The news could only talk about one thing – the Angel murders that began two months ago. Lux sat in their motel room, eyes intent on the television screen before switching to the laptop where various articles were displayed. Whatever these people were seeing, it most definitely wasn't an angel.
Lux mulled over whether they should get involved or not. If they had to pick a label for themselves, it'd be more as a Man of Letters than as a hunter. They gathered information, knowledge. Granted, the bunker had been a bust. It required a special key – they came to this frustrating conclusion when no type of lock picking would work. Still, they weren't very much into the idea of doing any dirty work if they could help it. But, if they never got their hands dirty, would they be able to do away with Azazel when the time came? "It would be unwise to interfere in the middle of their hunt," Lux decided on, their intuition approving of the choice. "Best to wait and watch."
Two days after their arrival, whatever had been causing the murders was dealt with and Lux waited until nightfall to approach the brothers' room. The sound of one of the men's voices made Lux take pause. "There's so much evil out in the world, I feel like I could drown in it. And when I think about my destiny, when I think about how I can end up…"
Sam. It had to be him, with his talk of destiny. The words might've affected Lux, especially with their current demon blood predicament. But, Lux was not a believer of fate or destiny or whatever bogus name people wanted to call the unknowable future. "Yeah, well, don't worry about that, all right?" Dean responded. His voice was gruff, similar to John's and it made Lux smile just a bit. "I'm watching out for you."
"Yeah, I know you are," Sam replied. Lux leaned against the doorframe now. It wasn't polite to eavesdrop, but their intuition advised this was a needed conversation between the brothers. "But, you're just one person, Dean. And I needed to think there was something else watching, too, you know? Some… higher power. Some greater good. And that maybe," Sam trailed off again.
Dean waited for a few seconds. "Maybe what?" he finally prompted.
"Maybe I could be saved," Sam replied, the words barely audible to Lux.
There was a real doozy. Salvation. Unlike destiny, Lux grappled with the idea of salvation. They were tainted with demon's blood, after all. And with the existence of demons and their angel counterparts, it only made sense that a heaven and hell existed. Lux's studies showed many different kinds of spiritual realities, though. That is, the things John hunted, that his boys hunted, they weren't only strictly derived from Christian beliefs. So, if other religions influenced the world around them now, wouldn't it also make sense they would influence the afterlife just as much?
Except, what did this mean for Lux, and Sam, who were specifically targeted by one religion? Would it mean they were bound to the commandments of it? Or could the two change that, bend the rules at their discretion, through belief alone? In this their intuition lacked a clear response – for now, anyway.
Lux snapped out of their thoughts to dial back in to the Winchester brothers' conversation. When they began talking about dinner, Lux stood straight and knocked. A hush immediately fell inside of the room and Lux found their paranoia both amusing and saddening. The door opened a couple of inches and a glowering face appeared. Except, seconds later, the scowl transformed into a bright, flirty smile and the door opened further. This one's Dean, Lux thought. Very much his father's son.
"Hello," the man greeted and leaned against the doorframe now. "My name's Dean. I hope like hell there's something I can help you with."
"I'm Lux Bravo. A friend of your father's. Although, I suppose friend is not the right term for someone you only met and talked to once," Lux said more to themselves than the man at the door. That statement wiped off the charming grin from Dean's features. The younger Winchester came to the door, though, pulling it open wide, and Lux had to slightly tilt their head back to look into his eyes. "You must be Sam. I've been looking forward to meeting you the most, what with our shared history."
"What do you mean by shared hi story?" Sam asked.
They looked around the hallway and then raised their hand, motioning towards the inside of the room. "I think it would be best if I first," Lux said and slipped easily between the two brothers, headed towards the desk chair. When they sat, their expression softened just a bit while the two brothers moved to block Lux's path to the door. "I'm sorry, by the way. About John. I just heard and…" they paused and swallowed. "I owe so very much to your father. He's the reason I know the truth about myself. About all this, what happens behind the curtains, you know?"
"Our dad's been gone for a while," Dean said, and Lux realized his arm was behind his back. "When exactly did you meet him?"
