The job in Tennessee had been long, and bloody, and full of way too many zombies for Dean's liking. Right now, he wanted nothing more than a long, steaming hot shower, a burger, and an hour with Casa Erotica. Unfortunately, that plan was shot to hell when Heaven dropped its favorite acolyte into his car.
"Jesus Christ, Cas! What the hell are you doing?" Sam shouted at the angel now sitting, erect, in the backseat of the impala. "Turn in one mile and continue 4 miles. Pull into the parking lot off the Brandwise dorm of Middle Tennessee State University." Castiel intoned, staring back at Sam, who rose his eyebrows and turned back front, shrugging. "And why exactly?" Dean snapped back, turning on to the aforementioned street nevertheless.
"There was a… problem. It was unforeseen." Cas said, glancing out of the window at the darkened landscape around them. "What kind of problem? Demons?" Dean prompted, cutting off a redneck in a beat up pick-up truck. "No, not exactly. Something you have never seen before. Something different, something bigger."
Dean pulled into the parking lot of the chosen dorm, turning off the engine and climbing out of the seat. He walked to the trunk and grabbed a badge and ID card for him and Sam, hoping Cas would just get off easy by being near them. The crossed the empty lawn outside of the dorm, Cas leading with long, impatient strides.
The door to the dorm was protected by a passcode and fingerprint scanner, but that didn't stop Cas from trying to break the door off of its hinges. "Whoa, buddy. Hold up." Sam said, pressing the buzzer next to the scanner. "Help you?" A bored older man's voice piped up from a speaker on top of the door. "Agents Fromme, Watkins, and Beausoleil, FBI." Sam said confidently, him and Dean flashing their badges at the small camera. "Who you looking for?" The man said, voice suddenly nervous. "Rebecca Nelson. She is of most importance." Cas said, once again wrenching at the handle of the still locked door. "What's wrong with him?" The man asked, now more suspicious then nervous. "He's new" Dean said, flashing a smile at the camera. "Behave." He hissed at Cas, who stopped tugging at the door and stared at the camera. "Alright, come in. Room 330, second floor." The door buzzed open, and Cas practically ran into the hallway.
Dean and Sam chased him down the hall and into the stairwell. "What is so important about this chick, man? I don't get it." Dean stated as the came to the top of the stairs. Cas chose not to answer, instead jogging down the corridor towards the room in question. He finally found it, and impatiently knocked.
The door was opened by a stone cold knock out babe, but Cas didn't even notice as he tried to hustle himself into the room. "What the hell are you doing, freak?" The girl hissed, clearly pissed. Behind Cas, Sam flashed his badge. "Rebecca Nelson?" He asked calmly as the girl steeped aside to let Cas in. "N-no, I'm her roommate, Nichole. Is everything okay?" She queried, upset. "Rebecca is not here." Cas stated, pushing back past Nichole to get into the hall. "No, she went home, some sort of family emergency. Her mom called a few hours ago." Nichole supplied, clearly distressed about the whole event.
"Then we must go there." Cas surmised, again striding towards the stair well. "Thank you, Nichole" Sam called over his shoulder, already moving, Dean hot at his heels. They again thudded down the stairs, but this time, when they reached the end, Cas blipped them all to what was assumedly Rebecca Nelson's house.
They arrived on a small stretch of asphalt outside of a spacious, wood and brick home. The nice, homey effect was ruined, however, by the gaping hole where the door was twisted on its hinges and falling into the house.
When the three jogged up to the doorway, the destruction of the living room apparent. The expensive couch was ripped to shreds, a mangled Xbox 360 was smoking in the fireplace, and the flat screen TV was torn off the wall and tossed through the glass coffee table. The Winchesters cataloged the damage, trying to figure out what kind of monster caused that big of a mess. Cas, on the other hand, barely glanced at the destruction, moving quickly past it, through a formal dining room, and to the kitchen. The back door was also destroyed, nothing remaining but a few scorch marks on the kitchen floor.
The trio exited the kitchen to the backyard patio. Once outside, it was like they were in a completely different place. There was suspended silver dust everywhere, and the air was thick with power. The strangest thing, however, was the lack of noise. There were no crickets, birds, or car noises. Dean turned to ask Cas about it, but the angel was already off the porch, kneeling at the poolside.
Beside the pool was a blinding pile of white that Cas was running his hands over frantically. As Sam and Dean slowly walked up, surveying the backyard with a level of suspicion that only a hunter fearing imminent attack could muster, they realized that the pile of white wasn't fur or sheets, but instead a massive amount of pure white feathers.
Cas suddenly rolled the mass over, revealing what was underneath. A girl, about 5'6, a mess of blonde curls, and plump pink lips. "Who the hell is that?" Sam asked, eyes bulging out of his head. "This is Rebecca Nelson." Cas replied, sweeping her up and carrying her into the house. "I thought that Rebecca was some human girl, not an angel. And why can we see her wings? I thought you guys kept those pretty hidden." Dean asked, following Cas into the house as Sam broke off to sweep the perimeter. "She isn't an angel. Not quite. Or human. It's difficult to explain." Cas replied as he laid Rebecca down with surprising tenderness on the table in the living room. "Well, try and explain it. Cause I wanna know what the hell is going on, and I want to know now." Dean spat, smacking his hand down on a nearby countertop.
