Disclaimer- I don't own anything recognizable. Darn.
A/N- Hey. I'll keep it short today. This chappie kinda has child abuse in it. But real short. Uh, well, this chapter will be super long, I promise. I hope it doesn't disappoint. Thanks for the reviews. Oh, and I've changed the rating, just to be safe.
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The team did their usual brainstorming about the case, figuring out the precedent of kidnappers / murderers / sadists.
After a bit of random facts from Reid, Gideon's wisdom, and Elle's questions, the team grew silent.
Reid and Gideon were engaged in a difficult chess match, Morgan was asleep with files spread about him, and Elle and Hotch were talking quietly. JJ had stayed behind, since in Bella Springs, everyone knew everyone and everything that was going on, there was no need for major news coverage, so no insane media jerks. No one really paid attention to Gerard, so he moved to the back of the plane. He closed his eyes, and was soon asleep.
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DREAM/FLASHBACK THINGY
"Gerard! Get back here! Now!" Amanda, Gerard's mother, yelled.
The fifteen year-old stopped, swearing silently at his luck. He had almost made it out.
'No use defying a drunken woman that could destroy you,' he thought, making his way up the sidewalk.
She grabbed his skinny arm, and dragged him into their trashy house.
"Mom, I have to go to school," Gerard protested.
She slapped him across the cheek.
He raised a hand to his stinging cheek. Tears stung his eyes, but he batted them away.
His late father's gruff voice ran through his head. "Men don't cry, son. Remember that."
And remember it he did. That's why he didn't cry when his father was found, dead.
His thoughts were broken by Amanda's slurred screams. She was cursing his birth. Gerard's half grin made her stop.
"What the ---- are you laughin' 'bout?" she yelled.
"What?" Gerard said. "Oh. I just agree with you. Too bad you did that thing with dad. You knew him for what? Three hours? And then you got married. Too bad. He might still be alive if it weren't for your fun 'n games."
Amanda's anger rose to a murderous level.
"What did you JUST SAY?" she screamed.
He stared at the ground, cursing his ability to make things twenty times worse.
She pushed with enough force to make him go backwards, hitting his head on the door. Gasping in pain, he slid his fingers through his thick black hair, feeling the thick, warm liquid running from the wound, not really surprised to find it there.
Amanda unleashed a flurry of anger on her only son, beating him into a bloody mess. Unfortunately for Gerard, his body had a high tolerance level, gained by this for five years. So, he didn't pass out. He felt it all, and he felt it hard. He didn't fight back, being only 5"6' and 112 lbs. He was rather small.
Amanda, though, had been employed for years in the army, then as a fitness trainer. She was muscular. She was tall. She was angry.
Gerard curled into the fetal position until she got bored. He waited until he heard the door to her bedroom slam shut, and then dragged himself to his room. It was a wonder he got the grades he got, especially since this was how much of his school days were spent.
Gently pulling himself into bed, he finally blacked out.
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Gerard woke with a start. He wondered what had triggered that memory; he had tried to bury it.
He ran his thin fingers over his face, wincing as he touched the still-fresh bruise.
Looking around, he saw that everyone was still asleep.
Deciding to freshen up, he went to the bathroom, and did just that. Freshen up.
Happily, he went back to his seat and took out his black bag with "AS I LAY DYING" written across it.
Gerard took out his Nintendo DS, and started to play. He really wanted to defeat 'Mario Kart'.
After awhile, he dejectedly put the game away. He replaced it with a copy of The Lord of the Rings. Sure, it was the eighteenth time he read it, but he could care less.
You see, Gerard's short attention span only had a few things that could captivate it, and The Lord of the Rings was one of them.
Soon, everyone began to wake up. Shortly after, the plane landed.
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The team had expected an immense crowd of media people, but was surprised to see only the local Sheriff there.
The middle-aged man looked worried and agitated at the same time, never having dealt with murder before.
You see, Bella Springs was a small town, much like Suburbia from Edward Scissorhands. It usually didn't have violence, just petty drama. Everyone was happy there, with the children shielded from drugs, sex, and violence. It was the first time a murder had occurred in over 60 years, so everyone was in a panic.
The Sheriff held out his hand, and said, "My name's William Jackson, the county Sheriff. Thanks for coming. I'm not sure what to do."
Hotch grasped Jackson's hand, and said, "I'm Agent Aaron Hotchner, and these are Special Agents Gideon, Greenaway, Morgan, Shadows, and Dr. Reid. We're happy to help."
Nodding, Jackson said, "Follow me. We should get started. Now, I'm sorry, but I've never dealt with murder before, let alone a serial killer." Hotch shrugged it off, not really believing the man.
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Upon entering the police station, Gerard marveled at the smallness of the space, like it was unimportant to have police headquarters.
Out loud, he asked, "Where are all your officers? Out on patrol?"
Jackson turned and, seeing Gerard, raised an eyebrow. He didn't answer.
"Excuse me? Can you answer me?" Gerard persisted.
Jackson said coldly, "And how old are you?"
A look crossed Gerard's face, and fearing that he would punch the Sheriff, Hotch stepped in and said, "Can you just answer the question?"
Jackson crossed his arms over his chest and said, "Those five officers are all we got."
"You've got to be kidding me!" Elle exclaimed.