"Seven months ago, in Lawrence, Kansas," Lux replied. "I missed you boys by about two, three months, but John was still there, with Missouri." Lux's eyes widened suddenly and they leaned forward, causing the two men to take half a step back in surprise. "The woman, the one that lives in your old house. She asked me to pass on a message. There's a hot meal waiting for you, if you're ever in her area again. I guess you must've done something extra nice to have an offer like that available at any moment. I promised her I would let you two know, so. Now you know."
Understanding dawned on Sam. "You're one of us," he said quietly and Lux gave an indiscernible nod. "What's your ability?"
"It's hard to explain. The closest term I've encountered for my ability is Intuitive Aptitude," Lux told Sam and the look of confusion caused a hint of a smile to finally peek through. "You ever watch Doctor Who? That episode where they're stuck in the library and The Doctor says they have all the weapons they need?" Sam's confusion turned into immediate understanding.
"Christ, another nerd," Dean muttered, though his hand didn't dropped from behind his back, and Lux turned a chilly gaze to the oldest Winchester. When he caught sight of it, he shifted in his spot. Lux could almost hear his grip tightening on the butt of the gun just because of their look. "I'm not wrong."
"A more plebian example for the low-level life form in the room," Lux said in a drawl. "I bet you like Batman, don't you? Millionaire playboy by day, superhero by night. His own butler, a bunch of cool tech toys, and a fast car."
Dean chuckled now and gave them a shrug. "What can I say? It's easy to draw the similarities between us."
Sam rolled his eyes then froze. "Are you trying to say I'm Albert?" he asked his brother. Dean only grinned and shrugged again.
"Oh, I'm certain Bill Finger and Bob Kane had you in mind when creating Batman," Lux replied sarcastically. "Anyway, I'm sure you're aware he's considered to be the world's greatest crime solver in his world, greatest at strategies, tactics, and what not. Well, that's me. Except without the spandex. And I'd say thrice as smart as my fictional counterpart," Lux said with a shrug of their own.
A scoff escaped Dean at the comment and both hands came forward, his open hands signaling Lux to stop. "No way. No one's smarter than Batman. No one's even beat Batman in a fight," he shot back and Lux rolled their eyes at how easily Dean could be distracted from the actual conversation at hand.
Lux began counting off on their fingers. "The Joker spiritually broke Batman an unimaginable number of times. Harley Quinn almost killed him with her perfect trap and Batman himself said she would've succeeded, if Joker hadn't interrupted. Speaks volumes of the fragile male ego, by the way," Lux noted casually. "Bane literally broke Batman's back. Deathstroke also beat his ass at hand-to-hand combat. Hell, his own adopted son, Jason Todd, uses Batman's training against him and beats him with a crowbar. My favorite, though, is the crossover with Predator where Batman ends up in a full body cast. Took him forever to recuperate from that one."
The Winchester brothers were now staring at the stranger with wide eyes. "Marry me," Dean said breathed out and Lux rubbed at their eyes, exasperated.
"Please tell me at least you understand, Sam," Lux sighed afterwards, glancing over at the younger Winchester. "Your dad said you were the – " Lux stopped, flushing suddenly at what they were about to say. It definitely wasn't something they should be saying when John wasn't around anymore to counter it. "The one that would better sympathize with my predicament."
"Have you had any dreams?" Sam asked, taking a seat on the bed closest to the desk chair. "About a yellow-eyed man?"
"I haven't, not yet, though I know some of us do dream of him already. And it ain't about rainbows and unicorns, from what I know," they said and shifted, pulling out their wallet and taking two hundred-dollar bills. They paused, looked up at the ceiling, before pulling out two more and holding the money out to Dean. "If you haven't had dinner yet, it's on me. Persimmon on Hope Street. Tips already included in here. I wasn't sure what you two would like, so I ordered a bit of everything. The foie gras and gem salad are mine, though. Oh, you should have enough left over for a pack of drinks, maybe two."
The brothers stared at the money and after a second, Sam's eyes flickered over to Lux's still open wallet. He noticed it flush with bills still. "Who are you, Lux? Really?"
To the complete surprise of the two, Lux's face lit up, an enticing, charming smile brightening their features. "I'm Batman."