[This is my first SPN fic, so cut me some slack. I think the first chapter is a little blah because it's basically just crap that needs to be done so the story makes sense. Enjoy and don't be too hard on me, but also let me know if something seems off to you.]
"Really? A couple old farts pop off the radar and you think it's worth investigating?"
"Hey look Dean; any time there's a pattern I think it's worth looking into. And besides, when was the last time we went down to Florida?"
"Oh yeah, Florida; capital of the elderly. Where's the party bus? Where's the party bus?"
"Enough."
Dean made a stupid face and kept driving. "Yeah okay. We'll check this out. What else do we know?"
"Well, apparently it was six old guys. Seems like they knew each other but I'm not sure how much. But then four months ago, a few others disappeared, too."
"There's two groups?"
"Yeah."
"What d'you think it is?"
"Could be anything at this point."
"Better be something for us. I swear if it's just some fucking cult I'm gonna go ape shit."
Sam chuckled a little. "Whatever you say."
"And hey, maybe when we're done we can take you to Disney World?"
"Shut up," Sam quipped, rolling his eyes.
"Mrs. Shea?"
"Y-yes?" An old woman popped her head between the door and the screen, peering at the two tall men in suits. "Can I help you?"
"Agents Anderson and Ames," Dean said as the boys flashed FBI badges at the woman. "We'd like to ask you a few questions about your missing husband."
"I don't understand, I just spoke to the police about it on Monday."
"We have a couple follow up questions," Sam added. "If you have a few minutes."
"That's fine," the woman said. She lead them inside to an embroidered sofa in the living room. "Please take a seat." Dean plopped down heavily.
"Thank you," said Sam. "So Mrs. Shea, when did your husband disappear?"
"Sunday night."
"Did he say anything before he left?"
"Yes. He went out with some of his friends," she said.
"That something he normally does?" asked Dean.
"Well no, not exactly," the woman continued, looking down. "That's what I find so odd about it. He has friends of course, but there was this new social group or so he had been spending time with recently. They were so excited about this 'excursion.'"
"Did they tell you where they went?"
Mrs. Shea went on to describe how this Pendleton fellow had been organizing these so called meetings. Mr. Shea attended every Sunday but for some reason he kept quiet about the details. His wife wasn't allowed but he was extremely excited to attend, particularly on the day that he disappeared.
Once they got everything they needed, Dean and Sam wished her well (or whatever) and went on their way.
"Pendleton, huh?" Dean said.
"Yep."
"Sounds like the best lead yet. What do you think he's up to?"
"No idea."
They went to a phonebook and looked up any Pendletons in the town. There was just one; Xavier. Cautiously the boys proceeded to the mystery man's house. From the outside it appeared normal, but as they stood around the front door waiting for a reply to their knocks, something seemed off.
"Something seems off," Sam said in a hushed tone.
"Yeah but what?" Dean replied, just as quiet.
"I dunno."
Obviously nobody was home so they wandered around the outside for a bit, peering in through the windows. A room near the back appears to be a study.
"Yo Sam, check it out," said Dean, pointing at one of the windows he stood before. Sam stepped beside him and looked in as well. There were maps and scrolls plastered all over the walls. Things had been scribbled all over them, and old newspaper articles were strewn about the place.
"Fountain of Youth?" Sam said under his breath.
"Oh this has fishy written all over it," Dean said. "Fuck it." He jumped up onto the windowsill and slid the window up. A big smile ripped across his face when it opened without a struggle. "C'mon, Sam."
"I dunno if we should just…" Sam's voice faded as his brother disappeared into the house, leaving him no choice but to climb in as well.
"Okay, now do your little nerd stuff, Sammy," Dean said with a quiet chortle, pointing at the papers all over the mystery man's desk. Sam sighed to himself and started to read.
"Uhhh Ponce de Leon, right right; he looked in Florida for the Fountain of Youth."
"You don't think this guy's found it, do you?"
"I'm not sure."
Right as Sam picked up a magazine clipping, slow footsteps followed them into the room.
"Didn't realize I had company today," someone said. The boys looked up and saw a young man grinning at them. Without giving them the chance to explain, the stranger raised his hands with a smile. "It's alright," he continued. Dean and Sam exchanged suspicious glances. "I see you've discovered my discovery."
"What is this?" Dean asked, taking a more relaxed stance.
"Can't you tell? I've found the Fountain of Youth. Do you want to come see it?"
"Is that where the other men are?" Sam asked. "Did you take them there, too?"
"Yes, I've given them," the man narrowed his eyes with a smirk. "Eternal life. Won't you come? I'll take you to them."
Dean and Sam agreed and with their hands on their revolvers, they followed the man outback and down into the woods.
"I guess you're Xavier then, huh?" Dean asked as he trudged along behind their weird guide.
"That is correct," the man said. "I've been tracking the place for years and now I've finally got it."
