Motorcycles in the parking lot
Revving their engines and it just won't stop
Now there's a voice screaming in my head
Houston, I think we've got a problem
Where does everybody go when they go?
They go so fast, I don't think they know
We hate so fast and we love too slow
London, I think we've got a problem
And when I think about it, I just can't think about it
I try to drink about it
I keep spinning
…..
Broken hearts all around the spot
I can't help thinking that we lost the plot
Suicide bomber and a student shot
Tokyo, I think we got a problem
But for that they have gotta pill
If that don't kill you, then the side-effects will
If we don't kill each other then the side-effects will
Cape Town, I think we got a problem
….
If the darkest hour comes before the light
Where is the light?
Where is the light?
Where is the light?
Ave Mary A
Where did you go?
Where did you go?
How did you know to get out of a world gone mad?
Help me, help me let go
Of the chaos around me, the devil that hounds me
I need you to tell me
Child be still
P!nk – Ave Mary A
Inside the coroner's office of the small town Alliance, Nebraska, Sam, Dean and I stood around, waiting for the doctor to come out. Things had been pretty good between the three of us since Ohio, definitely not as strained as it once had been.
Dean addressed the doctor as he walked towards us. "Agents Page, Plant and Bonham, FBI."
"What brings you by?"
"We need to see Amber Freer's body." Sam said.
"Really? What for?"
"The police report said something clawed through her skull?" Dean asked.
"You didn't read the autopsy report that I emailed out this morning?"
"We- we have server issues." I said. The doctor shrugged, leading us to the autopsy room, opening one of the small doors, sliding out Amber's body on the metal slab, tossing the sheet back away from her head, revealing the scratches that went straight into her brain.
"When they brought her in, we thought she was attacked by a wolf or something."
"Or something." Dean mumbled.
"But we were wrong." The doctor said, showing us a plastic bag, a small, shiny red object inside it.
"Is that a press-on nail?" I asked.
"Sure is. We found it in her temporal lobe."
"Wait, are you- are you saying that she did this to herself?" Dean asked.
"Uh-huh." The doctor nodded. "She scratched her brains out. It'd take hours, and it'd hurt like hell, but sure, it's possible."
"How?"
"Pick your acronym. OCD, PCP. It all spells crazy." He muttered. I grimaced at the man, pulling the sheet back a bit more, revealing her right hand with four press-on nails still in tact, the middle finger missing one. "My guess, some kind of phantom itch. I mean, an extreme case, but..."
"Phantom itch?" Sam asked incredulously. The doctor nodded, covering Amber back up before sliding the slab back in, shutting the door.
HOUSE – DAY
Amber babysat for one of the families in town, and this is where she killed herself. Sam sat in the living room, speaking to the Francine and Jim while Dean lingered behind, looking stuff over. I looked down one of the hallways, coming back just as Sam began questioning the parents.
"Okay, now, some of these questions might seem a bit odd, but please just bear with me." Sam said. "Have you noticed any cold spots in the house?"
"No." The man replied.
"Okay. What about strange smells?"
Peering around the corner into the kitchen, I saw a young boy standing there. "Whatcha lookin' for?"
"Don't know yet." I said, walking up to him. "You're Jimmy right?"
"Yeah."
"Amber was your babysitter?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Yeah." I sighed. "Most of my babysitters sucked."
"Yeah?"
"Yup. Hey, did you see anything weird that night?"
"No, ma'am." He muttered.
"Are you sure?"
"I would tell you if I knew something. I promise. One hundred percent. Cross my heart."
"Jimmy, I know you're lying."
"No-"
"Listen, you shouldn't lie to the FBI. It's against the law. You know that, right?" I asked, looking into his eyes, raising an eyebrow.
Jimmy swallowed hard. "Y- yeah."
"Good. So tell me the truth."
As the three of us left the house, I held up the packet of itching powder that Jimmy had given me, only feeling a little bad about scaring him into telling me. It had to be done.
"So he put it on the babysitter's hairbrush." Dean muttered.
"Yup." I nodded.
"But there's no way itching powder made that girl scratch her brains out." Sam said. "It's just ground-up maple seeds."
"Well, it's got something to do with it."
"Are we not gonna talk about the fact that you threatened a kid?" Dean asked as we reached the Impala. Sam's eyes widened and he looked over at me in question.
