Chapter One
Previously on Skies on Fire: Evil Walks
"Thank you very much, little girl," the gravelly voice sounded behind her. Mia spun around as the man grabbed her throat and brought her close to his face. "You and your friends have been most helpful!"
He pulled her lips to his, his superior brute strength winning over hers as Chloe cried out for Oliver. She felt so helpless. The body holding Mia suddenly slumped to the ground as Oliver slammed through the door, arrow already ready to fire in the bow. Mia stumbled away from the body on the floor, towards Oliver.
Veronica lowered her phone from her ear and placed it on the coffee table. 6 months to visit her dad and investigate the Winchester case. Plenty of time.
"It says here that a large quantity of sulphur was found in Mia's bloodstream, as well as in the skin cells Emil tested. She is showing irrational behaviour, unusual headaches and memory loss. What's wrong with her Oliver?"
"Vampires." One word. Matter of fact. And it turned Veronica's world upside down.
"Vampires." Veronica snorted. "And I guess Buffy was unavailable?"
"Do you recognise any of the markings on the body?"
"I've never seen symbols like this before, but I'd take a bet and say that it's old Enochian."
"How the hell do I get hold of an angel?" Scepticism still coloured her voice.
"Your best bet would be to find one of the Winchester brothers. Word is they know some angels who can translate the symbols."
"Okay, I need to see your friend to be sure. If she is possessed we need to perform an exorcism." Sam's tone was grim, but Chloe felt a surge of hope arise in her.
"You'll help?"
"Yes, I'll help."
"So far 8 people have been murdered, all from different states, different backgrounds, in the same way. Each died from blood loss after having similar symbols, perverted Enochian symbols carved into their bodies. No traces of an attacker have been found at the murder sites."
"Victim 1: Gordon Yaxley. 27. Sherriff in Delaware Ohio." After mentioning each victim she tacked up the paper including their photographs.
"Victim 2: Fredrick Goyle. 30. DA in Chicago."
"Victim 3: Darren Dohring. 23. Intern in the Governor of California's office."
"Victim 4: Oliver Wood. 19. Prominent NFL player. His body is still in the FBI morgue, or was when I was last there."
"Victim 5: David Thorman. 24. Son of Billionaire Graeme Thorman, heavily involved in his father's company."
"Victim 6: Jacob Keynes. 45. Minority member of the United states Senate."
"Victim 7: Logan Mars. 25. Charitable contributor and son of film stars." Veronica managed to say through the lump in her throat. She didn't need to look at the photos. She knew his face intimately, and could not scrub the image of his dead body from her head. She tacked up the last piece of paper.
"And finally victim 8: Christopher Norris. 36. Works in the office of a representative in the Mississippi House of Representatives. The second body which remains in the morgue."
Mia laughed in the unusually deep voice that sent chills down Chloe's spine.
"You really don't know how much bigger than me this all is!"
Chloe meanwhile surprised herself by collapsing into Sam's arms. He pulled her close into him and sat down slowly onto the floor. He stroked her head slowly as she started crying.
He continued to stroke her hair as she cried. "Mia's okay now, Chloe."
"Samuel Winchester you better answer your god damn phone! Jo happened to just tell me that you're not dead! Thanks for letting me know that bro. You're a true angel! I'm in Metropolis. You better call me back, because you don't want me to be any more pissed than I am already!" Dean snarled into Sam's ear. Sam took a deep breath and turned to Chloe.
"We have just been informed that Logan Mars has just been found alive!" The newscaster said excitedly. A short clip of film was showed. Logan was ushered from a car and escorted across to an unmarked building. Veronica's face dropped in surprise. The others in the room turned to her wordlessly.
"That's not my husband," Veronica said emotionlessly. "I saw his body. I know that it was not a doppelganger."
"Are you sure?" Chloe said softly.
"It may look like him, but Logan is dead. We need to find out what the fuck is going on," Veronica said firmly.
"Let's get to work," Oliver said as the group stood up in unison.
"Veronica Mars and Chloe Sullivan?" a male voice asked, scaring Veronica and Chloe, as they had not heard anyone come into the room, and had not been warned by Watchtower. They turned to see a tall dark haired, attractive man in a suit and a trench coat standing in the middle of Watchtower. Chloe grasped a gun from a draw in the desk in front of her, while Veronica pulled hers from the holster she was carrying on her waist. They both held the guns up facing the man, who made no indication that they had startled him, or that he feared them shooting.
