ShadowSkribe @shadowskribe - Tumblr Blog

May 30

Part 14: Another Time

Kickstart Series Adrian Chase X You

WC: 4.7k

Summary: You and Adrian pursue his future doppelganger in search of answers. Rip warns you he's changed. Economos and Happersen discover answers of their own. This is post canon.

Contents: Adult language, adult themes, violence.

AN: I had to do a lot of research to wrap my mind around the theories involved in this installment (😂 totally self inflicted by the way) but am so happy with how its evolving and I'm excited to continue the adventure! Thank you for reading along with me 🧜‍♂️💙 All other parts are on my master list 🫶

Chris warily eyes Adrian from the other side of the table, dark circles bruising his eyes. “Can you pass the ketchup?”

Brows knit, Adrian pushes the bottle over to him with his fingertips. “I didn't mean to give you double shiners, man.”

Chris's brows shoot up as he squirts ketchup all over his eggs and potatoes. “You wish you could give me two black eyes.” Chris mumbles. “Or even one.”

“Chris, stop…” Adebayo pinches the bridge of her nose.

“No, you know what, the truth is I'm actually just tired as hell. I couldn't sleep a damn wink after hearing you both get it on like some kind of freaky ass demons in the back office.”

Larry snorts a laugh, covering his eyes when Chris shoots him a dirty look.

“Larry, how many times do I have to explain it to you? Just because you can't see us doesn’t mean we can't see you.” He stabs his fork into a chunk of potato.

Taking a deep breath, you glance at Adrian. His fist is clenched around his fork, knuckles white. How the hell were you supposed to take down Flag and Luthor when these two were bickering like an old married couple?

You let a doubtful smile play at your lips. “I think you're exaggerating a bit there, Chris.” You say before sipping your coffee.

“Fine. Maybe I'm feeling a little sensitive after everything. I have feelings, too.” Chris sits back, eyes locked on Adrian. Adrian doesn't meet his gaze, and the only indication he's even listening is the muscle feathering in his jaw.

You and Adebayo share an exasperated look.

“Okay, time for the adults to talk now.” You grin.

Chris shrugs and starts shoveling scrambled eggs into his mouth.

“What’s the plan today?” Tipping your cup back, you drain the last of your coffee.

“According to Rip, both Flag and Luthor have bases here in Evergreen.” Ads explains.

“Evergreen is the centralized point of access to all the interdimensional beings coming through the rift.” Rip shakes his head. “They want to stay close and have implemented check points to keep the newcomers from infiltrating beyond the boundaries of Everygreen.”

“How do we get to LexCorp’s base?”

“Head southeast towards the county highway you can't miss the miniature Metropolis Lex has built himself. Just avoid the checkpoints.” Rip concludes.

“Where's Flags base?” Adrian asks Adebayo, eyes flicking to Chris and back. “You know, in case you need our help.”

“Rip says it's a few miles south of the site we came through.”

Adebayo slides a burner phone onto the table. “We'll keep in touch with these during the stake out. I expect we will be at Flags command base until nightfall. Hopefully we can catch Harcourt alone.”

Rip shakes his head. “It could take days. She doesn't leave the base often.” He presses his lips together before his eyes flick towards you. What isn't he telling us?

“Who else is with Flag? We need to know what we're up against.” Ads presses.

“Peacemaker and Harcourt, Cyborg.” Rip shakes his head. “Then there's Vandal Savage, Brainiac, and a few others.”

“Shit.” Chris shakes his head. “Why the fuck did I team up with the losers?”

When Adrian finally speaks up, his voice is low, tone lethal. “What’s your motto again? You cherish peace with all your heart and you don't care how many men, women, or children you have to kill to get it?” He's staring at his hands. “You fit right in.”

“Adrian…” Chris runs his hand through his hair. Adrian's green eyes flick up to him.

“Is that why you did it? Did you think killing her would bring peace?” His nostrils flare.

Adrian studies his friend's pale face before turning to Adebayo. “I hope you get Harcourt out while you still can.”

“Is there anyone we can trust to get us to Luthor's base, or lend us a car?” You quickly add, squeezing Adrian's hand under the table. Calm Down.