"I didn't threaten him. I just told him it was against the law to lie to the FBI. I can't help that it scared him." I shrugged, shooting the boys a small smile as I slid into the backseat of the Impala.
HOSPITAL – DAY
Only a few seconds after pulling away from the house, Sam got a call about another death and we headed off to the hospital where an EMT was zipping a body bag shut before he and another man wheeled the body out on a stretcher. The doctor stood in the corridor, watching from afar.
"What happened?" Sam asked the man as we approached.
"Guy got electrocuted." He replied.
"Any idea how?" Dean asked.
"Maybe a loose wire or a piece of equipment shorted out. So far, we haven't found anything."
"Any witnesses?" I inquired.
"Yeah, that guy in there, Mr. Stanley." He nodded to an old man sitting on a chair in the next room over, staring out the window he was in front of. "He says he saw it, but he's not making a lick of sense. Senile."
"Thanks." Sam muttered before we made our way over to the man. "Mr. Stanley?"
"It was just a joke. I didn't know it would really work." The old man murmured, glancing back at us.
"What would work?" Dean asked.
"All I did was shake his hand." Mr. Stanley said, showing us his hand, revealing that he was holding a joy buzzer.
MOTEL ROOM – DAY
Back at the motel, we all stood around the table, looking down at the raw ham placed in two aluminum-foil pans. Dean slipped on a pair of goggles and a pair of gloves, picking up the joy buzzer carefully, glancing up at Sam and I.
"You guys ready?"
I nodded, placing the goggles on while Sam held his up to his eyes. "Hit it, Mr. Wizard."
Dean flipped the dark plastic visor on his goggles down, holding the buzzer over the ham, pressing it down. The sound of eletricity crackling filled the room as steam rose from the ham and it changed color right before our eyes.
Once the top of it turned black, Dean removed the buzzer, flipping up his goggles. "That'll do, pig."
"What in the hell?" I asked, gawking at the now fully-cooked ham.
"That crap isn't supposed to work." Sam mumbled in astonishment.
"This thing doesn't even have batteries." Dean said, gesturing to the buzzer that he'd placed back down before taking his gloves off.
"So what? Are- are we looking at cursed objects?"
"Sounds good. Maybe there's a powerful witch in town." Dean muttered, taking a large knife, cutting a chuck of ham off.
"Should you really be eating that?" I asked just before he put it in his mouth.
"Why not?"
"I don't know, maybe because it was made with a possibly cursed object?"
Dean shrugged, shoving the ham in his mouth. "Is there any link between the, uh, the joy buzzer and the itching powder?"
"One was made in China, the other Mexico, but they were both bought from the same store." Sam told us.
CONJURARIUM – DAY
The door chimed above us as we entered the magic shop, Dean immediately went over to a shelf of whoopee cushions, holding them up with a grin. I smiled at him, shaking my head as Sam went over to the check-out counter.
A man stepped out of the back room, a smile on his face. "Welcome to the Conjurarium, sanctum of magic and mystery."
"You the owner?" Sam asked as I walked over to him.
"Yup."
"You sold any itching powder or joy buzzers lately?" Dean asked, coming up beside me, the whoopee cushion still in his hand.
"Yeah, a grand total of one of each. They aren't exactly big-ticket items. Look, you kids here to buy something or what?" The owner asked, raising an eyebrow. Dean pulled some cash out of his wallet, holding up the whoopee cushion as he handed the money over.
"Do you get a lot of customers?" I asked.
"Kids come in. They don't buy much, but they're more than happy to break stuff. These days, all they care about are their iPhones and those kissing-vampire movies. The whole thing makes me just-"
"Angry?" Dean finished in question.
The man pondered that for a moment, nodding. "Yeah. Yeah, I am angry. This shop has been my life for twenty years, and now it's wasting away to nothing."
"Which is why you hate them."
"I suppose."
"You wish there was something you could do about it."
"Yeah, I guess I do."
"So you're taking revenge." Dean said, pulling a rubber chicken off one of the displays, slapping it down on the counter. "With this."
"What?" He asked. Dean held up the joy buzzer, pressing it to the rubber chicken. Electricity crackles and the bird fried and melted. The owner left back, yelping, beginning to make inarticulate noises.
"Something tells me this guy is not a powerful witch." Sam muttered.
