Hello! Thank you so much for your patience! I apologize for this chapter being so late! But here it is! This might be a lot of dialogue, but after this there's gonna be a lot, and I mean a lot, of action, so just bear with me. Thanks for all the kind reviews, they mean so much to me! They really help me keep writing and keep me inspired for this story. The same with every fave and follow, they all mean so much. You are all the best. Without further ado -
Dean watched in mild horror as the blinding holy light subsided and Matt, Cas, and the woman Cas had been possessing all dropped to the floor. He ran forward, along with Sam and Foggy, all of them aiming for different people lying on the floor. Sam managed to catch the woman before she hit the floor, but Foggy wasn't as lucky with Matt. Dean, however, could only focus on Cas.
He caught him under the arms and slowly lowered him to the floor, leaning over him and searching his face for any sign of consciousness. He had just gotten him back, and if this hurt him in any way…
But in the next second, Cas' eyes fluttered opened, and he let out a low groan before sitting up. Dean leaned back, giving Cas his space, but still searching his face like it was the last time he would ever see it.
"You good?" he asked, hoping the gruffness of his voice would hide the emotion behind it.
Cas ran his hands down his chest, then nodded at Dean, "Yes, I think so."
Dean couldn't help the smile cracking his face, so he coughed and thumped Cas on the back before helping him stand, "It's good to have you back."
"It's good to be back," Cas said, then stared at Dean in that way he always did - that way Dean had missed for so long - before drawing him into an embrace. Dean let himself enjoy it for a brief moment before remembering there were other people in the room, watching. His eyes flew around, waiting to see everyone staring, but no one was paying attention. Claire and Sam were kneeling beside the woman, and Foggy and Karen were helping Matt up. Agent Hernandez was standing back, observing it all with an unreadable expression.
While everyone was busy, Dean leaned into Cas' embrace and squeezed, lingering in his arms for a moment longer before pulling away. Cas' furrowed his brow as Dean took a step back, but Dean didn't let himself think about why.
"Okay, so obviously you weren't lying about the supernatural stuff," Hernandez said, drawing everyone out of each of their quiet, vulnerable moments. "But I'm still waiting on my explanation."
"Okay, here's the thing," Matt was getting to his feet, dusting his pants off. No - not Matt, Azirale. Dean was getting better at telling when the demon was speaking and when Murdock was doing the talking.
"There's an evil witch in town, she's trying to do some sort of magic spell that turns Hell's Kitchen into a literal portal to hell. She's got an army of demons on her side, we're trying to stop her. Actually, apparently you met her...oh wow, you weren't exaggerating about that explosion."
Foggy stepped in as Az got sidetracked, apparently reviewing Matt's memories of his fight at the SHIELD base.
"Look, you're SHIELD. You deal with crazy stuff all the time. This can't be too much of a surprise, right?"
"Not too much, no. But new, and dangerous. If what you're saying is true, we need to go to the nearest SHIELD base and report it. You have to tell us everything you know."
Dean huffed a laugh, stepping closer, "Nuh-uh. No way. We've dealt with worse than this on our own."
"If you want my guns, then you come in."
"We don't need some weird government alien tech to take down a witch and a few demons," Dean said, "Cas is at full power now - these suckers don't stand a chance."
"My superiors have already been contacted. When they get here, do you want to be considered an ally, or an enemy? That's your choice," Hernandez stated.
"Actually….no," Az said, drawing eyes back to them.
"Excuse me?" Hernandez said.
"You haven't contacted your superiors - your comm is busted. It was damaged in the explosion - you're on your own."
Dean squinted, trying to determine whether Murdock or Az was talking.
"A SHIELD base exploded - even if she hasn't called her boss, they're going to come and investigate," Foggy said.
"But they don't know about any of us."
Everyone stood in silence for a moment, contemplating.
Murdock continued, "But you're right - they're coming. And so is Evangeline. We're backing her into a corner - like Dean said, we have Cas. And those agents did a number on her and her lackeys."
"More reason to go get help. Listen, I don't know what exactly is going on, but SHIELD can help. If you care about this city, then-"
"They're right. Evangeline has everything she needs to attempt a transmutation. She has sacrifices being held captive in her warehouse - that's where she was headed," Cas said, nodding towards the still-unconscious woman on the floor.
"What all does she need?" Karen asked.
"Human sacrifices. Sigils around the circumference of the portal. And a lot of power."
"Doesn't she have that already? What's stopping her?"