"I am Castiel," the man said stiffly. "Dean asked me to assist you."
"So how can you help us Castiel?" Veronica asked bluntly.
"I am an angel of the lord. I can read your enochian symbols."
Chloe and Veronica looked at each other for a moment, both keeping their guns trained on him. The two women stood up and took a few steps to get into more convenient positions. It didn't escape Veronica's notice that the two of them worked very well together, automatically taking cues from each other's body language. It had taken her team at the FBI months to really get to that point.
"And how do we know that you are an angel, and not a demon?" Veronica asked aggressively as she reached for her cell phone with her free hand. Castiel looked at her nonplussed and looked her in the eye.
"You are right to be cautious Mrs Mars," He said calmly. "This place is not protected as it should be. However, I am not here to hurt you, I am here to aid you in your mission."
Veronica merely raised an eyebrow and flipped her phone open to choose Dean's name on the call list.
"Well, you won't mind staying exactly where you are until we confirm who you are then, will you?" Veronica replied and pressed the call button, lifting the phone to her ear.
"Winchester," Dean said gruffly into the phone.
"Dean, its Veronica. There's someone here, claiming to be your contact," she said cautiously, aware that the phones weren't in any way secure.
"Cass is there?" Dean asked. Veronica could hear the surprise in his voice. "Sam and I will be back up in a minute."
He cut the call off, and Veronica looked at her cell phone for a long moment, frustrated at the hunter.
"Dean is on his way up," she told Chloe whose gun arm didn't waver as she nodded. Castiel remained standing stiffly, unconcerned by the two blonde's weapons pointed at him.
"Samuel Winchester and Dean Winchester entering Watchtower," The artificial voice said from the speaker hidden in the ceiling of Watchtower. Sam and Dean walked into the room casually, and were both shocked to see the two blonde women holding guns pointed at Castiel. Dean couldn't help a chuckle. He knew that Veronica was a pistol, but the girl who Sammy had picked up seemed to be a firecracker as well. The two women would definitely keep all of them, Queen included, on their toes, that was certain.
"It's okay, ladies, that's definitely Cass," Dean said as he looked the angel up and down. Veronica and Chloe both lowered their weapons slowly, Veronica returning hers to its holster, while Chloe put hers back in the draw it had come from, but neither lost their suspicious facial expressions or stances. The two Winchesters both crossed the room to stand by each of the women, Sam putting his hand on Chloe's shoulder. Veronica could feel the anger emanating from the man stood beside her. The room stood in awkward silence for a few long moments before Dean suddenly burst out with speech.
"Hey Cass, how have you been? I've been fan-fucking-tastic, thanks for asking. Thanks for returning all of my calls, you're such a good friend! Oh, thanks for letting me know my brother isn't dead." Veronica could hear the anger in his voice.
"Dean," Castiel began to say, attempting to placate the angry hunter.
"No, Cass, you don't get to justify this. Where the hell did you go?"
"I was dealing with a civil war in heaven, I apologize that it took up all of my attention, but your concerns really aren't of consequence compared to angelic war!" Castiel burst out, losing his nonplussed demeanour for the first time. Veronica was shocked by the vehemence of the angel's words, and Dean seemed taken aback.
"Cass, I didn't mean..." he tailed off.
"I know you didn't mean anything Dean. It has been a trying time for all of us. What is the big problem that you have now?" Castiel said with a long suffering look. Veronica fought the urge to laugh. Clearly this angel was wishing that he had been assigned someone else up in heaven, or however it was that he ended up with the Winchester brothers.
"Cass, you make it sound like we cry wolf all the time," Sam said with a smile. "I think we call you with things which are pretty darn important."
"Yes I know, apocalypse after apocalypse that you two can't help but involve yourselves with. There are days when I wonder what would have happened if a different angel had pulled you out of hell Dean. I'm sure things would be much simpler for me."
"But you'd miss out on our company," Dean said with a roguish grin.
"Dean, don't you think we should introduce our companions?" Sam asked from his vantage point next to Chloe.
"Of course. Cass, this is Veronica Mars…" Dean began before he was interrupted by the angel.