"Sorry, sir." I mumbled, shooting him an apologetic smile as the three of us left quickly.
HOSPITAL – DAY
The next morning, we got another call from the doctor, who said that there was a man who had all of his teeth pulled out under suspicious circumstances. As Sam and I were finishing up our conversation with him, I heard Dean in the hallway, his flirting tone in full effect.
"Well, I appreciate that nurse Fremont."
"Please, call me Jen." She giggled, a smile in her voice.
"Oh. Jen it is."
I excused myself, breaking away from Sam to go stand behind Dean. He watched the nurse as she walked away, very obviously staring at her butt. I tapped him on the shoulder, startling him.
Dean spun around, his eyes wide. "Oh, h- hey baby."
"Hey, baby." I murmured condescendingly.
"I was just- I didn't- I wasn't serious."
"I know, she's way out of your league." I said.
Dean narrowed his eyes at me as Sam came out to meet us. "Hey."
"What's up with Toothless?" Dean asked. "Cavity creeps get a hold of him?"
"Yeah. Close. He wrote up a description." Sam said, holding up his notepad. "Five foot ten, three hundred fifty pounds, wings, and a pink tutu. Said it was the tooth fairy."
"So he's obviously whacked out on painkillers."
"Maybe. Whatever it was got past locked door and windows without triggering the alarm." I said.
"Come on, tooth fairy?"
"And it left thirty-two quarters underneath his pillow." Sam added. "One for each tooth."
"Well, I will see your crazy and raise you some. There's a couple of kids upstairs with stomach ulcers—say they got it from mixing Pop Rocks and Coke." Dean said, looking to me. "That's why I was talking to Jen- I mean, nurse Fremont."
"Uh-huh." I mumbled.
"Also, another guy, his face...froze that way."
"What way?" Sam asked.
Dean pulled out the sides of his mouth, crossing his eyes, holding it for a moment before letting go. I grimaced. "Oh god, no."
"He, uh, held it too long, and it- it stuck. They're flying in a plastic surgeon."
"So, I mean, if you add all that up..." Sam paused, looking between Dean and I. "I got nothing."
"I thought sea-monkeys were real." Dean said suddenly. I glanced up at him, furrowing my brow.
"They are. They're brine shrimp."
"No, I mean like in the ads. You know, like the sea-monkey wife cooks the pot roast for the sea-monkey husband, and the sea-monkey kids play with the dog in a sea-monkey castle – real. I mean, I was six, but I believed it."
"What's your point, Dean?" I asked.
"Maybe that's the connection. The tooth fairy, the Pop Rocks and Coke, the joy buzzer that shocks you – they're all lies that kids believe."
"And now they're coming true."
"Okay, so whatever's doing this is reshaping reality. It has the powers of a god." Sam rolled his eyes. "Or of a trickster."
"Yeah, with the sense of humor of a nine-year-old." Dean nodded.
"Or you." I commented.
MOTEL – DAY
Since Sam was gone, it didn't take too long before Dean and I were on the bed, making out. I straddled his lap, our bodies flush against each other. I could feel him getting more and more aroused by the second, rubbing myself on him. Dean moaned into my mouth, grabbing a handful of my hair, holding my lips to his. I smiled into the kiss before pulling back, keeping my hands resting on Dean's chest as he stared up at me, running his hands up my sides, cupping my breasts.
"Come on, take this off." Dean muttered, beginning to lift up my shirt.
"No, baby."
"Oh, don't play hard to get."
"I'm not playing hard to get. Shark week." I said with a sigh.
Dean's face fell immediately, his hands dropping down to my thighs. "Dammit."
"Hey, it's gotta happen sometime."
"Well, we can still do it."
"Ew, Dean no." I shook my head, moving off of him.
"We can still do something."
I laughed, standing up. "Like what?"
"I think you know what." Dean muttered suggestively.
"And what do I get out of that?"
"Uh..."
"You remember that one time that we actually went a whole week without having sex?"
"...no."
"Dean."
"Yeah, I remember." Dean mumbled, rolling his eyes.
"And remember how amazing it was when we finally did?" I asked, dragging a finger up his stomach.
"Oh, yeah."
"Let's do that again." I smiled, bending down to place a kiss on his lips.
"But-"
"I'm gonna go take a shower."