"As I said before, we've never dealt with this before," Jackson said defensively.
Morgan let out a puff of air, and shook his head. This was pathetic.
Gideon decided that it was time to end this.
"Let's get to work," he suggested, with Reid nodding his agreement.
After a lot of brainstorming (and pointless arguments with the ever stubborn Jackson), Gerard suggested, "Instead of wasting our time with a profile, why don't we just send someone over to the college and have someone watch them. That way, when the kidnapper dude tries to kidnap the kid, someone will be there to nab him. I mean, how many kids can there be in this small town with all those similarities?"
Hotch knitted his brow, and, after a few seconds, said, "Yes, that is a good idea."
Elle asked, "But who's going to watch the kids? Someone that blends in, right?"
Everyone turned and stared straight at Reid and Gerard, who were sitting next to each other.
Morgan said, "I'll call Garcia and get a list of all the possible victims."
Hotch nodded, and Morgan stepped into the hallway.
"Miss Garcia, keeper of all awesome knowledge. How may I grant you happiness with my super unbelievable awesomeness?"
Morgan laughed, and said, "Hey, I need a list of all the 25 year-old white males born in October that go to Bella Springs University of Medicine."
"Wow, sugar, that is one precise list." She paused, and Morgan could hear the mad typing in the background.
"Well," she said, "this is a really small college. Only like 2,000 students go there. So, there are only three students that match that description. Chris Browning, Brendan Weir, and Forrest Bell."
"Thanks, Garcia."
Morgan hung up and re-entered the room.
"Only three possible vics. Chris Browning, Brendan Weir, and Forrest Bell," he informed them.
Hotch turned to their two youngest members and said, "You two are going back to college."
Reid's eyes went wide, and he immediately protested, "What? No, I can't. I mean, Gerard's a new agent and… I just can't."
"Reid, this is a good chance for both of you to prove yourselves," Gideon said.
"But-."
"Speak for yourself, man. This is an awesome chance. I loved college. We can just take the dude down, and you guys can like have back-up waiting or something," Gerard interrupted.
Everyone nodded their agreement, except for Reid, of course. He still looked freaked out.
As Hotch contacted the school's Dean, Michelle Agora, to inform her of the situation, Gerard, Reid, Elle, Gideon, and Morgan stayed in the room, just sitting there quietly.
Gideon ordered Morgan to make them less official looking, and Morgan didn't move.
"Well, we've got a gothic teenager, and a nerdy genius. I'm not sure if I can make you guys less official."
"Actually, I'm considered to be 'emo'. But I'm not supposed to have to tell you. It's supposed to be recognizable, but you're not the kind of person I'd expect to know that."
Morgan scowled, and said, "Now you're reciting things no one cares about? Who are you? Reid?"
Noticing Reid's embarrassment, Gerard shot back, "That's a compliment. You're just jealous 'cause you'll never live up to his genius, and yet you're older."
Morgan slowly stood up, and growled, "Say that again."
Gerard stepped forward, and opened his mouth to repeat what he just said.
But then, Elle stood up and pushed Morgan back into his seat.
"So," she said, changing the subject, "are you guys gonna take on an alternate personality? That'll keep things interesting."
Reid shrugged, and Gerard's lips stretched into a devilish grin.
"Well," he said, his excitement growing like a small child's, "when I was in college, I played in a band. We were a Metallica cover band. I was lead vocals and guitarist. We rocked. Well, at least, I did. We didn't really have any of our own songs, and…wait a sec, that was like three years ago. Why am I so hyped up?"
Everyone (except Morgan), laughed at the thoughtful, yet confused look on his face.
"You know, I almost quit college for that band?" Gerard said.
"Nooo!" Morgan said, in mock amazement.
Gerard shot Morgan the scariest death-glare any agent in the room had ever seen. Ever.
He was soon broken out of his evilness by him saying randomly, "Dude, I'm thirsty."
Then, in a perfect Arnold Schwarzenegger imitation, he said, "I'll be back."
Gerard wandered out of the room.
Everyone stared after him, and then burst into laughter. Except for Morgan.
After it died down, Gideon turned to Reid and said, "About your assignment. We want you to befriend those kids. You know, you can be kind of intimidating with your intelligence, so try not to bring up random obscure facts. Remember, you are just a normal college student. Okay?"
Reid nodded, the asked, "Are we going to let the boys know that were are FBI agents?"
Gideon thought a moment, and then replied, "No, let's let them think you're just their fellow roommates and students."
Gerard walked in time to here Gideon answer Spencer.
He said slowly, "Do we have to take classes?"
Hotch walked in and said, "Well, how can you blend in at a college and not take classes? And besides, it never hurts to learn something new."
Simultaneously, the young agents exclaimed, "What?"
To say that they were horrified would be an understatement.
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A/N- Ooo, tensions rising! What will happen next? Tune in next time to find out! Ha, just kidding. I hope you liked. Please review, and then tell your friends to read and review. PLEASE! I BEGGETH OF THOU! (Once again, it gets better than this.)
Random Fact- I'm still hopelessly addicted to HIM. Gerard Way, whom I've named this Gerard after, is unbelievably fine. WOOHOO! GO MCR! AND HELLOGOODBYE! Sorry. Review. You know the drill.