"A long time ago, god made you. Humanity. And even out of your people, some were… special. He gave those humans powers and jobs. Healing, the ability to invent the most amazing contraptions, the ability to come up with fantastic battle plans. They were Sainted, important. God didn't choose them though, the archangels did. Michael, Raphael, Lucifer, and Gabriel. He gave the right to choose the Sainted to the first angels, maybe as a consolation prize. And after Lucifer fell and Gabriel disappeared, Raphael and Michael did it, for a long time they chose the Sainted. But since the death of the Son, there hadn't been any picked, up until a hundred years ago. Since then, thousands of Sainted have cropped up all over the world. No one knows where they're coming from, and we have been instructed to watch over them, just as our father decreed." Cas quietly related this piece of Angel history as he healed invisible injuries on the inert form laying on the table.
"Why didn't you know where she was, then?" Dean murmured as Cas started to rub a sparkling substance over the girl's arms. "Her handler went off the grid. I was dispatched to find Rebecca, and expected to find her at the dorm. Her "Mother" calling her was a demon plot to get her away from the protective wards over her school. I suspect that is what remains of the demons that Rebecca found in place of her family." Cas replied off hand, gesturing to the dust that had collected at the back door. "You mean she did that?" Dean asked, clearly shocked. "Her power is the ability to destroy her enemies. Unfortunately, they weren't awakened properly, and I was forced to render them dormant once again. Currently, she is in a regenerative coma. She can hear all we are saying through the haze, so please attempt to hold your tongue." At that moment, Sam came in, done with checking the perimeter.
"Whatever was here is gone now, but that dust is gonna be hell for her folks to clean up." Sam reported, not noticing the look Dean was giving him. "Her parents are the dust, so I fail to see why the dust remains a problem for them." Cas replied, face blank. "Jeeze, Cas, and you told me to keep quiet!" Dean muttered, head falling into his hands. "Wait, how did that happen? She didn't do it, did she?" Sam gasped, glaring at the still unmoving form. "It was a defense mechanism, a hidden power that showed itself in her time of need. I have since rehidden it until we have the supplies to fully activate them." Cas informed Sam, looking disapprovingly at the hunter.
"Wait, if you hid her "powers", why can we still see her wings?" Sam asked, looking befuddled. "Some things cannot be reversed. Which is why she must go with you." Cas intoned, giving Sam a measured stare. "Us? Why us?" Dean growled, hand starting to tighten into a fist. "Because she needs protecting, and I cannot do it. I am in the middle of a war, and cannot train her. You must do it, you two must help her reach her full potential. After all, her powers do suggest a natural born hunter."
"Why? Why couldn't you people have done a better job of protecting me? N-Now my whole family is dead, and I'm some kind of freak, and I'm all a-alone." The three had been so deep in their argument that they had failed to notice the girl, Rebecca, waking up.
"Your care was entrusted a single agent, one who has somehow fallen off the grid. It was an oversight. It had never happened bef-"
"And what, you let me kill my parents, so now its "Bad luck, Chuck, have fun with some strange men you've never met before, oh, by the way, you have super powers from God"? Because that's bullshit. Who are you? Who the hell do you think you are, to act like you're in charge of me?" Rebecca interrupted, rage written on her face as tears flowed from her crystalline green eyes. "I am Castiel, an angel of the lord, and these are Dean and Sam Winch-"
"Well whoop-dee-friggin-do for you, but I'm telling you now, Angel boy, I'm not going anywhere. Especially not with two strangers that for all I know are crazy rapist nutjobs! No offence, of course. " The last part she aimed at the boys, who were both trying to hide grins at the sight of a little girl taking a chunk out of Cas' ass. "None taken, sunshine." Dean replied with an easy smile and a chuckle. "The demons will come for you, Rebecca, this time in force. They will take you and force you to be their weapon." Cas shouted, the lights overhead flickering. "And believe me, even the most stubborn man will fall to what the demons use as a bargaining chip" Cas finished with a glance at Dean.
"What am I supposed to do, then? Forget my whole life and ride off into the sunset to fight monsters?" she forced through thin lips, tone wavering. "You will go with the Winchesters, you will survive. You must." Cas responded quietly, eyes closed. "Say that I do agree. How do I hide the wings? How do I live with myself after all that I've done?" Rebecca choked out, tears flowing down her face freely. "There is an incantation. They will disappear until a time when you wish to show them. And as for living with yourself, I believe that you will have no better teachers than the Winchesters." Cas calmly retorted, folding his hands and waiting for Rebecca to say the incantation before blipping them all back to the Impala. The three silently got in, and prepared for this new, unknown chapter in their lives.