"But- but Tori, what am I supposed to do about this?" Dean asked, gesturing to the bulge in his pants that I was trying to ignore. I had to admit, it was hard for me to walk away from that.
"You're not supposed to do anything. That's the point."
"Did you do all this on purpose?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Are you asking me if I purposely gave you a raging boner just to tell you that we couldn't have sex, so that you would be laying there sexually frustrated while I went to go take a wet, hot, soapy shower all because you were flirting with a hot nurse?" I asked innocently. "Now, how could I ever do that?"
Dean grinned at the hot soapy shower part, his smirk fading when he realized what I said after that. "Wait, what?"
I smiled at him, shrugging. "What?"
"You're so mean to me."
"You deserve it." I said. Dean nodded, not disagreeing. "Hey, it'll be worth it, anyway. Just think, a week of nothing followed by a night of everything."
"Everything?" Dean asked, sold on the idea right away.
"Everything."
Once I was dressed, I headed back out, finding Dean sitting at the table, eating a sandwich. Sam entered, a map in his hand.
"Dude, seriously, still with the ham?" He asked.
"We don't have a fridge." Dean said around a mouthful of food. I smiled, walking up beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder as Sam spread a the map down on the table.
"Well, I found something." Sam said, beginning to point to the corresponding x's on the map. "The tooth fairy attack was here, Pop Rocks and Coke was here, then you've got itching powder, face freeze, and joy buzzer. All located within a two-mile radius."
"So, we got a blast zone of weird, and inside, fantasy becomes reality."
"Looks like."
"And what's the A-bomb at its center?"
"Four acres of farmland...and a house."
"Our motel isn't in that circle, by any chance?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Well..." Dean hesitated a moment before raising his palm, which was now covered in hair.
"Ugh, dude!" Sam exclaimed, looking away.
My eyes widened as I looked up at his sheepish expression. "Dean! You weren't supposed to do that!"
"I know. I couldn't help myself. You really got me going." Dean shrugged. I shook my head.
"You know you can go blind from that, too, right?"
"Just give me five minutes and we can go check out that house." Dean said, making his way to the bathroom. He was only in there for a moment before peering back out, looking at me. "Hey, where's your razor?"
"Use yours, you pig." I rolled my eyes at him as he smirked, shutting the door.
FARMHOUSE – DAY
The Impala pulled up across the street from the large farmhouse, the three of us got out, cross the street as a mail truck drove past. I felt my stomach turn as we approached the home, and glanced up at Dean, who checked Ruby's knife, which was tucked into his belt.
Sam was about to bend down to pick the lock when the door swung open, a boy standing there. A strange feeling filled me as he stared up at us. "Can I help you?"
"Hi." Sam smiled. "What's your name?"
"Who wants to know?"
"The FBI." Dean said, flashing his badge.
"Let me see that." The boy said, taking his badge, looking it over before handing it back. "So, what, you guys don't knock?"
"Are your parents home?" I asked.
"They work."
"Well, you mind if we ask you a few questions and maybe take a look around the house?" Sam asked.
"I don't know."
"Come on. You can trust us. We're the authorities." Dean said, he and Sam trying to smile reassuringly.
"It'll only take a few minutes, I promise." I said, smiling down at him.
The boy looked up at me, staring into my eyes for a moment before nodding, moving aside so we could enter the home. We followed as he made his way into the kitchen, turning off the stove where a small pot sat.
"What's that?" Sam asked.
"It's called soup." The boy muttered sarcastically, pulling the pot off the stove. "You heat it up and you eat it."
"Right." Sam chuckled and I smiled at the boy. "I- I know. It's just, uh, I used to make my own dinner, too, when I was a kid."
"Well, I'm not a kid."
"Right. No. I- I know. I'm Robert, by the way."
"Jesse."
"Jesse, nice to meet you."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dean pluck a drawn picture of a large man in a pink tu-tu off the refrigerator, bringing it over. "Did you draw this?"
Jesse nodded. "It's the tooth fairy."
"That's what you think the tooth fairy looks like, huh?"
"Yeah. My dad told me about him."
"Huh."
"What, didn't your dad tell you about the tooth fairy?"
"My dad?" Dean laughed lightly. "My dad told me different stories."
"Well, the tooth fairy isn't a story."
"He's not?" I asked, getting a very weird feeling from this boy.
"No."
"What do you know about itching powder, Jesse?"