“Larry says he found a guy that can lend you a car.” Rips gaze flicks between you both and Larry nods stoically.

“Thanks, man.” Adrian pushes away from the table and tucks the phone in his jeans. “Better not waste any more time.”

Chris stands abruptly. “Adrian, don't trust Lex Luthor. He's got to have his own agenda in this. Even if he's got Superman’s on his side, he's the furthest thing from a good guy.” His blue eyes are pleading. “Call us if you get into any trouble.”

Adrian nods grimly and Adebayo rises. “Come on, we have ammo, if I know you, you'll probably need it.”

You watch as they walk away, Adebayo's hand resting between Adrian's shoulder blades.

When Chris heaves a sigh and flops back down in the booth, you arch a brow at him. His face is in his hands, boulderous shoulders quivering.

“He fucking hates me.”

Larry pats him on the back. You and Rip watch in silence before Rip turns to you.

“You really shouldn't let Adrian meet his future self.” He hooks a thumb at Chris. “This one's doppelganger tried to kill him on sight.”

“Yeah, seems like a common occurrence whenever I meet myself in another dimension.” He groans.

“Adrian's said he's met one of his doppelgangers before and they didn't try to kill each other.”

"I remember. They got along a little too well." Rip raises a brow at Chris. “Maybe it's a temperament thing.”

“I'm right here, dont talk about me like I'm a fucking dog.”

“Still, I suggest you assess the situation before introducing them.”

“Alright.” You sigh. You don't think there's any way to keep Adrian from meeting his future self if it's what he really wants to do. Once that man gets his teeth into something, he does exactly what he wants, damn the consequences.

Rip holds your gaze when Chris and Larry leave the table. “Also, just a bit of advice; be prepared.”

“For what?”

His brows rise. “Adrian… he's changed.”

Back in 2026

“Ahhh, shit what's this asshole going to do now?” John Economos slaps the stack of papers down in frustration. A few loose pages of the recorded metrics that he and Happersen pulled from the rift drift to the floor.

They've been pouring over data since they hacked into LexCorp's and A.R.G.U.S. 's records, searching for anything that could explain where that worm hole sent his friends and how to close the rift.

John turns the volume up on the television. Happersen, handcuffed, turns in his computer chair, staring blearily at the screen.

Lex Luthor, looking every bit a megalomaniacal politician, stands rigidly at a glass podium in front of the press, brows drawn down, mouth a resolute line.

John sits back in his chair. He really doesn't have the time to spare for this clown. He and Happersen are working against the clock hoping to find any way to neutralize the rift before it's too late. The data shows the rift is growing exponentially, ripping through dimensions as it careens untethered into the unknown. You'd think Lex would be busy trying to solve that problem instead of holding a press conference.

Despite his disdain for Lex Luthor, John pushes up his glasses and leans forward on his elbows.

Maybe Lex has already found a way to stop it.

Lex Luthor's icy blue eyes scan the room. The flashing of camera bulbs and murmuring of the attendees slows to a breathless halt as he takes them all in, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

“It's my duty to the citizens of this great nation, a nation that I love, and to the people of the world, to educate you all on a great injustice that has been perpetrated by the United States government."

"Everyone has noticed the growing stain in our precious Earth's atmosphere.” Lex pauses, gaze holding the camera.

“Really playing it up isn't he…” Economos snorts.

“A.R.G.U.S has used ground breaking experimental tech developed by my company, LexCorp Technologies, inappropriately and without our consent.” He nods, brows knit.

“That stain is an interdimensional rift that has occurred under the directives of General Rick Flag."

"The most brilliant minds at LexCorp confirm, the rift in the sky is growing, opening up our world to dangerous creatures from other dimensions."

"I am leading a task force to stop this cataclysmic event from worsening and am calling on the world's best aerospace engineers, theoretical scientists focused on physics and interdimensional research, heroes, and meta humans to join me. Come together under my banner."

"Join me to save humanity.”

Then, Lex Luthor waves off the stream of frantic questions coming from the press with a dismissive jerk of his head and exits the frame.

“He's doing damage control.” Happersen sucks his teeth. “They don't have the case, and the worm hole is closed.”

“He doesn't actually care about people!” Economos shakes his head in frustration.

