A Different View

by Kindli

Fandom: X-Files/Highlander crossover

Pairing: Mulder/Kronos-- (and a witness)

Rating: NC-17, slash

Status: snippet

Disclaimers: Chris Carter, Fox, 1013 Productions---Panzer/Davis

Notes: No canon. This is just a snippet. Special thanks to Quinn and Meri Lomelindi, who helped me beta this.

Spoilers: Tunguska/Terma ep in X-Files and suggestions for an event from 'Comes A Horseman/Revelations' in Highlander.

Summary: When Krycek sets out to spy on a mad scientist, he gets the surprise of his life.

A Different View
by Kindli

Cautiously peering down into the dim swath of a lab, Krycek balanced on the edge of a splintered barn rafter. One hand gripped the beam tightly while his prosthetic arm rested with awkward heaviness against the nearby wall.

Alex had begun his quest upon hearing local gossip about a scientist who was plotting world destruction. Not that such a rumor was unusual in and of itself; it was pretty common in his line of work. This time however, the man was supposedly using human guinea pigs to test some sort of virus. It begged the question-- was he involved in the Consortium or was this the work of a simple madman?

Days of calling in favors had led him just outside Richmond to this dilapidated excuse for a barn. Suspicion blossomed in his belly as soon as he saw the decided lack of security, gnawing deep when he managed to slip inside the archaic structure without even a hint of detection. What kind of lab was this; did the fool think he was invincible or something?

At first, little was visible in the darkness. But then a door in the far corner opened and the room was suddenly bathed in a soft glow of yellowish-light. Walking to a table littered with test tubes and a jumble of scattered papers, a man wearing a white lab coat and black jeans immediately set to work mixing different colored substances into the glass tubes. The mad scientist, Krycek supposed, began scribbling his findings into a notebook.

Dispassionately, Alex squinted through the gloom as the man walked through the narrow aisles, ignoring the ragged breathing and pitiful pleas of the young men and women. Some cowered in the corners of their small cells trying to fade into the background as he strode past, others crouched closer, foolishly trying to catch his attention with whispered promises of rewards for their release. Finally the researcher stopped before one of the cages and grabbed the sole occupant, a young Hispanic woman of about 20 years, and pulled her arm through the bars to jab a needle into the soft muscle. The woman, too weak to put up much of a struggle, whimpered fearfully, pleading desperately for mercy.

Moments later she started to scream as the contents of the needle began to work its way into her blood stream, and she writhed on the floor of the small cage in agony. Without a flicker of remorse in his posture, the scientist began taking notes. As he was jotting notes into his journal, he suddenly raised his head and began to peer into the shadowy corners of the barn. Eyes flashing in the funereal light, he strode to the back door of the barn with determination, grabbing his sword along the way.

Krycek stood frozen in place, ears straining for a clue as to what had caught the other's attention. The sword seemed like a ludicrous weapon to Krycek and while the aura of danger that surrounded him as he gripped the hilt confidently gave credence to his ability as a dangerous opponent, it did nothing to even his odds against a gun.

The man stepped outside with a soft snarl. Risking splinters in certain delicate parts of his anatomy, but anxious not to lose his prey, Alex scrambled to get to the ladder a few feet from where he stood. Before too much damage could occur the 'doctor' reappeared, dragging a man along beside him, sword held at his captive's throat. Krycek muffled a soft growl when he realized the idiot's identity. Why couldn't Mulder stay out of trouble for just a few weeks? Straining to hear the muffled conversation, he pulled out his gun and debated the necessity of the troublesome agent's usefulness. Did he really want to bother rescuing his ex-partner from this madman's vengeance?

"Fox Mulder. To what do I owe your esteemed company?" the man asked, amusement clear in his voice as he pressed the blade of the sword a little further into Mulder's neck.

In typical Mulder fashion, he answered the question by glancing at the cages. "Test subjects?"

The scientist chuckled. "Once the monkeys died, I needed replacements. These were cheaper."

"I see. So, um, how 'bout you let me go now?" Mulder pulled a little at his captor's grasp, outwardly unperturbed by his situation.

Apparently amused by Mulder's attitude, the man loosened his grip enough to let the agent slip away. "No weapon?" He set down his blade and crowded in close again, hardly giving 'Spooky' space to breathe.