"That stuff will make you scratch your brains out."
"Pop Rocks and Coke?" Dean asked.
"You mix them, and you'll end up in the hospital. Everyone knows that." Jesse said. I nodded, holding up the joy buzzer. "You shouldn't have that."
"Why not?" I asked, something inside telling me I was right about my hunch.
"It can electrocute you."
"Actually, it can't. It's just a toy, it's totally harmless. It doesn't even have batteries."
"So it can't shock you?"
"No. Not at all. I swear."
"Oh."
"Do you believe me?"
"Yeah." Jesse nodded, sincerity in his eyes.
"Good. Because all it just is just shake in your hand." I said, pressing it to my other palm. Both Sam and Dean flinched, relaxing when it only buzzed. "See?"
"Are you crazy?" Dean asked as we exited the boys house.
"I had a feeling." I shrugged. "I went with it."
"You risked toasting your ass on a feeling?"
"Hey, I was right, wasn't I?"
"Don't ever do that again." Dean said, a serious look in his eyes.
"Okay, okay." I nodded, silently telling him to relax. "At least now we know who's turning this town into Willy Wonka's worst nightmare."
"The kid." Sam nodded.
"Everything Jesse believes comes true."
"He probably doesn't even know he's doing it." Dean added.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the curtains move through an upstairs window where Jessie was looking down at us.
RUNDOWN HOUSE – DAY
After doing some more research on Jesse, we saw that he was actually adopted. His records were sealed, but we unsealed them and found no father listed, but the name of his mother, Julia Wright, who lived in Elk Creek.
A sign reading no trespassing hung on the gate of a rusty overgrown fence. Dean pushed it open, stepping through first. I followed along, Sam right behind me as we made our way up to the door of the large, rundown house.
Dean rang the doorbell, a few moments passing because the muffled sound of a woman's voice came through the door. "Whatever you're selling, I'm not interested."
"Ma'am, we're agents Bonham, Page and Plant, FBI." I told her, pulling my badge out, holding it up to the peephole.
"Put your badge in the slot. All of you."
The three of us obeyed, placing our badges through the slot, hearing the locks turning. Julia opened the door, looking up at us with tired eyes, handing the badges back. "What do you want?"
"We just had a few questions. About your son." Sam said.
"I don't have a son."
"He was born March twenty-ninth, nineteen ninety-eight, in Omaha. You put him up for adoption?"
Julia glanced up, expressionless. "...what about him?"
"We were just wondering, um, was it- was it a normal pregnancy?"
"Was there anything strange?" Dean added.
"Stay away from me!" Julia shouted, trying to shut the door.
Dean caught it before she could, and we followed her inside until she moved into her kitchen, shutting the door, trying to keep it closed even though both Sam and Dean were pushing on it. Eventually, she let the door open, backing up to the counters. As we entered, she grabbed a canister of salt, throwing the contents at us.
When nothing happened, Julia stared, her eyes wide. "You're not demons?"
"How do you know about demons?" I asked, seeing her begin to retreat into herself again. "You can tell us. Please."
"I was- I was possessed. A demon took control of my body, and I hurt people. I killed people."
"That wasn't you, Julia."
"But I was there. I heard a woman beg for mercy. I...felt a young girl's blood drip down my hands." she murmured. I glanced down, understanding.
"That's how you knew about the salt." Dean said.
"Yeah, I picked up tricks. It was in my head for months."
"How many months?"
"Nine."
"So your son..." Sam trailed off.
"Yeah, the whole time." She nodded, the pain clear in her eyes. "The pregnancy, birth- all of it. I was possessed. The night the baby was born, I was alone. And the pain was- the pain was overwhelming. I- I screamed, and it came out a laugh, because the demon was happy. It used my body to give birth to a child. When it was over, something changed. Maybe the- the demon was tired or if the pain helped me fight it, but...somehow, I took control.
"And the demon wailed inside me. It pounded against my skull. I thought my head was gonna explode. But I knew. I knew what I had to do. I took salt and poured it down my throat. And when I was alone with the baby... a part of me- part of me wanted to kill it." Julia continued, tears in her eyes. "But, God help me, I couldn't do that. So, I put it up for adoption, and I ran."
"Who was the father?" Dean asked.
"I was a virgin." She murmured. I shared a look with the boys, understanding more now that this was very bad news. "Have you seen my son? Is he human?"