Dean mulled over that - what was stopping Evangeline? According to Cas, she had human sacrifices being held captive right now. She had been operating in the city for a while now, why was she waiting? He met eyes with Sam, and almost instantly they came to the same conclusion. When they both turned their eyes toward Murdock, it took him a moment to notice.
"Uh...are you looking at me?"
"You're why she hasn't acted yet," Sam said.
"What? What do I have to do with it?"
"That guy," Sam gestured towards the demon still chained up in the other room, "said something about Bouvois cutting a deal. A deal that was fulfilled when Evangeline had you captured."
"Why would she want me, though?"
"I don't know. He said something about you being the protector of this city, and the Chaste? I don't know if that was related, though."
Dean was pretty sure it was, by the way Matt's expression froze and he went a shade paler than normal.
"Holy shit, you were trained by the Chaste?" he suddenly blurted out, and Dean figured Az was doing the talking again.
"I was...but I didn't think it was real...but now…"
"Wait, wait, wait...what is the Chaste?" Foggy said.
"Stick - the man who trained me - he was training me to be a member of the Chaste. An ancient order that fought against the Hand, who were involved in some dark magic, or something. I didn't believe it when I was a kid. I never did, but now…"
"Okay, so a mystic order of blind ninjas tried to recruit you to fight against an army of magic evil-doers, and you just though to bring that up now?" Dean exclaimed.
"To be fair, a lot has been going on," Az said. "But if the Hand is involved somehow, like partnering up with Evangeline, it makes more sense why they want Matt."
"We're hunters, how come we've never heard of this? Chasing down bad magic is our shtick." Dean said.
Sam spoke up. "Actually, I think I have heard of the Chaste, and the Hand."
Dean raised his eyebrows, "Wanna elaborate, Sammmy boy?"
"I don't know - it was a long time ago. It was at the Men of Letter's libraries - I was looking for something else, so didn't spend much time looking into it. But if what I remember is right, the Hand is involved with a powerful demon. Something called the Beast. But that was hundreds of years ago."
"Oh trust me, they're still around. And not to be messed with," Az said, quieter than usual.
Dean felt a sudden anger well up inside him, he turned around and swiped an old empty paint can off the table, shouting a curse as he did so.
"Damn it! This just keeps getting better, doesn't it?"
There was silence for a moment as the clatter of the paint can died away, all thinking of what to do next. Then, slowly, from the other room, deep laughter. It started off as a low chuckle then grew to a booming cackle.
"You have it all figured out, don't you? And now you see - there's nothing you can do."
"What the-" Agent Hernandez moved towards the voice, but Sam held her back, shaking his head. Dean charged forward though, swiping aside the plastic sheeting so he could glare at the demon with all his might.
"So we have it all figured out, huh? Guess we don't need you around anymore then, huh?"
Dean drew his knife and moved forward, but a hand reached out and stopped him. He could already tell who it was without turning around.
"Let me go, Murdock. Or Az, whichever."
"Doesn't matter. You can't kill him. There's still a person in there."
Dean shook Matt's hand off - or rather, Matt let him go - and turned around to look him in the eye. Then remembered he couldn't really look them in the eye, but still stared them down as hard as he could and hoped they sensed it with whatever weirdo superpowers they had.
"Fine. But get your asses out of here so we can send that thing back where it belongs."
"Or -" Cas stepped forward, "I could take care of it."
Cas stepped toward the demon, who hissed and cursed and spat, and calmly raised two fingers to its forehead. There was a flash of light, then the former demon slumped unconscious in the chair, now completely human. Cas turned towards them all with that calm, squinty-eyed look Dean had missed, and addressed them.
"We can't rely on whatever human agencies are coming to help us. We have to take care of Evangeline now, before she hurts anyone else in this city."
"We need a plan," Claire said, joining their circle. "We've all been running around like chickens with our heads cut off. Keeping secrets, not communicating, not trusting each other. If this is as bad as y'all are making it out to be, then we need to work together."
Agent Hernandez heaved a sigh, then spoke with great reluctance, every word fighting to get past her frown, "There are more guns back at the antique shop. Even if this Evangeline character blew it up, they should have survived the blast. We're going to have to move fast to get them, though. SHIELD will be here soon, and they're not just gonna let some strangers waltz off with their tech."
"But you're going to?" Matt asked.
"Yeah, it looks like I am. I don't trust any of you, but if the city is in danger it's my job to protect it. I'm not going to let protocol get in the way of saving lives."
