Sorry this update took so long! I recently began an internship, and then went on vacation for a while, and there was no wifi. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it!

Once Upon Another Timeline:

2007

Dean Winchester walked into the karaoke bar, doing his dead-level best not to show how shaken up he was.

A young woman was singing onstage, her face concealed by huge novelty sunglasses and a long violet wig. Most of the faces at the bar were concealed, which was perfectly ordinary since it was, after all, Halloween, but it was still frustrating to have to find his bad guy with the added challenge.

He'd tracked the man, a sorcerer who called himself Havelock, across three damn states, but he finally had the bastard's location pinned down. Dean's fingers twitched at the thought of getting to finally lay his hands on the guy who'd taken his brother.

He pulled out his cellphone to quickly text Bobby, "Found him."

He slid his phone back into his jacket pocket, and took a seat at the bar. He subtly located the sorcerer, identifying him by a thin scar down one side of his face, which was visible even behind his Phantom of the Opera mask. He was reclined at one of the cocktail tables, calmly stirring his drink and watching the singer.

"…Then if anything grows, while you pose, I'll oil you up and drop you down…"

The singer accentuated her body movements to the ridiculously seductive lyrics, and Dean could swear that she smiled at Havelock on purpose. Whatever her intent was, their eyes had definitely met, and Havelock stood up and slipped backstage when the singer had finished her song.

"Alright, that was Margarite J. Honeycutt, with Toucha-Toucha-Touch Me…" the announcer droned, but Dean barely registered it as he pushed through the crowd of dancing, costumed bodies.

If Havelock took the girl, and it seemed to Dean like the sorcerer had been fascinated with her, maybe Dean could follow them back to wherever he was keeping Sam.

Dean made it backstage in time to see Havelock grabbing the young woman. He ducked behind a curtain, waiting to see where he was headed next.

"Hey!" The young woman exclaimed.

"Look deeply into my eyes." Havelock said, grabbing her face and turning it in towards his gaze. "Your will is mi…"

Dean's phone vibrated in his pocket, giving away his location. He mentally cursed, but drew his gun, preferring to emerge from his hiding spot from a point of power.

"Game's over, Havelock. Let the lady go."

"Ah, Mr. Winchester." Havelock sneered, running a dramatic finger through his greasy black hair. "It's too late. The lady is already my thrall. And you," the man snapped his fingers and Dean's gun evaporated into smoke. "You are unarmed."

"Oh, son of a bitch!" the woman exclaimed, awfully loud for an alleged thrall, in Dean's opinion. She punched Havelock in the jaw, sending him reeling. She followed up with a chokehold, but the sorcerer twitched his nose and vanished into thin air.

"Are you kidding me?" the woman threw her hands up in frustration. "Thank you for ruining the plan." She huffed to Dean. "Rookie." She muttered.

"Hey." Dean said, offended. "I was trying to save your ass!"

"Excellent job!" the woman complemented him, rolling her eyes. "Why don't you check your phone? Here's hoping that was a very important text?"

"Matter of fact, it was." Dean retorted. He surreptitiously checked his phone, only to see a text from Bobby that read, "K".

The woman punched one of the brick walls in frustration, creating an unnatural, crumbling dent.

"What are you?" Dean demanded, his hand going toward the silver knife in his jacket. "Humans aren't that strong. You can't be human."

"I'm a superhero, Captain Obvious." The woman said, "The name's Grey. Emrys Grey. And you are?"

"That is in no way a real name, but whatever. I'm Dean Winchester. I've got to get to Havelock. He has my brother."

"You sure you can trust me? After all, I'm definitely not a human…"

"I don't care what you are, if you help me get my brother back."

"Alright, you got yourself a deal. I have a score to settle with Havelock, anyway."

"What'd he do? Make you wear that god-awful purple wig?"

Grey rolled her eyes and pulled the wig off, revealing a sleek brunette bob. "I'm quite recognizable without a costume, don't you think? Hence the disguise. Havelock knows me. I've been following him for days now. He took my partner."

"Took him? Like he took my brother?"

Grey nodded. "He's assembling his own cast for his own magic meat-puppet version of Rocky Horror Picture Show."

"I know." Dean cringed. "We were investigating a case in a town, my brother and me. People kept vanishing at midnight shows, from town to town."

