a field of stars. "Holy crap, where the hell am I?"
**************************************
Chloe sat in the co-pilot's chair, eyes glancing at the chronometer on the vid display every five minutes. When JD had told her the date of his little time traveling adventure, he'd neglected to tell her the time of his arrival and she couldn't very well sit herself in front of the mirror all day waiting for him.
"You got someplace to be?" Duncan asked.
"Hmm?" Chloe realized Mac had sensed her nervous anticipation. "Not exactly," she laughed. "Haven't heard from Dean and Richie for a while."
"Not much trouble they can get into in space." Chloe raised an eyebrow at him and Duncan laughed. "Point taken. Maybe you should go check on them."
It didn't take two people to fly the Impala, but it could be monotonous cooped up in the ship for days on end. Usually they ended up piloting in pairs just to keep the boredom at bay.
"I think I will go stretch my legs. Don't fly into a sun or anything while I'm gone," she teased as she extricated herself from the co-pilot's chair.
"Very funny," Duncan groused. "I think I can handle it."
********************************
Chloe arrived in the aft storage bay in time to hear JD wonder where he was. Perfect timing she thought.
"About time you got here, JD. I've been waiting all day," she said a huge smile on her face as she moved past Dean to embrace him.
"Chloe?" JD returned the embrace, still a little thrown by the situation.
"You knew he was coming?" Dean asked.
She nodded
"And?" Dean prompted.
As much as she was enjoying having the upper hand in the situation, she knew she had to explain. "The mirror malfunctioned. It sent him to the future of his ’verse instead of when he was supposed to be."
"This is crazy, Chloe," Dean said. "JD never told us about any time traveling adventure."
"But he told her," Richie said putting the pieces together. "JD needed someone who understood what had happened and would be prepared to help him get back." He eyed Chloe, jealousy and admiration warring across his features. "You knew all this time he was coming and never told us. You really know how to keep secrets, don't you Chlo?"
"I had no choice. I spent enough years working with the League to know that time travel is a very tenuous thing. Share too much foreknowledge and the whole thing can collapse. Besides," she grinned, "I didn't want to ruin the surprise."
Dean's eyes narrowed. "You should have told me."
"I promised," Chloe said softly as she reached to stroke Dean's arm. "I didn't want to risk messing this up because I wanted to see him too." Chloe glanced over at JD. He looked so young. He'd been an old man the last time she'd seen him and …she cut her thoughts off. JD was here, now. She knew that once JD understood where and when he was, he would be staying for a little while, or so he'd told her, and she planned to enjoy every minute of it.
Dean sighed. "So what do we do now?"
"I'm so glad you guys know what's going on," JD snarked. "But I don't understand. Am I in my own ’verse or not? And what kind of building is this, all I can see out that portal is the sky and it sure as hell doesn't look right."
Richie clapped a hand on JD's shoulder. "You're five hundred years in the future, on Dean's ship the Impala, traveling toward a moon called Freya, and now we have to send you home, but you can't tell past me and Dean about your visit or we might screw-up the time line." Smirking, he looked over at Chloe. "Does that about cover it?"
Chloe laughed. "Yeah, I'd say that about covers it."
***********************
JD shook his head. What they were telling him was impossible. "This is some sort of elaborate prank, right? Warped Immortal humor."
"JD, come with me." Chloe led him up a set of metal steps and down several claustrophobic corridors, through what looked like a ship's galley and into the cockpit of what was obviously some sort of flying vehicle. He stopped and stared out the front view screen into a sea of stars, no land in sight.
"I really am in space." Amazed, JD turned to look back at Chloe who nodded in response to his question before he returned his gaze back to the panoramic view. "Awesome!"
It was then he noticed the pilot staring at him, it was Duncan MacLoed. Gang's all here he thought.
"JD?"
"Hey Uncle Mac." JD sent him a weak smile. "It's me."
"Get out of the chair, Mac," Dean said. "I'll drive, you say hello."
Duncan hesitated, waiting for a better explanation-which Chloe quickly provided.
"But - " He shook his head as he pointed at JD.
"Yeah, we know. It's impossible." Dean waved a hand full of impatience at Mac. "Now get your Gorram ass out of my chair before you fly us into a sun."
Not waiting for further incentive, Duncan slid out of the pilot’s chair and embraced JD. "Ai Ya, it's good to see you, kid."
"Can that really happen? Flying into a sun?" JD asked as he broke the hug.
"If Mac's driving," Dean quipped as he settled himself into the pilot's seat.
"Tsway-niou," Duncan said. "I made one little navigational mistake almost two hundred years ago and Dean won't let it go."
"To be fair," Chloe interjected. "You did total Impala IX."
He pointed a finger at her. "That," he insisted. "was not my fault. And Dean still didn't let me pilot for almost a decade."
"You wrecked my boat! You're lucky I let you drive now." Dean reached out to stroke the counsel. "Impala XII doesn't like the way you steer. Do you, baby?"
JD laughed. "Five hundred years and you still have an Impala and you still hate it when anyone else drives her."