Cautiously, Krycek lowered his weapon, allowing his arm to rest at his side. The two on the floor still knew nothing of his presence and he preferred to keep it that way. There was no reason to act until it was absolutely necessary. Very little Mulder did surprised Alex anymore, but the agent's casual acceptance of this bastard confused the hell out of him, and he hoped to understand more before he did anything rash.

Instead of backing away as Krycek expected, Mulder smiled sardonically and opened his trench coat to reveal a gun. "None that you need to worry about. I didn't expect to be meeting you tonight. I got a tip that something was going on down here and followed up on it."

From his vantage point in the shadows, Alex tensed and again angled the barrel of his gun back to his target, shaking his head with incredulous fury. God Mulder, you're such an idiot! What do you expect him to do now? Ignore you? You think Conan here is going to let you keep your gun, just because he has his sword? But oddly enough, Mulder seemed to be right.

Frisking the agent, the scientist laughed again. "Still searching for aliens, Mulder? Don't you ever get tired of looking stupid?"

"You know me, Kronos. I like amusing people." Stepping closer, Mulder reached out a hand to tentatively caress the other's face.

The man called Kronos snatched Mulder's hand before it could trace the narrow, jagged scar running along his cheek. With one sharp tug, Kronos jerked Mulder against him, forcing the agent to grab at his hip to retain his balance. "Is that lovely teacher of yours still teaching you to make love, and not war?" The man's honey-smooth voice carried through the air and settled like a weight in Alex's gut.

Mulder nodded just a little, a small smile suggesting more could be expected upon request. Alex felt his stomach clench when he realized what was coming next.

Kronos was resting a hand on Mulder's shoulder and with the lightest of pressure; he pressed him to his knees.

Appearing to kneel willingly, Mulder needed no encouragement to turn his head into the man's groin and lick at the denim-covered bulge. Like a cat being stroked, Kronos' eyes slitted with pleasure while one of his hands moved to clasp Mulder's neck, forcing him even closer. Mulder's hands went to the zipper and freed his cock, taking the partially soft meat into his mouth, bringing it to life with his tongue.

Kronos sighed in contentment as he looked down at the man on his knees. "You're such a slut, Fox."

Mulder didn't react as Krycek thought he would; but then again, Mulder wasn't doing anything he normally would. What was going on here? And how the hell did Mulder know this man's name? They appeared to know each other.... obviously quite intimately. Alex watched in rapt fascination as Mulder brought the man off quickly, a loud cry leaving Kronos' mouth, while the agent held his own body away from this Kronos, face expressionless as the other swayed unsteadily.

For the first few moments Kronos stood very still, his hand clenched in the silky chestnut hair, keeping Mulder's face pressed tightly into his leg until he regained his equilibrium. Then he tugged on Mulder's neck, indicating he should stand while he refastened his pants. Mulder let one hand rest on Kronos' hip as the other traveled up to squeeze his arm, eventually moving to caress the nape of the man's neck. Kronos stiffened for a moment before relaxing into the touch, allowing Mulder to rest his forehead on his shoulder.

"You have to leave, Kronos. Your presence here is screwing up the plans. I can't be getting tips that lead me to you. It's too dangerous. If someone sent me to you, then it's obvious they also know what you're doing." Mulder's voice was muffled in the man's chest.

Kronos growled. "I'm not leaving here just because it doesn't fit into the plans, Mulder." He twisted his fingers into the other man's hair, pulling the agent's head back cruelly.

Krycek rolled his eyes in irritation, and raised his arm, carefully taking aim at the Kronos character. Of course they know what he's up to, Mulder. Don't you? Mulder never did anything right. Didn't he know how to be subtle?

Wincing, Mulder tightened his grip on Kronos' neck. Gaping at him in disbelief, Kronos' mouth dropped open in startled pain as his hand fell away from Mulder's hair.

Alex stared in surprise when Kronos slid silently to the floor, a soft thud resounding as his body landed slightly atop Mulder's shoes, his eyes followed his former partner's movements with renewed respect, wondering who had taught him to use pressure points to defend himself.