"His name's Jesse. He lives in Alliance. He's a good kid."
MOTEL – NIGHT
The drive back to our motel was filled with silence. I could barely wrap my head around what Julia had told us, but we knew we couldn't do this alone. We needed help. And there was only one person I could think of to do that right now.
As we approached the room, the ringing in my ears got louder and I knew exactly who I was going to see on the other side of the door once I'd opened it, smiling at the angel. "Hey, Cas."
"Hello, Victoria."
"I take it you got our message." Sam said, sitting down as Dean shut the door.
"It's lucky you found the boy."
"Oh, yeah, real lucky. What do we do with him?" Dean asked.
"Kill him." Cas said simply, catching us all off guard.
"Wh- what?" I asked, the boys and I sunned. "Cas-"
"This child is half demon and half human, but it's far more powerful than either. Other cultures call this hybrid cambion or katako. You know him as the antichrist." Cas said, sitting down at the table. A loud fart noise sounded as he settled into the chair, furrowed his brow in confusion. "That wasn't me."
Cas reached underneath himself, pulling out the whoopee cushion Dean had bought earlier. Dean let out a low, slightly embarrassed chuckle, taking it from him. "Who put that there?"
"Anyway." Sam mumbled. "I don't get it. Jesse is the devil's son?"
"No, of course not. Your Bible gets more wrong than it does right. The antichrist is not Lucifer's child. It's just demon spawn. But it is one of the devil's greatest weapons in the war against heaven." Cas said, looking to me. "Just in case he doesn't get you, he will take the boy."
"If Jesse's a demonic howitzer, then what the hell's he doing in Nebraska?" Dean asked.
"The demons lost him. They can't find him. But they're looking."
"And they lost him because?"
"Because of the child's power. It hides him from both angels and demons. For now."
"So he's got, like, a force field around him. Well, that's great. Problem solved."
"With Lucifer risen, this child grows strong. Soon, he will do more than just make a few toys come to life. It will be something that will draw the demons to him. The demons will find this child. Lucifer will twist this boy to his purpose. And then, with a word, this child will destroy the Host of Heaven."
"Wait, you're saying Jesse's gonna kill the angels?" I asked.
"We cannot allow that to happen."
"Wait." Sam called, standing to his feet. "We're the good guys. We- we don't just kill children."
"A year ago, you would have done whatever it took to win this war."
"Things change."
"Okay, look, we aren't going to kill him." Dean said, stopping them before things got too heated. "But we can't leave Jesse here either. We know that. So we take him to Bobby's. He'll know what to do."
"You'll kidnap him? What is going on in this town, it's what happens when this thing is happy. You cannot imagine what it will do if it's angry. Besides, how will you hold him? With a thought, he could be halfway around the world."
"So we-"
"So we tell him the truth." Sam said. "You say Jesse's destined to go dark side, fine. But he hasn't yet. So if we lay it all out for him – what he is, the apocalypse, everything – he might make the right choice."
"You didn't. And I can't take that chance." Casitel said. Just before he disappeared, I grabbed his arm and in the blink of an eye, we were in Jesse's living room. "Victoria."
"Cas, you can't do this." I said. "Come on-"
"Do you want Lucifer to win?"
"Of course not."
"Then this is what has to be done." Cas said, stalking around me, moving towards the kitchen where Jesse was getting a glass of water, oblivious to our pretense. I grabbed his arm again, stopping him. "Cas, he's just an innocent kid."
"He's a monster."
"No, Cas. No. He doesn't have to be."
"What?" Cas asked, looking at me in confusion.
"Cas, if I take my grandfather's grace, what will happen to me?"
"You'll become an archangel."
"Okay." I nodded, swallowing hard. "And with that power, I'd have a choice. I could either choose to fight for good, or fight for evil. I would choose good. You have to give Jesse a chance to choose good, Cas."
Cas stared at me for a long moment before shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I can't take that chance, Victoria."
And with that, he placed two fingers on my forehead, sending me outside. "Cas!"
Behind me, I heard the screech of tires followed by bright headlights illuminating the front of the house. Dean barely even slowed the car to a stop before jumping out with Sam by his side.
"Where's Cas?" Dean asked as we rushed to the door.
