Disclaimer – I have no rights to the Charmed Universe. I'm just playing around in it.

This story is set early season 7.Mostly canon up till that point.

Phoebe helped Piper off the floor. Paige rose slowly from behind an overturned table. The attic was in ruins, which wasn't really all that out of the ordinary.

"We've really got to get that guy," said Paige.

"How?" Piper asked. "That was a power of three spell and the most powerful potions we could brew."

Phoebe was getting sick and tired of this. The mysterious demon had appeared a month previous and had been harassing the girls ever since. He was short, pale, skinny, appeared human and always wore a dark coat and fedora. He never said a word…he just attacked relentlessly and at the worst possible times. After he caught her unawares at work and trashed the Daily Mirror newsroom, Phoebe had taken a sabbatical. It had gotten to the point where they couldn't risk being alone, or going out in public. The demon, whoever he was, was not mentioned in the book of shadows and yet he was clearly extremely powerful. They had managed to drive him off after each attack, but they weren't sure how long their luck would hold.

"Leo," Piper yelled.

The elder appeared after a moment, looking anxious.

"He attacked again, didn't he?" asked Leo.

"Uh, yeah," said Paige as she gestured to the scattered papers and scorched furniture. "Please tell me you found something about this guy."

Leo grimaced. "I did…he goes by Mace. Apparently he's been here for a few months gathering information about you all in the underworld and…" there was a long pause.

"And," Piper said after a long pause.

"We're pretty sure he's from the future."

"The future," said Phoebe. "Did I ever mention how much I hate time travel?"

"There's more," Leo said, "We think he's drawing power from his own time, which is destabilizing the balance of the Universe."

"From his own time," Paige said, "so that's why we can't vanquish him."

"Wait, why?" Piper asked.

"Because if he's still connected to the future he's not really in sink with our time, and we can't vanquish a demon that doesn't really exist yet," Paige explained.

Phoebe felt a head ache coming on. She sometimes felt like some malevolent power was just making this all up as they went along.

"So how do we vanquish him?" Piper asked practically.

"You can't," Leo said.

"Um, then what do we do?" Phoebe asked

Leo shook his head. "I'll keep digging," he said and orbed out.

The girls looked at each other in consternation. Paige's face scrunched up in one of her thoughtful expressions.

"Wait," Paige said. "If we can bring someone back from the future with the same kind of link back to their own time, then they would be able to vanquish him."

"I don't know," Phoebe said, "remember what Chris always said about future consequences."

The other sisters looked at her like she'd grown a second head.

"What," Phoebe said, "Chris isn't here to say it any more so somebody has to."

"I don't think we have a choice," Piper said, "Otherwise I don't think we'll have a future."

Phoebe nodded reluctantly. The girls conferred for a few minutes and worked on a spell.

"Ready," Paige said when they were finished.

They spoke as one:

"We call upon the ancient power

To draw to us upon this hour…

From future time and distance space

The one best suited to Vanquish Mace"

In a twirl of light a man appeared, facing away from them. He slowly turned around; he looked to be in his late twenties. He had short dark hair and a couple days worth of stubble. His green eyes were slightly blood shot and there were dark splotches under the eyes. He wore a brown leather jacket over a black tea shirt and a pair of beat up jeans.

He looked disoriented for a moment, but then his eyes focused on Phoebe.

"I thought I told you I wanted to be left alone," he said with a withering glare.

Phoebe felt a stab of confusion and hurt. Whoever this man was, he clearly knew her and hated her. Why?

The man's expression went from angry to confused. His eyes went to each of the sisters.

"Why do you all look…oh no…this is…you've gotta be kidding me."

"Hi," Piper said in her best chipper voice, "you obviously know who we are, which makes things easier. You're in the past, the year 2004."

The man sighed and rubbed his face.

"Um," Phoebe said hopefully, "Did you maybe mistake me for someone else?"

He gave her a level look.

"Anyway," Piper said quickly, "you do know who we are, right?"

He smirked. "Of course," he said, "who hasn't heard of the all powerful 'Charmed Ones'?"

"Well good," Piper said, "you see we need your help…" the man laughed.

"You need my help… that's rich," he said.

The sister's looked at each other in concern. Just what kind of "help" had they summoned?

"Who are you and why are you so mad at us," Phoebe asked bluntly. They really didn't have time for this.

He half smiled. "Can't," he said, "future consequences."

The girls stared incredulously.

"What is that like in the future-person handbook?" Paige said.

"Fine," Phoebe said, "we just need you to help us vanquish this demon. You see he's from your time and, apparently, only someone from your time can kill him."

"You've got the wrong guy," he said bitterly.

"Not according to the spell we don't," said Phoebe. "We asked for the one best suited to vanquish the demon and you showed up."

"I can't," he said.

"You don't get it," Phoebe said, "We really, really need your help."

"No, you don't get it," he said. His stare was so intense she felt like she would go blind. "I can't because my powers were bound…at birth. I don't even know what they are."

Phoebe looked at her sisters in confusion. They shared her befuddled expression. Why would the spell send them someone who couldn't help?

"But…" Piper said, "Why?"

"Let's just say my mother never had a lot of faith in me," the man said. He glanced at Phoebe when he said it.

"But, what do you mean" Phoebe asked.

He smirked sardonically, a distant look in his eyes.

"Sins of the father…" he said cryptically.

"Was it to protect you?" Piper asked, "Our Grams did the same to us."

He shook his head sadly.

"From myself, she would say. But she was lying. No, it was because she thought I would turn evil," he said.

"At birth," Phoebe said, appalled. What kind of a mother would think that of her child? "Why would she think that?"

The man sat down on a stool and rested his head in his hands. "Chris would probably tell me I shouldn't say any more; that I needed to worry about what would happen if I changed the time line too much. Might even write myself out of existence. But you know what…" his eyes glistened as he looked back up at the girls, at Phoebe. "I don't care."

"Wait," Piper said, "You know Chris? How is he?"

"Perfect," the man said in a tone that implied anything but. "Chris, Wyatt, Prue, Penelope, Patricia, Phylicia…they're all perfect."

Something was really off with this young man, Phoebe thought. Even without her empathy powers she could feel the anger and resentment pouring off of him as he listed off the names.

"You never answered my question," Phoebe said softly.

He stood back up. "My mom didn't trust me," he said, "because I'm one quarter demon." His glare seemed to intensify as it washed over the girls, as though he dared them to cast judgment.

Phoebe felt queasy. There was something at the back of her mind; a sinking feeling that hadn't quite solidified into thought. After a long, awkward silence Paige was the first to speak up. "Well that means you're three quarters human, right – so definitely more good then bad. And since we need your help we can just unbind your powers."

He shook his head. His voice sounded haunted when he said, "I'm not entirely sure she wasn't right."

"Who is your father?" Phoebe asked quietly.

He smiled a small sad smile. "Let's just say rumors of his demise have been greatly exaggerated…again."

"What is your name?" Phoebe asked, even more quietly.

His voice was toneless, almost dead. "Victor Turner Halliwell," he said.