"I know who these women are," Castiel said. "We have long monitored the actions of Chloe Sullivan and her group of heroes, in case we ever needed to intervene. And Miss Mars is infamous in certain circles."
"I'm sorry, but why?" Veronica asked a little indignantly.
"You don't court as much danger as you do Miss Mars without attracting the attention of celestial forces. And every time an angel of the lord would prepare to intervene in your life because they felt that you were a warrior of the forces of good who would be sorely missed in the future something would happen – you would get out of the situation on your own, or with a little human help. Angels became interested in how far through life you'd get with your lax attitude to personal danger without any help."
"I don't mind the sound of that actually," Veronica said thoughtfully. "Infamous for being able to get out of things."
"That you got yourself into by courting danger," Dean reminded her.
"Details," Veronica waved her hand in a dismissive motion.
"Wait, a minute, where's Queen?" Dean asked as the group sat down on the seats dotted around the main screen, all save Castiel who simply leant against a counter.
"He went to talk to some of the members of our team. We've been having some issues with Luthorcorp, and he got a call when you left about a new facility in Smallville." Chloe said, her brow furrowing slightly. She was clearly concerned about something, and Sam felt a slight pang at the thought that it could be concern for Oliver. He squashed the feeling that he had no right to have, and put his hand on her shoulder. Chloe smiled at him slightly.
"What's bothering you?" he said quietly.
"The demon which possessed Mia was found trapped in one of Lex Luthor's facilities. I don't think that that could possibly be a coincidence. I'm trying to figure out the connections between everything. At the moment it just seems so disconnected to the people who are dead." She said with a frown.
"And there we return full circle to our first problem – how to find out what is happening with these people," Veronica said calmly. The group turned towards Castiel, as if they were waiting for some kind of input from the angel. When none was forthcoming Dean sighed.
"Cass, do you know what the hell is going on?" he asked as he collapsed back into the sofa, tiredness etched into his face. It had been a long day for the hunter, and an even longer couple of weeks, coming from investigating a faux haunting in Mississippi (which turned out to be your garden variety murderer) to this case in DC and the rushed 19 hour journey to Metropolis to catch up with Sam, which he had driven nonstop the whole way.
Castiel looked troubled at Dean's question.
"I have not heard anything about this new threat, and that is worrying. I believe the angels are so troubled with their own concerns as they try to attain higher rank that they have forgotten our greatest task is to love and protect the human race. We have all been wearing blinders," he said remorsefully. "I have been no better than my brothers in this regard."
"So what you're saying is that you know jack about anything," Veronica said angrily looking towards the angel. Dean placed a hand on her arm in an attempt to calm her down, while Castiel merely looked confused.
"Who is Jack?" Castiel asked her.
"English idiom Cass, it means that you don't know anything about this," Sam said quietly. Understanding brightened Castiel's face, and he nodded sagely.
"That is true, Veronica. I have been remiss in my duties."
"Can you look at the symbols we have to determine anything?" Chloe asked. Until this point she had remained mostly silent, watching the group and trying to understand what was going on underneath the surface. Veronica's issue was very clear – she had lost her husband in the most vicious way and now there was someone walking around wearing his face. That was enough to put anyone on edge, and Chloe seriously doubted that she could have been any more composed had that been Jimmy who had just appeared on the television. But there was something indistinguishable about the two Winchesters and their interactions. Since he and Dean had come back from wherever they had gone to call Castiel, Sam had been even more reserved than before. In the few days since the exorcism he had started to open up to her, laughing a little more freely, talking without being prompted. Now it was as if he had gone back to the angry lonely man who had shouted at Jo in the roadhouse. Chloe had her suspicions that there was something far deeper between these two brothers, but was content to observe for the moment. She didn't come to be Watchtower and mother hen for a mostly male organisation without learning when was best to let them sort things out on their own, and when to resolve issues herself.
"It would do no good. Rituals like I suspect this one is do not merely exist on the skin. The symbols are carved deep into the bones, and the very soul of the individual. The only way that I would be able to discern what they represent would be to see the body in person." Castiel told Chloe calmly.
"Well then zip us the hell over to one of the bodies, and hey presto, we have a reading," Dean commented. Castiel shook his head stiffly, his face conflicted.