“No, but now he has the advantage in coming out and pinning it on Flag.” Happersens mouth tilts into a slash of a grin. “I know Lex, he's going to play both sides. And in the court of public opinion, this makes him look like a damn hero.”

Economos pulls his beard. “Lex hates the metas… why would he work with them?”

“There's something in it for him.” Happersen smiles knowingly before tapping on his keyboard and bringing up the data they were analyzing. “There always is…”

—

“Geeze, this place is a shit hole now.” Adrian's lip curls. “Evergreen wasn't that special before but… it wasn't like this.”

You squint past the swinging pinetree shaped airfreshener and through the webbing of the cracked windshield of the beat up sedan Larry's contact provided.

Despite it looking like it's driven through the apocalypse, the interior is clean and smelling fresh. You nod, at a loss for words as you take in the destruction.

In the dark, Mainstreet looked like any other run down thoroughfare in a busy town. But in the daylight, it looks more like a war zone. The windows and doors of the shops and restaurants that line the streets are boarded up, and crowds of people and interdimensional beings are sleeping against buildings or loitering in alleys. Trash litters the sidewalks and scorch marks and craters pepper the buildings still standing.

“How'd it even get like this? Shouldn't Flag at least try to get this under control?” Adrian says through gritted teeth.

When he drives by a trio of ragged looking people tossing a trashcan through a shop window he slams on the breaks, outraged.

“Hey, assholes!” They turn their hungry eyes on him and his jaw drops.

“Holy shit, is that my 12th grade biology teacher Mr. Grant?”

“Adrian! Go! We can't be recognized and we can't worry about this right now!”

“I went to freaking jail for that!” Adrian hollers out the window before peeling away. He tilts the review mirror to watch as a crowd of people rush the store to loot it.

“I hope future me has a spare Vigilante suit, because this is out of hand.”

Your stomach turns. Those people were desperate and starving. Abandoned. “Just get us out of here.”

Adrian nods and tightens his grip on the steering wheel, gunning it through the rest of the lights until the buildings begin to taper into rubble. You finally relax when your veiw out the window turns into placid fields and and trees. Adrian's quiet, which is unusual.

“You okay?” Your hand smooths over his and he winds his fingers with yours.

“I never really liked Evergreen. I never fit in or had friends… well, not until Peacemaker.” He says softly. “But no matter how shitty that place was, it was still mine.”

He glances over, brows drawn down. “We have to fix this.”

The car's tires crunch over rocks and sand when Adrian swings the car onto a back road and out towards the highway.

“We will.” You smile, swallowing back the all too real truth that it may already be too late.

Rip wasn't exaggerating when he said you couldn't miss the little piece of Metroplos Lex built in Evergreen. Hundreds of acres of what used to be farm land had been bulldozed, paved, and developed. Adrian's mood darkens the moment LexCorps mirrored tower peeks over the horizon.

Unlike Evergreen’s Mainstreet, Lex Luthor's company town is clean and well landscaped, sterilized from any imperfections. Row after row of match-box style homes built with cheap materials house the working masses strolling the streets.

“Welcome to Pleasantville.” Adrian murmurs, shooting you a wide eyes glance. And is is pleasant ... at least on the surface.

However, you can't help but notice the gun toting officers that patrol every block. They shoot cursory glances at you, but look away after a beat, unconcerned.

"There are no interdimensional beings here like there are in Evergreen." Adrian murmurs.

As you close the distance with the tower, the architecture swells in size and grandure with brand new office buildings, apartment complexes, and shops. Did Lex even even try to fix the rift before dumping his resources into his new paradise?

Adrian parks the car a few blocks from the tower. It's massive, dwarfing the city growing around it.

“Guess he's just got to have his ivory tower.” Adrian pulls the bill of his hat down to shade his eyes from the glare off the tower as he looks up at it.

You entwine your hand in his and pull him away and down the block. Walking along a row of buildings across the street from the tower, you both disappear into the stream of locals perusing shops and running their errands, providing the perfect cover to look out for your target - future Adrian.

Spotting a bench with a good vantage of the front doors of the tower, you drag Adrian to it and sit down. But his eyes are focused down the street.

