"Why am I having these visions in my dreams?" Tim asked as he sat at the kitchen table with Tony, Gibbs, Sam and Castiel.
"Chances are," Castiel began, "Your possession with Loki or Jormungand left you with some kind of spiritual residue from their world. Your vision could be a portrayal of things to come; events that Hel has envisioned."
"Or a glimpse of what she was doing while she was doing it," Sam suggested.
"Well what good is that?" Tim scoffed.
"It could prove useful," the angel said.
"Useful if it's a premonition, maybe," McGee looked down at his cup of coffee.
"Either way," Gibbs interjected, "We might be able to track her this way."
"What about whatever zombie she just created?" Tony narrowed his eyes.
"She will keep them close," Castiel told them. "And chances are, she will raise more than one."
"Perfect," Tony laughed nervously. "So, we're what, now? Fighting a zombie-apocalypse?"
"Depending on her intentions, it is possible," the angel replied.
"So uh..." McGee nervously fingered the mug, "How do we kill them? Is it like in the movies where you have to...take off their heads?"
"Shooting them in the head is just as effective," Sam supplied. "But, unlike most zombie movies, they're not slow. You're not gonna be able to easily out-run them."
The room fell under a considerable silence as the agents contemplated what they'd been told. Then Tony looked at Sam, "So what's the plan? How do we even begin to find Hel?"
"Assuming Tim's vision was a premonition, we need to figure out what cemetery she's gonna go to."
"It was old," Tim said. "One of those cemeteries with statues and stuff."
"There's a lot of old cemeteries around here, McGee," Tony said. "We could be driving around all day."
"No," Gibbs replied calmly. "McGee, you'll take Abby an' Ducky over to NCIS and go through the database to see if you can find anything familiar."
"Boss," Tony argued, "Vance said we're not allowed back there-"
"Vance had a change of heart," Gibbs told him. "We'll have his full cooperation from now on."
Tony gave him an incredulous look, "When did this happen? Are you sure he's not...possessed or something?"
"He is not under demonic control," Castiel replied for him. "He simply needed convincing."
Sam furrowed a brow at the angel, "What'd you..." he paused after he thought about it for a moment. "Oh..."
"What if it wasn't a premonition?" McGee asked; nervousness thick in his voice as he looked up at Sam. "What if she's already begun to raise the dead?"
"Then you'll be lookin' for reports of grave desecration," Gibbs supplied.
"But...the zombies?"
"Well, it can't be too hard to spot them in a crowd, right?" Tony asked.
Sam shared a glance with Castiel. The angel replied, "It's not certain how they will appear. Her power in combination with the demonic forces that brought her here have not previously been witnessed."
"So they could look like everyone else," Tony surmised. "People could be in danger..." his gaze drifted toward Gibbs.
"Then we need to work fast," Gibbs said. "I'll go wake Abby and Duck." He stood from the table and made his way toward the stairs.
"What're we gonna do?" Tony asked.
"Get to know our opponent better," Sam told him. "Bobby brought a ton of ancient Norse mythology literature from his place when he came up here. Guess it's time to put it to some use..."
11 00 11 00 11
Covenant House...
Brianna Matthews stepped into the women's restroom and went straight to the sink. She was tired; tired of waiting. And she missed her friends. She wondered if what she'd agreed to was really going to work.
She turned the water on and splashed in over her face a few times before blindly reaching out for a towel. After patting her face dry, she gazed at her reflection, then gasped when she realized someone was standing behind her...
Without turning around, she spoke, "I was beginning to worry you weren't coming."
The figure behind her moved closer; something that could only be described as an image within black smoke. It, too, was a woman. But half of her profile wasn't there; simply blank, only made up of the smoke that seemed to be her embodiment.
Brianna watched the reflection as Hel's ghostly hand reached up from where she stood behind her, and grazed gently fingers across Brianna's jawline, "Such a beautiful creature," she whispered. Hel admired the girl's soft features; flowing blonde locks of hair and fit figure. "Worthy of being my vessel. But very impatient."
"I know it's not been very long," Brianna replied shakily, "But it's been hard dodging all the questions with the police. They nearly discovered this," she said as she raised her shirt to reveal the ouroboros tattoo on her abdomen.
"It will be worth the trouble," Hel promised, "When I am with you. We will be so powerful," she smiled.
Brianna returned the smile, "I am yours..."
11 00 11 00 11
The basement was relatively quiet, aside from an occasional stretch of information one of the six home-bound members of Castiel's team came across and shared aloud with the rest of them.