A beaming smile stretched that belonged to Az stretched across Matt's face, "Hey, maybe you're not so bad after all!"
Hernandez glared back, not that Matt or Az could tell.
"So...what's our move?" Karen had crossed her arms, eyes flicking expectantly between them.
Sam stepped up, "Cas is right - she has to have runes placed somewhere throughout the city - like the ones we found on the side of that warehouse. We need to find them and deactivate them."
"How?" Foggy asked.
"It's pretty simple, just marking them out in the right places with paint. Finding them's the hard part."
"I don't think I'll be much help there," Matt said.
"That's fine - we'll need you for the other part. We need to raid Evangeline's warehouse and rescue the hostages."
Everyone got a little quiet, and Sam wore a pleading expression. "We can do this. We've got Agent Hernandez's guns. We have Cas. We have a demon - and Cas and Az have been there. They can guide us through."
"Okay. Okay. Where would these runes be? Just on the side of buildings? Walls?" Foggy asked.
"Yeah, probably. Any flat surface, somewhere where it wouldn't be washed away or cleaned."
"I know Hell's Kitchen like the back of my hand - I can find some graffiti. I just need to know what to look for."
Sam and the other continued to plan, and Dean found his attention wandering. Cas was standing next to him, listening intently, lips parted slightly and eyebrows scrunched together. Then suddenly he frowned and reached into his pocket hesitantly, pulling out an unfamiliar phone a second later. He studied it for a moment before Sam noticed.
"What's that?"
"I just found it in my pocket."
"A phone?" Dean asked.
Matt's face lit up, "Oh! That's uh...earlier, before the base blew up - I snatched that from one of Bouvois' demon goons. I thought I could call someone on it but I couldn't get in."
"Wait - you're telling me this belongs to one of Evangeline's demons?"
Karen looked alarmed, "Could they trace it here? Earlier you said -"
"Smash it or something!" Foggy exclaimed.
"Hold up. We can disable tracking on it - but if really belongs to the enemy, there might be important information on it." Hernandez said. "I can get in there if someone has a laptop. Just turn it off for now."
Cas fumbled with it a moment before Sam took it and powered down the phone.
"The way I see it, we're on a ticking clock, and we have no idea when it's going to hit zero. We need to stop talking, and start moving. I want this one with me." Hernandez pointed at Matt. "We'll go get the guns. Who knows how to deactivate these sigils?"
"Uh.." Dean, Sam, and Cas slowly raised their hands. Dean felt like a first grader in class, and Hernandez was their teacher. She nodded.
"You, Foggy, take one of these boys and whoever else you need to find these sigils and get rid of them."
"I can go," Sam said, "Dean and Cas, go with Matt and Az."
"I can be on rune duty, I guess," Claire said with a sigh, as if hardly believing the words coming from her mouth, "But I need to make sure these people are alright first." She gestured to the two unconscious recently-exorcised people laying on the floor.
"Drop them off at a hospital. We need all hands on deck," Hernandez ordered, earning a indignant expression from Claire. Hernandez didn't even pause.
"And as for you two," she turned towards Dean and Cas, "I don't need both of you. You're the only fighters - one of you needs to go with Sam and Foggy and the others, to cover them in case something happens."
"Cas, go with them. We already have Az - they'll need a heavy-hitter if things go bad," Dean said, trying not to sound too reluctant. Tactically, it made sense. But he didn't necessarily want to think tactically at the moment. Which would just slow him down. He needed Cas away from him, even if that's not what he wanted.
Cas scrunched his eyebrows that made Dean feel a twinge of guilt, but he held firm.
"Alright," Cas said, stepping towards the others.
Hernandez nodded, "Okay. Everyone get everyone's contacts. We need to stay in communication the entire time. If you run into the enemy, or if SHIELD arrives, let me know. Let everyone know," she corrected herself. No one argued, though Dean could tell just from a quick glance that not everyone agreed with that plan. But Hernandez was right about one thing - they were running out of time to debate any longer.
"When we have the guns, we'll meet up...we'll decide the location later."
And so they split up. Cas flew the exorcised dude and chick to a hospital and was back in the blink of an eye. Sam and Dean gave everyone a run-down on how to fight a demon, or whatever they might run across, and then they were off.