“Stay here and keep watch, I'll be right back.” He leans down and kisses you sweetly before disappearing into the crowd. You watch for a moment, until you lose sight of his tattered ball cap, then turn back to the monolith across the street.

LexCorp tower is a busy building. The revolving door to the side of the main entrance doesn't stop as a constant flow of couriers and sharply dressed professionals files through it.

Were these people from Evergreen? Did they escape that hellhole and find refuge here? It sounds like something Lex Luthor would do. You ponder the profitability of letting one town be destroyed only to build another, shiny and new in its place, when you feel a gentle tug on your pony tail.

You look over your shoulder and laugh when Adrian slides next to you on the opposite side of the bench. His eyes are sparkling when he sets a paper bag down and hands you a paper cup. It's good to see him smile.

“What's this?”

“Peppermint vanilla tea and an almond croissant." He grins crookedly at you and you could kick yourself for the hot tears prickling your eyes.

“My favorite.”

“I know.” He wets his lips and pulls out a sandwich and bag of cool ranch doritos.

For just a moment you forget you're in another world, another time. If you close your eyes, and lean in real close to him, you could swear you're right where you belong. Sitting in the passenger seat of the Shocker Electric van staking out a strip club, or scrolling recordings of petty crimes at headquarters on the team's laptop. It's just another day, another stake out, with Adrian.

“Who's this?” Adrian says around the last bite of his sandwich, eyes tracking a dark tinted SUV.

“Looks important.” You mutter as the vehicle pulls up the front of LexCorp tower. The tower doorman hurriedly abandons his post to open the vehicles back door. The moment you see the polished bald head you know it's him: Lex Luthor.

Lex, clad in a black suit, moves his polished shoes across the sidewalk slowly, intentionally. When he steps from the shadow of the vehicle, a tall broad man in blue and red follows.

“Superman?” You crane your neck around the people stopping in the street to wave at the duo. Adrian grunts, watching from under the bill of his hat, eyes narrowed as they continue towards the building.

People on the street begin moving again, continuing about their day now that the spectacle is over. And you have to admit seeing Lex Luthor and Superman walk side by side is quite the spectacle.

“Who's that?” Adrian whispers beside you.

“Superman and Lex.” You glance at him confused. Everyone knows who Superman is.

“No. Him…” His green eyes flick to yours and back across the street.

The SUV is pulling away from the curb and towards the parking garage. In its place stands an imposing man clothed head to toe in a matte black suit and armor. A sword and shot gun are strapped to his back. Knives and pistols line the holsters on his belt. His gloved hands rest on his hips and teal and gray lines meet on his chest plate forming a sharp V.

When he turns his head, the morning sunlight is swallowed by an iridescent teal visor, and your breath leaves you.

You can feel a buzzing sensation race under your skin a moment before he turns your way. You pivot towards Adrian just in time.

You can feel him watching you from across the street. The scary thing is, everything in you is screaming for you to meet his eyes and run to him. Instead, you hold Adrian's wide gaze.

“Adrian… that's you.”

Meanwhile in 2026…

Happersen snaps his fingers. “I got it.” He pushes back from his desk, a smug smile pulling at his lips. “They're in a temporal parallel dimension.”

Economos groans. “God, I thought Adrian was going to be the biggest nerd I ever had to work with. What the hell does that mean in normal people talk?”

“It means they are tethered to this reality, this here and now, by linear causality.” Happersen sneers.

“Like Nazi world?” Economos breathes.

“What?” Happerson glares at him. “No, not like Earth X. This is different. The two realities are directly linked. Whereas Earth X deviated from this reality, hence the Nazis winning world war two, Sanctuary isn't a different reality than ours, it runs linear to it.”

Economos squints, trying to wrap his mind around the theory. “Explain it."

“Okay, so, think about it this way - you're watching a football game. You have two televisions set to the same channel, but one is experiencing a delay. When the team on the first screen scores a touch down, the team on the second screen is still running towards the 10 yard line.” Happersen pauses, considering. “Or they're already dumping Gatorade on the coach.” He snorts.

"Uh..."

“There are going to be fundamental discrepancies in Sanctuary because of the temporal link. What exactly that link is and how it affects Sanctuary, I'm not sure yet.” Happersen searches Economo's eyes. “Do you understand?”