Bobby and Dean were seated comfortably on the older man's cot; their backs leaning against the shelving behind them as they shuffled through endless pages. Dean had generously offered his hammock to Ziva; mostly because he liked the way it made Sam all nervous and red-faced whenever she'd grin in his direction. And since Sam was sitting in his own hammock, it was pretty much unavoidable. Every time Dean glanced up from his book, he couldn't help but smirk at how hard Sam was trying to concentrate on the book open in his lap.
Gibbs and Tony sat on saw horses and had their books open on the work bench in front of them. "Boss, you think these...demon-god-things have a taste for McGee?"
When Gibbs looked up from his book to his agent, he realized Tony had probably spent a better amount of time running that question through his head, than he had reading through the book. Glancing at Tony's book, he confirmed that assumption; he'd barely gotten through the first few pages. "A taste for McGee?" he questioned as he met his eyes again.
"Ya know...like they're targeting him or something? It's just...with his super-power vision thing now... Being possessed by Loki might've been a chance thing. But they purposefully sought him out for Jormungand. And now he's seein' into Hel's head. What if..." his eyes darted around somewhere in the air between them, "What if she has some kinda access to his head? I just...I guess I just feel like maybe he's in more danger than we might be."
"He's not by himself," Gibbs reminded him.
"Yeah but...Ducky an' Abs aren't really the best choice of bodyguards, boss."
"He was supposed to be theirs," Gibbs narrowed his eyes, but realized what his agent was saying.
"Could be right," Dean said and they both looked over to him. Dean looked over at Castiel who was sitting on the steps. "Hey, Cas... Think you can zap over there an' keep an eye on McGee?"
"If that's what you wish for me to do," Castiel said as he stood. "Although, I don't believe he is in more danger than any of the rest of you."
"Call it a precaution," Dean smirked. "We've got all kinds of hoo-doo crap protecting this house, anyway. Besides, you'll find something interesting to look at in Abby's lab. Unless, of course, the crack in the paint you've been starin' at is more entertaining."
"There's no crack in the paint," Gibbs retorted calmly.
Dean shot him a defensive look, "Just a figure of speech, sir..." and ended it with a nervous smirk. Sam pulled Dean's attention when he softly chuckled. "What's so funny?" the older brother asked.
Sam looked at him briefly, then shook his head, "Nothing." Gibbs raised an amused brow before looking back at Castiel, or rather where he'd been standing.
"I think I may have found something," Ziva said. "There is mention of a sacrificial summoning. And that those who have sacrificed themselves will be the first risen to serve..."
11 00 11 00 11
"I haven't been able to find any reports of grave desecration," Ducky said as he exited Abby's office through the glass doors into the lab. "Of course, it's more likely that it wouldn't be discovered right away. Especially not in an older cemetery."
"I think I've been through photos of just about every cemetery in a thirty-mile radius of D.C and I haven't seen anything familiar," McGee sulked. "Maybe it was just a stupid nightmare my mind conjured up."
"Part of me kinda hopes you're right," Abby said before cocking her jaw.
"But you're not," they all spun around at the sound of Castiel's voice.
"Does that ever stop being completely creepy?" McGee asked in a slightly elevated tone, heart thumping in his chest at the sudden appearance.
"According to Dean, no," the angel replied.
They were interrupted from responding, when McGee's cell rang. He glanced at the I.D before answering. "McGee." As he listened, he turned back to the computer and began typing. "Well, I'm pretty sure they haven't even been buried yet," he said into the phone. "That either makes what you found wrong, or this premonition is...days in advance. The burials are scheduled for Thursday." Abby and Ducky shared a curious glance. "No, we haven't found anything yet. And yes, I'll call if we do... Okay," he ended the call. "That was Tony," he said to his colleagues. "Apparently, Hel is supposed to raise the people who sacrificed their lives in order to summon her, before anyone else. Assuming she plans to raise more..."
"Well, this is good, right?" Abby asked. "I mean...that gives us more time. We can totally drive around and look for the cemetery if we have to. She could just be laying low or something."
"Or..." Tim looked down in thought, "She could be traveling," he suggested as he met her eyes again. "Who's to say she has to stay here in D.C to wreak havoc?"
"Like you just said, Timothy," the doctor replied, "She must raise the sacrificed first."
"Yeah. But," he turned back to the computer, "One of the women are being delivered out of town to a family plot just outside of Norfolk."
"Well...great," Abby frowned. "How do we know who she plans to raise first, out of the six?"
"And how, pray tell, does a demon-god travel?" Ducky queried...
11 00 11 00 11
Tbc...