"There has been some... trouble in heaven, civil war notwithstanding. Someone has managed to limit our abilities to move about without being detected. Every time that I use my powers to transport myself, Raphael comes closer and closer to finding me, and you know why he feels strongly about revenging himself upon me," Castiel said, nodding to the two Winchesters. Dean let out a short laugh of remembrance.
"Why is an arch angel after you?" Chloe asked. The males in the room looked to her in surprise, and she shrugged. "I'm Catholic. Did my years of Sunday school."
"We trapped his ass in a circle of holy oil and refused to let him out until he gave us the answers that we needed," Dean said smiling nostalgically. "Good times."
"And what required you to trap an arch angel exactly?" Veronica asked with a raised eyebrow. "Didn't want to go to the effort of googleing it?"
"Lucifer," Sam stated shortly, ending that thread of conversation there. His voice brooked no arguments.
"So," Veronica said a little awkwardly. "How are we going to get Castiel to these bodies?"
"I could ask Ollie for the Queen Industries jet," Chloe volunteered. Dean shook his head fervently.
"No way in hell am I getting on a plane!"
"Scared of aeroplanes?" Veronica teased.
"Planes crash, damnit! Why does no one understand this?"
"Guess that leaves driving then," Sam interjected. Dean groaned.
"Son of a bitch. A freaking road trip with an FBI agent, a masked superhero, a socially awkward angel and my 'dead' little brother. What a freaking wonderful idea that is."
"You forgot to mention that we have to deal with cassettes of mullet rock and your winning personality," Sam added. Dean simply sank further into the couch while the others laugh.
"That's it Sammy. You can sit in the back and be squashed, Sasquatch."
Dean did follow through on his threat and made Sam sit in the back of the Impala with the two women. Oliver had arrived back to Watchtower about an hour after the team had sketched out a tentative plan, and the three men had left to replenish their supplies. He had offered them the use of a roomier car, but after a phone consultation with Dean, where he had vehemently rejected the proposal, Veronica and Chloe reluctantly let go of any hope of a comfortable ride to Washington DC. Veronica had commented that he seemed abnormally attached to his car, to which Dean had only replied "My baby has seen me through some tough shit, k Mars?" Veronica had left it there, and resigned herself to a long journey sat in the back with Chloe and Sam.
"Come on Dean! Let me sit up in the front already. You've proved your point okay?" Sam grumbled as they stopped to get gas and something to eat on their way to DC. Dean had decided when they set out that they would drive straight there, all 19 hours of the journey, and had stipulated that Sam would be able to drive his car for a four hour stint in the middle of the journey, when he would sleep. At this point they were two hours into the journey. For some reason Dean had decided that Castiel needed far more leg room that his brother did, and as a consequence had moved the front passenger seat back as far as it would go. Sam had demanded and pleaded with Cass for the first hour of the journey, but the angel either feigned deafness, or had blocked them all out completely, so Sam had fallen silent. Chloe and Veronica immersed themselves in research and tried to ignore the grumpy interaction between the two brothers. When Sam had asked Dean to turn the music down, Dean merely turned it up. If Sam wanted a window opened Dean demanded it be closed so he could concentrate on driving. It had got to the point where Chloe had demanded a rest break immediately, her tone of voice broking no dissent.
"That is it!" Chloe hissed as she shuffled across the back seat to leave through Veronica's side door. Everyone else had left the car and were scattered around it, Cass leaning awkwardly on one side of the hood, while Veronica perched on the other, waiting for the fireworks. "I've had enough of this bitching and moaning. Come over here now!"
The two Winchesters were startled by Chloe's frustration and automatically did what she demanded. She took hold of one ear of each brother and pulled them down violently to her level. Castiel looked on with mild interest, whilst Veronica smiled. The two of them had gotten on her last nerve.
"Now listen up. Both Veronica and I are fed up of your juvenile attitude and are not going to deal with it anymore." Chloe said in a very calm, quiet, deadly kind of voice, which affected the brothers more than any shouting would have done. "I don't care what kind of messed up crap you two have going on. We all have to deal with each other, and so you will deal with your issues, or you will be civil. Sam, stop with the moaning. Dean let Sam sit in the front, and do not go out of your way to annoy him, or so help me I will make it so you can't pee without needing professional help! Understood?"