"Where did the men go? The ones that you took to see it?" Sam asked, but Xavier didn't answer.
Soon they came to a small clearing surrounded by thickets of deep brush. Within the middle was a big, marble fountain. It felt somewhat unbelievable at first but then they realized everything else they had seen recently and Dean basically shrugged it off. But the weird thing was that a whole bunch of slime and slop was slathered all over the ground. It stunk.
"What the hell is going on here?" Asked Dean. Xavier stood at the side of the fountain and looked over his shoulder.
"Funny you should ask," he said quietly, a thin smile spreading across his lips. "You know the fountain wasn't naturally like this. No, not at all. In fact it's not the water or the fountain that makes it so special."
Sam narrowed his eyes and peered into the basin of the fountain as best as he could. There seemed to be some sort of inscription painted along the bottom. "It's a spell," he said beneath his breath.
"A spell? Sort of," Pendleton continued. He put his hands in his pockets and smiled. Dean glared at him. "The fountain produces an elixir that, went drunk in moderation, gives you eternal youth. But it requires life to create such."
"You mean, all of this goo on the ground…" Sam mumbled, looking down.
"If you bathe in the fountain long enough, you'll turn the clock back until you're fetal. And then you die. I just drink a little sip and I'm good to go."
"You killed all these people," Sam huffed.
"It was for a good cause," Pendleton insisted, smirking. "The only problem is that it's always old people who want to come, but I need more of them to give the desired effect."
"You can't do that!" Dean shouted all of the sudden.
"Why not? It keeps me looking and feeling great."
"So you're just going to keep lying to people? And bringing them here to their death?"
"They're old anyway. They won't be missed."
"Why are we here?" Sam asked now, narrowing his eyes at the man. Dean stood his ground with his hand gripping the gun in jacket.
"Oh, that's easy," said Xavier. "Strong young men like you are best for the fountain. You're like an energy drink for me."
"That's messed up!" Dean yelled. Sensing impending doom, he fired a shot at the man. It struck him straight on in the chest but did little to even move him. "What the heck?"
Pendleton smiled and dipped his pinky in the water of the fountain. "Did I forget to mention it makes you immune to basically everything?" He said, tasting the water gently.
"You can't die?" Sam asked as he raised his eyebrows.
"In theory if I fell into the fountain I would, but well, you know. I'm not so clumsy."
"I don't know what the heck you are; if you're human, demon, I don't care. You aren't gonna run around killing people like this!" Dean shouted and ran at the guy.
"Dean, wait!" Sam gasped. He was thrown back a bit by Dean's rash behavior. But Dean lashed at Xavier and knocked him back to the edge of the fountain, smacking his head into it.
"Idiot!" Pendleton yelled, trying to wrestle Dean off of him.
"You sick son of a bitch!" Dean shouted in protest, slamming the man's head repeatedly into the edge of the fountain.
"It does no good!" Xavier cried out, almost laughing. He pulled an arm free and slugged Dean in the jaw. Now Sam jumped in and managed to pull the guy out from Dean's loosening grip. Xavier struggled and fought hard, but Sam overpowered him and tossed him straight into the fountain.
Quicker than they had imagined, Pendleton began to grow younger and younger. His skin firmed more and his skeleton shrunk. Dean got to his feet, adjusting his jaw and wiping a bit of blood off as Sam stood by the edge of the fountain and watched the man run the clock backwards.
It was a little too hypnotic, which you certainly can't blame Sam for. He stared at Xavier but failed to see that he moved closer to the edge and suddenly, shoom! A small hand reached out and pulled Sam backwards into the fountain as well, and then with a big splash he was deep in the water. Still large enough to grab on, Xavier dug his fingers into Sam's shoulders and held him under the surface of the water.
"SAM!" Dean yelled. He ran to the fountain but slipped in some of the fetal goo on the ground. Once he managed to get to his feet and up to the fountain, Xavier was just a floating glob of placenta and Sam was, well…
"A baby?" Bobby reiterated in disbelief over the phone.
"Uh. Yeah," Dean said, looking over at the gurgling infant on the passenger's seat, sloppily strapped into the belt.
"How'n the heck didja manage that?"
"Long story, Bobby. But listen, I need you to watch him or something until I figure out how to reverse this."
"Oh right, like you're gonna be able ta do that on your own."
"No, that's why I need you to watch him."
"Dang it, boy. You know what I mean." Dean didn't answer. "The research, son, the research. The smartest half a y'all is a baby and you expect to fix somethin' I ain't ever even heard of?"
"I dunno what else to do!" Dean bitched.
"Cool yer jets, Dean." Bobby said with a sigh. "Just get out this way and we'll take a look at what's goin' on."
"Alright. Thanks." Dean hung up the phone and looked over at his brother, who was now fast asleep. Great.