"And when the bastard came to my town, he took my sidekick. I have to get him back. And your brother, and everybody else. He's using hypnosis to control the actors. It's not only immoral, it's just plain weird. Apparently Alan…"

Grey froze, noticing her own slip-up. She never used real names when super-heroing. Secret identities being sensitive material, after all. "My partner is apparently the perfect match for the character of Eddie?"

Dean frowned. Could he trust this odd little woman?

"When we ran into Havelock, he said Sam was a dead ringer for Rocky. I've never even seen the musical. What's the big deal?"

Bobby had filled him in a little, on the fact that it was a pop culture phenomenon, and that there was a fan convention in town.

"There's not much cash to be made through sorcery. At least I don't think so." Grey pointed out. "The best tribute cast wins half a million dollars. So he's assembling the best cast he can find by picking people up around the country. This is the weirdest…I mean, I've seen a lot of cockamamie schemes, but this one definitely takes the cake."

"I'll drink to that." Dean pulled a flask from his jacket and took a sip. "So where do your "superpowers" come from? Demon blood? Witchcraft? Did you sell your soul?"

"None of the above, and it's a rather long story, if you don't mind. If he continues on with creating the most real play he can, people will die. Alan dies in the first act. Your brother gets killed in the second. That's why he was going to take me. An entire cast of bodies was found in a dumpster behind a Taco Bell. I guess Havelock took the dress rehearsal pretty seriously. Anyway, word got around that a director named H. Locke was looking for someone to play the role of Columbia on short notice."

"So you baited him, tried to get taken…"

Grey nodded. "It would have been a bit of acting, since I'm immune to his spells. But I could have done it."

"At least we know exactly where they'll be." Dean said. "Which theater in town is hosting the midnight showing?"

"I was hoping to stop Havelock before the curtain went up, but I suppose you're right. We will know a precise location. It's called Lantern Theater, on the edge of town. Curtain goes up in two hours. We have until then to prepare."

Dean nodded, then hastily sent a text to Bobby, explaining that he'd met a fellow hunter. Not that hunter was the proper word for this Grey lady, but he'd take up with whoever if it meant getting Sam back.

Scene Break

"Sammy!" Dean smiled broadly, and tightly embraced his brother, bending low to reach him from his seat in the diner's vinyl booth. Waverly was similarly greeting Alan, who winced and said,

"Waverly, Jesus, check the super-strength. Ow."

"Hey, Dean." Sam stiffened at the enthusiastic hug, but finally gave in and hugged back. "Why are you…you've only been gone for a few hours."

"Yeah." Dean paused. "Like, just a few hours."

"Yeah." Waverly played with her hair. "Not long at all."

Alan cleared his throat.

"What?" Waverly asked him, almost too coolly.

"What?" Alan replied with a shrug.

"What? You're the one clearing your throat all suspicious-like."

"We really should be getting back." Dean interrupted. "Thanks for coming after us, by the way. Sam, thank you." Dean said, putting his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Thank you for everything you've ever done. Come on, little brother." Dean clapped Sam on the back. "Let's go home."

"Who are you and what have you done with Dean?" Sam asked. "Why the chick flick moments?"

Dean shrugged. "What?"

"What?" Sam replied. "I think you know what."

Sam. Sam suddenly heard Alan's voice, even though the psychic's lips weren't moving. Don't say anything. Yes, I'm a telepath. Pretty cool, huh?

What the hell? Sam replied in his thoughts. This is weird.

Waverly and Dean are both lying, from what I can tell. Gabriel was telling the truth.

Why would they lie? Sam replied, still unused to speaking telepathically.

They're feeling awkward about their feelings. Like junior high children, but let them have their secrets for now, if they think they're fooling anyone.

It doesn't make sense. Sam said.

They're in love. I can tell. Their auras are cranberry-colored.

"Cranberry?" Sam verbalized, skeptically, and Alan rolled his eyes, exasperated by his new friend's inability to grasp the concept of telepathy.

"Wait a minute." Alan said. "Sam and I have food coming. Just sit down a minute, and then we'll get back. Becky is with Castiel. Everything will be fine."

"How is Becky?" Waverly asked. "Did she have her baby yet?"

"Not yet, Waves." Alan said pointedly. "You've only been gone a few hours, after all."

"Yeah. Right. I'm uh, gonna take a bathroom break. BRB."