“No.” Economos groans. “But, do you think Lex knows this yet?” Economos’ eyes widen. Maybe they could get ahead of the game…

Happersen opens his mouth, an answer at the ready. Such a tool.

"Wait..." Economos has a sudden thought. "If Sanctuary is the same broadcast as ours, that means Luther, Flag… we are all there right? Won’t they wonder why Peacemaker is there if they sent him into Sanctuary?” Economos screws his eyes up.

Happersen hums in thought. Economos’ lips twitch in a grin. How about them apples, asshole?

“They won't know they are Sanctuary." Happersen steeples his fingers and leans back in his chair.

“Even an above average human brain cannot readily comprehend the logic of what you're questioning. Lex is far beyond your intellect -"

"Hey, what the hell, man!" Economos kicks Happersen's chair.

"-but because he's smack in the middle of it, it’ll take him some time to figure this out.” Happersen snorts a laugh. “And Flag is as dumb as a pole.”

He nods. “They'll land on the most obvious and convenient answer.”

“And what's that?”

“That Peacemaker came back through the rift. Hopefully your friend is smart enough to keep his trap shut.”

Economos squeezes his eyes closed. There are going to be two Peacemakers in Sanctuary. Fuck. One of them is going to screw it up for sure.

“Since this other dimension, Sanctuary, is a temporal parallel dimension, what can we do now to try and fix this shit?”

“It all depends on what side of the linear scale it falls on.” He pauses, head tilted, dark eyes gleaming. “I can't pinpoint the coordinates, just that Sanctuary resides in a bracket of approximately seventeen years.”

“Do you want me to cuff you to the radiator again?” Economos threatens.

Happerson sneers in response. “Fine. Based on my calculations, the linear scale ranges between negative two years to positive fifteen years”

John resists the urge to twist Happersen’s broken nose to get all the answers from him, but he doesn't need to be a genius to understand that if Peacemaker, Adrian, and you were sent into the recent past, everyone would eventually find their way to HQ.

—

“What’s he doing?” You squint when Vigilante stalks to the parking garage next to the LexCorp Tower and disappears into its shadowy depths.

“His suit is so fucking cool.” Adrian says wistfully. “I wonder where he got the material for the armor, do you think it's bullet proof? It looks like ceramic…”

“I'm sure Lex had it made for him.” You whisper, glancing at Adrian. His lips pull into a frown as he considers this.

“Sold his soul to the devil.” He mutters.

“We don't know that.” You shake your head. “You must have had a good reason to team up with Lex.”

Adrian studies you sadly, looking away when a black motorcycle idles out of the parking garage and into the street.

“Fuck, hes got a sick bike, too!” Adrian groans when you drag him to his feet. “So not fair.”

“Come on! We have to follow him.”

It's been about fifteen minutes on the highway when Adrian makes a worried noise low in his throat.

“He's going to know we're following him.” Tearing his eyes from the road, he glances at you worriedly. Future Adrian is a little over a quarter mile ahead on the county road leading back into Evergreen. “He's smart, obviously, and there's like… no other cars on the road.”

“I know you're smart.” You smile over at him and he can't help but smile back. “Honestly, he could have lost us a while ago, so he must not be worried about us.”

Adrian squeezes and relaxes his grip on the wheel, you can just see the wheels turning in his head. He presses his lips closed before looking over at you again.

“Do you think he'll like me?”

You want to say yes immediately, but you really can't predict how his future self is going to react to seeing either of you. The man you know is sitting next to you, the one on the speed bike is essentially a stranger. You remember what Rip told you; Adrian has changed.

“I think so.” You say carefully. “But Rip told me that you should hold off on meeting him right off.”

“What the hell! How long do I have to wait?” He scoffs. “Why are we even listening to that guy?”

“He's only trying to help.” Your eyes are locked on the man in the distance. “I… I'm going to try and talk to him first.” Your voice trembles around the words.

His face pales. “But, what if he thinks you're a ghost?”

“Adrian!”

“Fine. But you have to stay in my sights. I'm going to have a gun trained on him.” A muscle in his jaw feathers. “One wrong move and he’s done.”

“Okay.” You concede.