"Trust me," Chloe said. "Very little about Dean has changed." When his uncle looked as if he was going to protest, Chloe leaned over to place a hand on his mouth. "And that's a good thing," she finished.
"Damn straight." Dean reached up to hold her hand giving it a quick kiss.
"I beg to disagree," Richie said.
"Shut it, Rich!"
"If it wasn't for that," JD gestured at the view in front of him, "I wouldn't believe I was five hundred years in the future because you guys are exactly the same. Guess you finally got over your fear of flying, huh, UD?"
"This isn't really the same thing and it's my ship so - " Dean shrugged off any suggestion that he was in any way afraid of space travel.
"Don't let him fool you, JD," Chloe smirked as she leaned in with a conspiratorial whisper. "Just listen for the humming; the Metallica gives him away every time."
JD laughed. Yep, everything was exactly the same.
Lights began flashing on the control consul and Dean pressed a few buttons. "We're coming up on Freya," he announced, all business.
"Then, I think it's time we sent you home, JD." Chloe said.
"What!" JD protested. "No! I just got here. You have to let me stand on another planet. You can't tease me with all of this and then just send me back."
"Does he really have to go?" Dean was almost pouting.
"We have a hunt," Duncan reminded him. "It wouldn't be wise to put JD in danger."
"You guys are still hunting? That's awesome!" JD sent Mac his most pleading expression. "You have to let me come." Mac shook his head, immune to the patented Winchester puppy dog eyes. "Please!" JD pushed. There was no way they were sending him home now. Not with the promise of an adventure on an alien planet.
He appealed to Chloe, knowing she had the most power in this group - even if the guys would never admit it. "Come on, Chloe. You know I can handle myself on a hunt."
"I say he stays," Dean insisted.
"What's the big deal?" Richie added. "We can send him back after."
Chloe shared a look with Mac. "It seems the kids want to have a friend over," she quipped.
Duncan laughed and finally caved. "Ok JD, you can stay."
"Whoo Hoo!" JD pumped one fist in the air. "This is gonna be great. I can't wait to tell Mule I went hunting on another planet. Hey, what's earth like now? Are there flying cars? I bet there are flying cars."
Chloe placed a hand on JD's shoulder trying to calm him down. "JD, you can't tell anyone where you've been, except me of course, and, I'm sorry, but we can't tell you anything about the future."
"But I have questions and - "
"The time line has to be preserved," she explained.
"Oh, right." JD deflated. He may not get answers to all his questions, but they were taking him to another planet. He could live with that compromise.
*************************************
Dean had encouraged JD to sit in the copilot's chair as they entered the planet's atmosphere and prepared for landing. The others headed back to the galley area to strap in.
Dean couldn't stop smiling at his nephew, but the joy he felt at being reunited was tempered by the fact that it was only temporary. JD had a life to live back in the 21st century. As much as he cared about all his nieces and nephews through the years, JD had always been the special one, the one that felt most like his own son. There was no one he missed more except for Sam, of course.
"Pretty amazing," Dean prompted, turning away from maudlin thoughts.
JD sat mesmerized by the colors of the atmosphere as they descended toward the planet. "It is. I really can't tell anyone about this, can I?"
Dean shook his head. "No. Well I guess you do tell Chloe some of it."
"Have you two been together all these years? Are you married or don't people do that any more?"
Those were not questions Dean wanted to answer. He and Chloe had gone their separate ways a few times. But since they'd met up again at Serenity Valley, Dean had been determined that this time it was forever. He had asked Chloe to marry him, but she kept putting him off.
He cleared his throat. "On and off, and no we're not married, and yes people still do that. It's just…you know… Immortals. It really isn't necessary." At least that's what Chloe kept telling him.
JD was studying him. "You blew it at some point and she's not gonna commit to you until she's sure you won't do it again. Am I right?"
"Sorry dude, can't share details of the future."
"You're such an idiot, UD."
He looked over at JD, ready to glare at his nephew, but just couldn’t, he was too happy to see him sitting there. "Ai Ya, I've missed you, kid."
JD returned the smile. "I'll be sure to remind you how much you enjoy my company when I get back."
"You can't, remember?"
JD got a wicked gleam in his eye. "Maybe I'll write a book: some fantastical SciFi novel about my adventures in the future." Underlying the statement was the question of whether or not he'd actually done that.
"Stop fishing, JD," Dean said as he returned his focus to the planet in front of him. "I'm not gonna tell you anything. Dong le ma?"
"Uh, Uncle Dean,” JD hesitated, not sure how to respond. "Is that Chinese? What's up with that?"
"It's just the slang all the cool kids are using. Now if you don't mind - " Dean indicated that he had work to do maneuvering the Impala to their chosen landing sight on the outskirts of the mining town.
JD returned his gaze to the vista in front of him. As they skimmed along the planet's surface, he laughed. "Damn this is a flying car."
*************
TBC
Some helpful Firefly slang:
Dong le ma - Are we clear?
Ai ya - Damn
Tsai boo shr - No way!
tsway-niou - Bullshit