"Do not say BRB, Waves." Alan grimaced in disgust. "What are we, animals?"

Waverly got up and left just as the waitress brought two steaming plates and placed them in front of Alan and Sam.

"Anything for you, sir?" She asked Dean, congenially.

"Yeah, uh. I'll have a burger, extra onions, please. And a Coke."

"Anything for the lady?"

"Oh, yeah. She'll just want a steak sandwich, double fries. But leave off the tomato; she's allergic. And an iced tea, half sweet, half unsweet."

"Wow." Sam remarked, as the waitress left to put in their orders. "You really know what Waverly likes, don't you?"

"What are you talking about?" Dean shrugged.

"You know her food preferences, Dean. Right down to her allergies."

Sam… Alan sighed, but Sam didn't listen.

"How long were you really gone for?" Sam demanded. "I thought we were going to stop lying to each other."

"Sam…" Dean awkwardly stared at his hands. "She's…we're…it's been five years, man."

Sam nodded. "Thought so. Gabriel popped by and filled us in."

"Gabriel, that bastard." Dean clenched his fists. "We wanted to ease you guys into all of this. It's kind of weird."

"What's kind of weird?" Waverly reappeared, and gestured for Alan to scoot over as she sat down at the vinyl booth.

"Waverly and me are…you know. Waverly and me." Dean managed to say, never one to be great at expressing his feelings.

"Yeah." Waverly nodded. "We're an 'us'. And we're gonna take down Mephisto and Abbadon together."

"And Metatron." Dean reminded her.

"And Metatron." Waverly agreed, nodding and reaching for Dean's hand from across the table.

"Well, yeah, that all is weird. But we can talk about it later. Let's eat, and then get home." Alan tore into his chicken fried steak with famished zeal.

Dean met Sam's gaze, his want for approval apparent and nearly childlike. Sam nodded once, quietly and concise, and Dean looked visibly relieved.

"We've got work to do." Sam said, still a little reticent. Why had Dean thought it was necessary to lie again? Especially about something so simple as having a girlfriend?

"I really missed you, Sammy." Dean ventured.

"Yeah." Sam replied, nonchalant.

Scene Break

"Hello!" Clive spoke too loudly when addressing Castiel, and over-enunciated his words. "My name is Clive Matthews. My wife tells me that you are an angel." He pumped Castiel's hand up and down, but the gesture of a formal handshake was entirely lost on the celestial being, who seemed confused.

"He speaks English, Clive." Becky pointed out.

"I have knowledge of most languages." Castiel said, grabbing onto Clive's hand and attempting to imitate the ruddy man's handshake. He executed an awkward, swinging sort of side-to-side motion, and Clive pulled his arm back.

"Golly, a real angel." He marveled, and straightened his glasses. "I used to think that my job let me meet interesting people. All walks of life come into my pharmacy, you know. And then I met Becky. She brings home all sorts. Vampires, psychics, superheroes. And now a real live angel."

"I am not technically alive." Castiel relied. "This is a vessel. My true form requires no mortal body."

"That so?" Clive asked, full of curiosity. "My, my. Becky, darling. Sit down. I should be the one making your dinner. Not the other way around. Sit down. I'm not even that hungry. How do you feel? Do you want me to rub your feet?"

Becky blushed. "Clive spoils me." She bragged to Castiel.

"He does indeed." Clive blinked, revealed eyes of cold, jetty onyx. He whipped an angel blade out of his suit coat and pressed the point of the blade right at the base of Castiel's throat. Becky gasped, letting out a guttural, shocked cry.

"You're a demon." Castiel surmised with a sigh.

"I'm the demon." He chuckled, "Mephisto, at your service, Castiel. Now tell me, where is those dashing Ken doll hunters of yours? And Captain Patricide, the Girl Wonder?"

"I don't know." Castiel said, tersely.

"Well, then, I suppose my darling wife can take this question. Where is Waverly Tate?"

Becky gasped again, her hand against her swollen belly.

"Speak up." Mephisto commanded, pressing the blade closer against Castiel's neck. "Cat got your tongue?"

"My water just broke." Becky replied, biting her bottom lip as the first contraction wracked through her body.

Kindly drop me a line! What are you guys thinking? What would you enjoy seeing next? Would you be interested in more flashback scenes or is one enough? I'm ready for some action myself!