“Promise me.” He holds his pinky out. Heart pounding, you loop your pinky around his, hoping that whatever it comes down to, Adrian doesn't have to pull the trigger.

Adrian's brows knit when the bike pulls off the highway and onto a back road.

‘I think he's headed back to the old gateway portal?” He spins the wheel, pulling onto a packed gravel road. Dust flies up behind the car as he accelerates to catch up with his target.

You and Adrian watch from the car as Vigilante parks his bike and treks to the construction site. You lose sight of him when he wades into the field of tall grasses. Your eyes travel to Adrian as he watches with bated breath next to you.

“He's going to kill those guards." He glances over, green eyes wide, pupils dilated. “I mean, that’s what I would do.”

Sure enough gun shots ring out moments later. In the distance, you can spot Vigilante brawling with Rick Flag’s guards. He cold cocks one guard after twisting the man's arm and kicking away his gun. He punches the guard, again and again, until the other man is stumbling backwards on his feet, face a bloody mess.

“Why's he playing with him?” Adrian squints, pushing his glasses up and grimacing when Vigilante sweeps his victims legs out from under him and presses a boot to his throat.

Your brows draw together. “It looks like it's personal.” Maybe having a gun trained on this guy is a good idea.

After the guard stops kicking, Vigilante drags the bodies to a clearing and lines them up side by side. Then he calmly collects the weapons, holsters them, and walks to the concrete block wall. Leaning against it, he waits.

Adrian shifts in his seat beside you, sighing.

You tear your eyes from Vigilante, who's since sat on a low concrete block wall and is practicing throwing knives into a nearby tree trunk.

“I never actually thought I could die from boredom, but … “ He lifts a hand, gesturing in frustration to his future self. “ This guy is boring as fuck.”

“Text Ads.” You lean back into your seat, willing your bladder to stop aching.

“I tried, but Peacemaker keeps answering.” He rolls his eyes.

“You should just… forgive him. He feels really bad about killing future me.” You sigh. "Besides he didn't even do it... future him did."

Adrian considers this for a long moment then meets your eyes.

“No.” He says bluntly.

“Adrian-”

“I can't. I can't just forgive him like that! I need to know-”

You cant wait any longer and pop the door open. “Call him.” You say before sliding out.

“Hold on! Where are you going?”

“I have to pee.” You close the door and mimic holding a phone. “Call him.”

“Fine…” Adrian scowls and pulls the phone out.

Shooting a glance at Vigilante, you see he's still throwing knives into the tree trunk. He probably has about two dozen of the blades, you should have plenty of time to relieve yourself.

Rushing as quietly as you can into the trees, you find a secluded spot, and sigh in relief.

The sunset is shining bright through the shadowy trees. If Vigilante doesn't move on soon, it's going to be so much harder to follow him in the dark.

You shake your head, there's got to be another reason he came all the way out here. Would he really just come to kill the guards for fun?

“Fucking… peeing in the woods.” You mutter in annoyance, pulling your jeans up.

You realize your mistake when you hear a stick pop. Your scream is three seconds too late, cut off before you can even take a breath by the black gloved hand clamped over your mouth. A strong arm slips around your waist and drags you against a hard body. Your breath shudders when you feel the point of a blade prick your ribs.

“Why are you following me? Who are you?” Vigilante growls.

“Adrian, please…” Your voice is weak behind his palm.

“How… how do you know my name?” He roughly turns you, knife pressed just under your jaw as his masked face takes you in, teal visor tilted down. You can see your reflection in his visor, your eyes are wide and searching for the man you know and trust behind the mask.

You finally draw a breath when the blade slowly lowers then falls from his grip and onto the leaf strewn ground. Vigilante peels his hand off your mouth and pulls his mask off. Those familiar soft waves fall over his forehead, but now silver strands glint at his temples in the fading sunlight. His hand gently pushes your hair back from your face.

You can barely breathe as you look up at him. Your own reflection is gone, looking back at you now is a reflection of the man you love. His usual subdued green eyes are intense and bottle green, gleaming with tears, and his face has a few more lines and scars, but it's Adrian… your Adrian. He searches your eyes before he speaks.

“You're finally here.”

To be continued….

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I hope you're enjoying the series so far! 🙏✨️ Feel free to reach out with any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you!