"Moron." Alex couldn't help grinning when Mulder echoed his own sentiments as he pulled his feet free from the unconscious man's prone form.

The brief flare of pride faded into disappointment though, when Mulder messed up again, turning his back on a clearly unhinged psychopath, instead of pulling out his gun to finish off the man's existence.

Mulder moved to the cages and unlocked them, but while some of the prisoners scrambled to escape, others remained crouched in the corners of their small cells, eyes flickering in confused terror, glancing fearfully between their rescuer and their unconscious captor.

"Get out of here." With a voice harsh and commanding, Mulder reached in impatiently and pulled a man out of his cage. It seemed to stir some latent survival instinct in the others and they hastened to escape.

When Mulder stood before the cage holding Kronos' most recent test subject he reached in gently and eased her out, tenderly caressing her cheek. Mulder's whispered words carried to Krycek in the rafters and stirred confusion in him as he tried to process there meaning.

"It's all right, precious one. You'll find your peace soon." Mulder took her wrist and appeared to be taking her pulse-- except his fingers were pressed so deeply into the flesh that it would have been impossible to get an accurate reading. Whimpering softly, her eyelids fluttered rapidly and with a sigh she pressed her face into Mulder's chest. Moments passed before she was laid back into the barred crate and he moved on to the next cage. Disbelief and a tinge of fear coursed through Krycek's veins as he wondered if Mulder had just used another method of pressure point control to end the woman's life. As the last of the prisoners were escaping, Kronos regained consciousness and grabbed his sword, preparing to swing it at Mulder, who in a blur of motion grabbed a nearby pitchfork and spun to block the first blow.

Kronos was obviously an experienced sword fighter, but it became evident that Mulder was even better. Alex couldn't believe what he was seeing. Mulder couldn't even keep hold of his gun-- where the hell had he learned to use a pitchfork to defend himself against a sword?

Finally overpowering the other man, Mulder swatted the sword out of Kronos' hands. He easily knocked Kronos onto his knees and hissed at him, "Get out of this country. I don't care where you go, just get away from here. I don't want you in our way. If you want to go about creating the apocalypse, you do so, but not around here. We have our own in the making without any help from you."

Krycek stared in disbelief, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Mulder had just given away humanity on a platter, but then decided it was a bluff. Mulder couldn't be serious-- it had to be to gain Kronos' confidence, though a tiny voice reminded him that Mulder had never been subtle in the past.

Kronos chuckled without humor. "Sure, Mulder. Whatever you say." Even with his sword out of reach, kneeling on the ground in a submissive posture, he didn't appear to be too concerned with his defeat.

Alex hardly wondered why. If Kronos knew Mulder as well as it appeared he did, then he knew Mulder would never kill him. He drew his gun, preparing to finish the job-- before the 'morally impeded' agent could screw things up by letting himself get killed because of his totally skewed sense of ethics. His mouth fell open in surprise and he almost fell off the beam when Mulder whipped out his gun and aimed with deadly intent for the madman's chest.

The shot from the gun ricocheted from one end of the building to the other, an eerie silence echoing in its wake. Kronos crumpled to the ground, an expression of shock marring his features as he died. Krycek knew how he felt. This was Mulder? Fox Mulder? He blinked in amazement as Mulder turned away, leaving the building without a backward glance.

Krycek scrambled out of the building, wanting to follow Mulder-- and force him to tell him what had just happened-- but by the time he stood in the grassy clearing, the agent was gone. When he stepped back into the warehouse to take some samples of the virus, he found that the body had vanished, leaving only a stain of blood on the floor to prove tonight really occurred. A shiver of unease whispered along his spine as he glanced around nervously, cautiously stepping back into the shadows. Someone must have followed Mulder and decided to take care of the clean up. If he weren't so confused, he would be furious at having missed out on another set of answers. But now he had another mystery to solve. Who and what was the real Mulder? And what was 'the plan' that they had spoken of so casually? This Kronos had obviously known what it was. Yet, whatever it was, he mocked it and went about his own way without fear of repercussion.

Now that all the major players had vanished he decided it was time to pull his own disappearing act. Leaving as silently as he had come, Krycek wondered when Mulder had learned survival techniques-- and how these abilities could be used to his advantage.

END