The two men nodded, and Chloe released their ears, patting them both on the side of the face in turn. She walked silently over to Veronica, who nodded her thanks, and the two women walked into the rest stop to get some food. The Winchesters stood looking at each other dumbfounded for a few moments. Then Dean chuckled.
"Damn, Sammy, you found yourself a fire cracker there!" Dean chortled.
"Shut up Dean!" Sam blushed. Dean was surprised by the vehemence of his brother's reaction.
"Shit, Sammy, what is going on with the two of you then?"
"I helped her save her friend, and now she's helping us. That's it! Besides, she and Queen have a thing going on." Sam said firmly, and then started to stride towards the door. Dean chuckled a little more as he pulled his jacket on and followed his brother inside.
"Whatever you say little bro." Dean whistled, and motioned for Cass to come with them all.
"Are we going to book into a hotel when we get into the city?" Chloe asked, rubbing her eyes as they continued to drive. Sam had just finished his stint of driving, driving for six hours instead of four because Dean had slept on and no one wanted to interrupt him when he had to drive for six more hours once he awoke. Of course, the fuss he caused when he eventually had woken up on his own terms and seen the time had woken the two girls, who had somehow ended up falling asleep on Castiel, while the angel sat awkwardly in the middle seat. Veronica had not been best pleased to say the least. A lot of cursing about Dean and his lack of consideration had ensued, shocking both Winchester brothers with the complexity and vehemence of her tirade.
"Me and Dean usually stay in motels, but that would be awkward trying to arrange rooms and keep everything we needed to do the research in one place." Sam said, twisting slightly in his seat, his face showing clearly that he hadn't considered anything like this before.
"I would offer you all the wonderful accommodation at my house, but unfortunately we don't know if fake Logan will be home," Veronica said with a wry grin, finally calm again. Before she had gone to sleep she had been contemplating the emergence of Logan's doppelganger, and had come to the conclusion that while the person may wear his face, it was not her husband. She would be strong, and would not break down. She would have plenty of time for her grief when Logan's killer was long gone. He would not want her to be any other way.
The two of them lay side by side in bed, a light bed sheet covering up to their chests. It was late into their last year of Hearst, and Veronica had just finished dealing with a very messy case involving a missing husband, who was threatening his wife if she didn't give him her inheritance, and agree to a divorce, with all their joint assets going to him. The wife had hired Veronica to find where her husband was, and to prove infidelity, and a violation of their prenup. Since her dad had become sheriff again, due to Vinnie Van Lowe's terrible performance in office (He was arrested by his own officers for taking bribes from anyone rich enough to pay for convictions to go away) Veronica had been handling the Mars Investigations workload as well as doing her college course. While her father hadn't completely approved of Veronica working any case that fell into her lap, so to speak, he recognised that he could hardly force her not to, and instead asked that she kept him up to date on any and all cases. In this particular case the missing husband had noticed that Veronica was more than just the maid service, and had held her at gunpoint while he demanded the inheritance money. Keith had been able to calm the man long enough for him to let go, and arrested him. It had sent Veronica running to Logan, once more, and they fell back into the very old pattern they had established long ago.
Logan brushed Veronica's hair from her face, his face serious.
"When I saw the news my heart almost stopped. I don't know what I'd do without you Veronica Mars," he whispered, his voice heavy with emotion.
"I don't know what I'd do without you either Logan," Veronica whispered after a long moment of silence.
"You'd be strong, and wouldn't stop until you got the bastard that killed me, Veronica. You'd keep going, because you are a survivor," he said seriously, shifting his weight onto his one arm, as he looked down on her.
"Logan..." Veronica started. She looked at him for a moment, then summoned all of her courage. "I love you. I know that I'm not good with emotions, and I know I don't tell you enough, but I love you, and I need you in my life."
"I love you, too, Veronica. I need you, too," He said as he leant down to kiss her.
"Veronica?" Chloe's voice broke Veronica out of her haze of remembrance. The car was idling at traffic lights, and everyone in it was looking back at her, concerned.
"Huh? What?" Veronica asked, confused.
"Chloe said that Queen is going to get us a suite at a hotel, so that we can all be in the same place," Dean interjected.
"Okay. Which Hotel?"