"Inside. He wouldn't listen to me." I explained. Dean nodded, kicking the door a couple times until it flew open. Jesse stood in the middle of the room, staring up at us with wide eyes. "Where did that guy go?"
Without saying a word, Jesse pointed to the floor where an action figure wearing Cas's suit and trenchcoat, holding a silver knife sat. Dean bent down, picking him up, placing him on the mantelpiece as I guided Jesse to the couch.
"Was he your friend?" The boy asked.
"Him?" Dean asked, nodding to the figure. "No."
"I did that. But how did I do that?"
"You're a superhero."
"I am?"
"Yeah. Yeah. I mean, who else could turn someone into a toy? You're Superman minus the cape and the go-go boots. See, my- my partners and I, we work for a secret government agency. It's our job to find kids with special powers. In fact, we're here to take you to a hidden base in South Dakota, where you'll be trained to fight evil."
"Like the X-Men?"
"Exactly like the X-Men." Dean chuckled. "In fact, the guy we're taking you to, he's even in a wheelchair. You'll be a hero. You'll save lives. You'll get the girl. Sounds like fun, right?"
Suddenly, Dean flew against the wall, being pinned there by an invisible force. I turned around, seeing Julia walking in, her eyes black. As Sam and I stood, the demon threw out another hand, pushing us to the wall beside Dean.
"Stay right there. Can't hurt you or the little angel. Orders." She shrugged, looking to Dean with a smirk, slamming him against the opposite wall, then back again. "You, on the other hand? Hurting you's encouraged."
"Leave him alone!" Jesse cried.
The demon leaned down in front of him, her voice sweet. "Jesse. You're beautiful. You have your father's eyes."
"Who are you?"
"I'm your mother."
"No, you're not."
"You're half human...half one of us."
"She means demons, Jesse!" Dean exclaimed. Rolling her eyes, the demon held up a clenched fist, causing Dean to groan in pain.
"Stop it!" I shouted.
"Or what? I'll make a little deal. You say yes, come join us and I'll let lover boy and the little squirt go." She said, nodding to Dean and Jesse.
I glanced over at Dean, who shook his head as he winced in pain. I looked back over to the demon, my teeth clenched. "No."
"Fine." She said, looking back to Jesse. "Those people you call your parents, they lied to you, too. You're not theirs. Not really."
"My mom and dad love me." Jesse muttered.
"Do they? Is- is that why they leave you alone all day? Because they love you so much? These people, these imposters, they told you that the tooth fairy was real and that your toys could hurt you and a hundred other things that aren't true. They love you so much, they made your whole life a lie. Look into your heart, Jesse. You've always known you weren't theirs. You've always known you were different. Everyone has lied to you. They're not FBI agents. And you're not a superhero."
"Then what am I?"
"You're powerful. You can have anything you want. You can do anything you want."
"Don't listen to her, Jesse!" I said.
The demon sneered at me. "God, I wish I could hurt you."
"Do it then." I challenged. She shook her head, turning back to the boy.
"They treated you like a child. Nobody trusted you. Everybody's lied to you. Doesn't that make you angry?" She asked. Jesse clenched his fist and the room began to rattle around us, the fire flaring up and the lights flickering. "See? It does make you angry. But I'm telling you the truth, Jesse. Wouldn't it be better if there were no lies? Come with me and you can wash it all clean. Start over. Imagine that- a world without lies."
"She's right. We lied to you." I said. "I'm sorry. But here's the truth. I'm Victoria Anderson. That's Dean Winchester and his brother Sam. We hunt monsters. And that woman, her name is Julia. She's your mother, but the thing inside of her, the thing that you're talking to, it's a demon."
"A demon?" Jesse asked.
"They've done nothing but lie to you since the moment you met them. Don't listen to her." The demon said.
"Sit down and shut up."
Suddenly, a chair shot up behind the demon, who was forced to sit, suddenly struggling to speak. I watched in shock, pulling in a deep breath as I looked back to Jesse. "There's a war between angels and demons, and you're a part of it. So are we."
"But I'm just a kid."
"Jesse, you can go with her if you want. We can't stop you. No one cal. But if you do, millions of people will die."
"She said I was half demon. Is that true?"
"Yes. It is. But you're half human, too. And you can do the right thing. You have a choice, Jesse."
"Why are you telling me this?!"