Matt stood between Dean and Hernandez, put a hand on each of their shoulders, and then suddenly they were no longer standing in the abandoned building, but across the street from a smoldering antique shop. Thick black plumes of smoke were coiling into the air, the smell of ash and smoke filling the air. A crowd had gathered around, standing behind yellow police tape and peering curiously into the dark entrance of the shop, where an Escalade was now lodged. Police and firemen were crawling all over the scene, but there wasn't any signs of any agents.
Hernandez seemed perplexed by this, "I don't get why SHIELD isn't here yet."
"Didn't Evangeline blow your comms?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, but even still. Something like this happens at a SHIELD base, we would know."
Matt had his head cocked in that way Dean knew meant he was listening in on something none of them could hear.
"What you got, wonder boy?"
Matt ignored Dean's nickname, instead furrowing his brow, "I'm not sure. I don't think you're the only one having trouble with your comms."
"What do you mean?" Hernandez asked.
"The police are trying to call for backup, but none of them can get a signal."
Matt listened for a moment longer, then his expression shifted slightly.
"I don't think anyone's going to be getting help from outside Hell's Kitchen."
"Can you stop being cryptic for two seconds and tell us what the hell is going on?"
"I think Bouvois' plan is already in motion. I think she's cut off communication in and out of Hell's Kitchen."
"How could she do that?" Hernandez asked, incredulous.
Matt, or maybe it was Az, shrugged. "I dunno. Magic."
As if on cue, a deep, bass thrum shuddered through the city, causing everyone to look up in alarm. Another thrum, and then all around them the power went out. It was still daylight, but all the lights in the surrounding buildings, the traffic lights, the alarms going off in the neighboring buildings across the street, all cut off at once.
"Well damn," Dean sighed.
"Is this Bouvois?" Hernandez asked.
"I would guess - yes." Matt said.
Hernandez cursed under her breath, "Then this is happening. We need to move."
"Where to?" Az said, placing their hands on Dean and Hernandez' shoulders again.
"There's a basement level beneath the shop. The police shouldn't have been able to get in. Just take us there, then I'll guide us the rest of the way."
Dean felt the now familiar surge of magic, then they were no longer on the street, but standing in complete darkness.
"Well shit," Dean said.
"Great," Hernandez sighed.
"What?" Matt asked.
"The power's out, it's completely dark," Hernandez explained.
"I can't see a thing," Dean muttered.
"Oh no, how terrible," Matt said, and Dean could tell he had a shit-eating grin on his face.
"Look, smartass -" Dean began, but Hernandez shushed them. She retrieved a tiny flashlight from...somewhere. A secret agent belt, or maybe a hidden compartment in her shoe, Dean had no idea. But he could see again, which was nice. They were standing on smooth tile floor, and there were what looked like office cubicles from the future against one wall, and a bunch of dead monitors against the other wall.
"Follow me," Hernandez said, and they started making their way further into the pitch-dark base. Dean was fine walking in silence, but Hernandez seemed to want to make conversation.
"So...you're a hunter. You kill ghosts and vampires and things that go bump in the night."
Dean grunted, "Pretty much."
"I'm surprised we haven't heard of people like you before. Or the things you hunt."
"We try to keep a low profile."
"Why? It sounds like a tough gig. With the way our world is today, you could be above board. SHIELD could -"
"Uh, no thanks. Listen lady, you seem like you know what you're doing. But you don't know half of what I do. This little emergency happening right now? Gateways to hell? Demons? This is just basics. Honestly, the more people know about this stuff, the more dangerous the monsters become."
"But we're not just people. We're -"
"SHIELD. Yeah, I know. There's a big difference between your superheroes and aliens and what we do. Let's-"
"Is there though?" Matt, or Az, said.
"Uh, yeah." Dean said, already past tired of this conversation.
"Evangeline put a spell on those men a few days ago that allowed her to control their actions, their minds. That's the same thing Kilgrave did."
Dean had heard of Kilgrave, the psycho mutant villain who could mind control people. It was a big deal a while back. He and Sam had debated over whether or not to get involved, unsure of his power was of supernatural origin or not.
"Demons and angels have super strength, like Captain America."
"Ha," Dean barked, "Not the same."
"But similar. And Thor, a figure of mythology, is now involved with the Avengers. Technology from his world is effective against demons. It seems like -"
"It seems like nothing," Dean growled, shutting Matt up. He knew the guy had a point, but it's not one he wanted to deal with right now.
"What about you? What's your story?" Hernandez asked, turning her attention towards Matt, and away from Dean, thankfully. Dean snorted when Matt didn't answer, now the one unwilling to talk.
