LOTUS Part 1

St. Louis, Missouri

Sam, Dean, and Angela were in their FBI apparel and Grace held Sam's hand as they walked down the hall of the morgue. They flashed their badges to a doctor who walked out of the nearby exam rooms.

"Your colleagues are already inside," the doctor told them.

The three hunters exchanged confused looks and put away their badges. Sam picked up Grace and they walked into the room, only to see Castiel and Crowley. They were standing next to the autopsy table, where a body lied covered by a sheet.

"Agents." Castiel and Crowley greeted.

"Okay, this has gotta stop," Dean grumbled in annoyance. "All right, give me that," he pulled an FBI badge off of Crowley's jacket lapel.

"Armani!" Crowley exclaimed.

"Okay, enough. Let's have a look." Sam nodded to the body. "Gracie, close your eyes."

"Okay, Daddy," Grace replied, shutting her eyes.

Angela pulled down the sheet to reveal the face of the man's body, whose eyes were burnt out.

"Ooh. Looks like somebody forgot to put on his sunscreen." Dean muttered.

"This was Wallace Parker, the very powerful CEO of almost everything," Castiel explained.

"And apparently, Lucifer's latest vessel. Wasn't strong enough to hold him." Angela sighed as she pulled the sheet to cover the man's face again.

"You can open your eyes now, Peanut," Sam told Grace.

"Lucifer's not content with slutting it from one random vessel to the next," Crowley started. "He's moving on to blue chips—celebrities, captains of industries. He just got a lot more dangerous."

"I agree with Agent Zappa." Castiel nodded.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Oh, will you stop?"

~/~\~

Lebanon, Kansas

Sam, Dean, and Angela sat in the library in the bunker drinking beer while Grace was napping in her room.

"So, find anything?" Dean asked. "Anyone powerful or respectable who suddenly changed… or exploded?"

"Well, this is pretty interesting. This is the Archbishop of St. Louis with Wallace Parker." Sam replied.

"So?"

"So, this was him three days ago." Angela scrolled through a few pictures. "And this… is him last night at the opening of a food kitchen. Notice anything missing?"

Dean scrolled back and forth through the pictures. "Yeah, the big mother of a cross around his neck."

"Exactly," Angela nodded. "And this morning, his office canceled all further public appearances without comment."

"Okay, so you're thinking that, uh, Lucifer blasted out of Parker and into his buddy the Archbishop here," Dean theorized.

"Worth a shot." Sam shrugged.

"Yeah." Dean agreed.

~/~\~

St. Louis, Missouri

The Impala pulled up to a building with a sign that read, 'Archdiocese of St. Louis.' Sam and Dean got out while Angela stayed in the car with Grace.

"It's awfully quiet," Dean commented as he and Sam walked up to the door.

"Yeah, Angie put in a dozen calls to the Chief of Staff," Sam replied. "No one returned."

"Well, we'll have a look around. If it is Lucifer, we'll call the rest of the Scooby gang."

"Hey," Sam nodded to the doorbell. He pressed it and rolled his eyes when there was no sound. "Great."

Dean turned and used the door knocker on the door. No one answered, so they picked the lock and entered. They pulled out their flashlights out. Dean tried the light switch, but nothing happened. They walked into a nearby room and noticed signs of a struggle. Further in, they saw the priest from earlier, bloodied and injured, on the floor.

"Father, hey," Dean knelt beside him. "What happened?"

"We… knew something was wrong," the priest breathed out. "He… he…"

"The Archbishop?" Dean asked.

"Uh-huh." The priest nodded. "Senior staff decided… handle internally and intervene."

"An exorcism." Dean realized.

~/~\~

Sam and Dean walked further through the house. They came across a nun with her throat slit, a priest impaled on a wall and an inverted cross. They entered another room and found the Archbishop, lying on the floor with his eyes burnt out.

~/~\~

Lebanon, Kansas

Sam, Angela, and Castiel were in the library. Castiel was looking at pictures of the carnage from the Archbishop's house on a cell phone.

"Ugh," Castiel muttered. "These pictures… The level of violence, it's completely unnecessary."

"Lucifer doesn't like to get messed with," Sam replied. "I guess when the Archbishop's priests figured out he was possessed, they tried to keep it quiet, do an exorcism."

"I mean, not that it would've worked," Angela added. "Lucifer blew town, but not before he slaughtered the entire staff. So, we were on the right trail. Where's it go now?"

Dean walked into the room with bags of food and held Grace's hand. "I don't know. Who won the Nobel Peace Prize? Why don't we start there?"

~/~\~

Castiel was reading a newspaper in the library while Sam and Angela were looking at the laptop. Grace sat on Castiel's lap.

"Did the bunker's warding just fail?" Castiel asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Dean walked into the library and sat down. "I just powered it down. Crowley called, said he had some big news about Lucifer, whatever the hell that means."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait a second." Sam frowned. "So—so now Crowley can just… what, drop in whenever he feels like it? I-I prefer keeping Crowley at a distance. Long-distance."

"Not very charitable, Moose…" Crowley said suddenly, causing Sam to shake his head in frustration. "…particularly since, once again, I'm saving your asses. So, as you know, I'm temporarily persona non grata in my own palace."

"Palace?" Sam, Dean, and Angela scoffed.

"However, there are those I still control. Operatives." Crowley continued.

"Crowley, can we just get the damn news without the drama?" Sam huffed.

"Can I get you without the flannel?" Crowley retorted. "No. Still, I endure."

"What?" Sam's brows furrowed.

"Did a little digging, acting on a tip." Crowley typed something into Sam's laptop. "And I think I know the identity of Lucifer's new vessel."

"Oh, for God's sake," Dean muttered.

"Huh? Aha!" Crowley turned the laptop around. "Gentlemen, and lady… I give you one Jefferson Rooney, President of these United States."

A/N: Hey, guys, happy new year! I can't believe it's 2020 already, lol. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter :) And thank you for any recent reviews, I love hearing from y'all. Love you guys, xoxo :)

~Emily