"Because you need to know so you can make your own choice, Jesse. You can't let someone else decide your future for you."
Jesse looked at me for a moment before turning to the demon. "Get out of her."
The chair flew back against the wall and black smoke poured out of Julia's mouth, vanishing up the chimney and as soon as the demon was gone, the three of us dropped to the ground.
"How did you do that?" Dean asked.
"I just did."
"Kid...you're awesome."
"Is she gonna be alright?" Jesse asked, looking at Julia, who was slumped over in a chair, still unconscious.
"Eventually." I nodded.
Dean bent down, picking up the small action figure that had fallen in all the commotion. "Look, uh, truth is, he's kind of a buddy of mine. Is there any way you could turn him back?"
"He tried to kill me." Jesse said.
"Right. Uh. But he's a- he's a good guy. He was just confused." Dean muttered. Jesse just stared, not saying a word. "Okay. It's been a long night. We'll talk about it later."
"What now?"
"Now we take you someplace safe, get you trained up. You'd be handy in a fight, kid."
"What if I don't want to fight?" Jesse asked, pulling on my heartstrings.
"Jesse." Sam came forward, sitting on the coffee table in front of the boy. "You're powerful. More powerful than...pretty much anything we've ever seen. That makes you-"
"A freak."
"To some people, maybe. But not to us. See, we're kind of freaks ourselves."
"I can't stay here, can I?"
"No." Dean shook his head. "The demons know where you are, and more will be coming."
"I won't go without my mom and dad."
"There's nothing more important than family. We get that. And if you really want to take them with you, we'll back your play. But you got to understand, it's gonna be dangerous for them, too."
"What do you mean?"
"Our dad...he would take us with him wherever he went." Dean said.
"Where is he now?"
"Dead. A demon killed him. Look, Jesse...once you're in this fight...you're in it till the end, win or lose."
"What do I do?"
"It's your choice, we can't tell you what you do." I said. But I can tell you something."
"What?"
"Lucifer, he wants me too."
"Why? What are you?"
"I'm not really sure anymore." I mumbled, glancing back at the boys before returning my gaze to Jesse. "Human, I guess. But my grandfather was an angel."
"So, you're part angel like I'm part demon?"
"Kind of, yeah."
"But angels are good."
"No, not all the time. Some of them are bad. Very bad. But no matter what, I'm not saying yes. No matter where I go, or what I do, I'm not saying yes. And no one can make me. No one can make you either, you understand?"
Jesse nodded. "Yeah."
"Your life is yours and yours only, I don't care what anybody tells you. Don't let someone use you for bad things. Don't let someone use you for good things. Do what you want."
"Can I go see my parents? I- I need to...say goodbye." Jesse said, a flutter of sadness and something else in his eyes. I nodded, watching as he left the room.
A few minutes had passed with us waiting around for Jesse. Sam picked up the action figure, practically tossing him back onto the mantel, void of all the care Dean had taken when handling him. Once he'd been gone for about fifteen minutes, we headed up to check on him, finding his bedroom empty.
"He's gone." Castiel announced, suddenly appearing in the doorway behind us.
"Where?" I asked.
"I don't know. Jesse put everyone in town back to normal, the ones still alive. Then he vanished."
"Hey." Sam called, picking up a note that Jesse had left on the bed, reading it.
"What does it say?" Dean asked.
"That he had to leave to keep his parents safe, that he loves them, and he's sorry."
"How do we find him?"
"With the boy's powers, we can't." Cas said. "Not unless he wants to be found."
IMPALA – NIGHT
My mind had been on Jesse since we left his home, I wondered where he was, what he was doing. If he was scared. He was just a child after all. Then I thought to his parents, They'd be heartbroken, waking up to find their son gone.
But at the end of it all, I think Jesse listened, and he did what he felt was best.
"You think Jesse's gonna be okay?" Dean asked.
"I think so, yeah." I nodded.
"You know, we destroyed that kid's life by telling him the truth."
"We didn't have a choice, Dean." Sam muttered.
"Yeah. You know, I'm starting to get why parents lie to their kids. You want them to believe that the worst thing out there is mixing Pop Rocks and Coke, protect them from the real evil. You want them going to bed feeling safe. If that means lying to them, so be it. The more I think about it...the more I wish Dad had lied to us."
Guess what? Grandpa Dean's is up next ;) ;) ;)
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