"You're possessed, right?"
"You could say that," Matt said, and Dean snorted again.
"And you're blind," Hernandez stated again.
"Yes," Matt answered curtly.
"But you don't seem to have any problem getting around - is that because of the demon?"
Matt didn't answer.
Dean felt a little sorry for the guy - for all the shit Dean gave him, Matt had been dragged into this mess unwillingly, as well. He didn't want to get involved with SHIELD, either. And this lady was about to drag all his secrets out of him. Even though she hadn't been around them long, it wouldn't take her long to put it all together and figure out who Matt was. Then again, if they were going to be fighting together to take down Evangeline, it was probably going to come out one way or another.
But for now, Dean stepped in.
"You seem to be asking a lot of questions - we don't even know your name."
"That's not pertinent -"
"Then neither are questions about how the blind guy can get around. Or why my brother and I aren't wearing spandex and working for your company."
Hernandez got quiet, and Dean fell back into step at the rear of the group, comfortable in the silence. He saw Matt turn his head towards him, and maybe smile, but he couldn't really tell in the low light. He didn't seem bothered by Dean's lack of reaction, though, and just turned back ahead and kept walking. They reached a stairwell and went down two more levels before they finally reached the room where the guns were stored.
"It's just here," Hernandez said, tugging the door open.
Inside, from what little Dean could see, it looked like a laboratory. There was heavy machinery behind protective glass walls, tables with parts spread out and blueprints scrawled on large sheets, and long lab tables with various beakers and flasks filled with faintly glowing subbstances.
There were several opaque crates stacked against one wall, all emitting a faint blue light. Hernandez made a beeline to these crates and cracked them open, revealing rows of neatly packed guns that looked like they belonged in Star Trek. Dean eagerly reached for one, but Hernandez put a hand on his chest.
"These are prototypes. We need to be careful. They're fairly volatile."
Matt stiffened, and Dean couldn't help but agree.
"Volatile? Like - how volatile?"
"They would be stable enough, as long as you don't toss one into an active fire or the middle of an explosion. Or hit it too hard."
Dean gulped, "Uh, I might just stick with the old fashion demon-killing methods."
"I'm not sure the old-fashioned methods will work on her monsters. Remember the thing we saw in the warehouse?"
Dean shivered a little bit in memory at the grotesque abomination they had encountered. A poor attempt at a hand-crafted demon, made from human souls. It made him sick.
"You think these things will work, though?"
"I hope so. Because there's one upstairs."
Dean froze, his heart beginning to pound. He knew Matt heard it, and he wished he could force himself to be calm, but it didn't seem to be working.
"Come again?"
"It just came out of nowhere. It's wandering around the first level."
"What are you talking about?" Hernandez asked.
"Evangeline, the witch, she's made these...monsters. Very dangerous, very hard to kill. They don't talk or reason, they just want to kill and destroy."
"And there's one upstairs?" she hissed, voice dropping to a whisper, "How do you know?"
"I can sense it. It doesn't know we're here, but we need to take it out before it hurts anyone."
Dean cursed, then turned back towards Hernandez, "You going to give me one of those guns or what?"
Hernandez let out a heavy breath, then took three guns out and handed them to Dean and Matt.
"Be careful. And...can you shoot?" she asked Matt, raising an eyebrow.
"We can fucking shoot, give us a gun," Az said, catching Hernandez by surprise.
"Yeah, they do that," Dean said, examining his weapon. "How do you shoot this thing?"
Hernandez gave them a rundown of the weapon, actually guiding Matt's hands over the mechanics to make sure he knew what she was talking about.
"Alright, let's do this," Dean said, hefting his gun and feeling very much like a ghost buster.
"You ready?" Matt asked, assuming his usual pre-teleportation stance.
Hernandez nodded, "Let's go."
Then they were back on the first level of the basement. It was still dark as fuck. Thankfully the light from their weapons illuminated the immediate area, but all Dean could see was the cubicles and dead tvs. Up above, he could hear some faint murmurings and thuds of the firemen still investigating, supposedly. The smell of smoke was drifting down into the basement, and the air seemed a little hazier than it had been when they first arrived.
"It still here?" Dean whispered.
Matt opened his mouth to answer, and then there it was. An amalgamous mass of black, fluid like mist but slick and heavy like oil or tar, filling Dean instantly with a sense of dread and terror.
Hernandez took a stuttering step back, then braced herself and lifted her gun.
"Let's do it, boys."