Title: Power Play
Rating: R
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Universe: Creatures of the Night (Part 1)
Pairing: Morgan/Prentiss; JJ/Hotch
Genre: Supernatural/Drama
Summary: Tensions are running high when a vampire joins the BAU, but all differences must be put aside as the team investigate a series of suspicious werewolf murders. AU.
Author's Notes: Betaed by Windy City Dreamer.

Chapter Five

Emily's feeling a little apprehensive as she follows Agent Jareau – JJ – down into the bullpen. She had known that it was going to be bad. It has always been bad. Upon joining the Wolfgrove Field Office, she had gotten into a scuffle with a weretiger who took exception to her presence. Hadn't lasted long there. But her mother hadn't tried to kill her last boss. Of course, her mother's tried – and succeeded – in killing a lot of people, including a few attempts on Emily's life, but that doesn't make it any more acceptable.

'They'll come around,' says JJ matter-of-factly, and for a moment Emily is a little bit surprised. She had thought the media liaison would have thought better about any further attempts at reading her mind. Then, she remembers – this woman works with a team of profilers. She's bound to have picked up a few things.

Shaking her head slightly, Emily let her senses wander to the clump of desks that JJ was leading her to. There are two occupants at present – an older man, who has a slightly grizzled look about him, and a kid that looks like he's fresh out of high school. There's a moment while her mind registers something that's slightly off.

The younger guy doesn't have a heartbeat.

Holy shit.

He's a droid. An incredibly sophisticated droid. She had not realized that robotics had come so far.

'Don't say anything,' JJ whispers, so softly that no normal human could have heard it. 'He doesn't know.'

Jerking herself back into reality, Emily takes a closer look at the two men. The younger one – the droid – is tall and gangly, and he's wearing a purple vest. She can see the silver chain of a pocket watch glinting under the fluorescent lights. The older one is a little stockier, and wearing a long, black Nehru jacket, with a seven-pointed white star embroidered upon the collar. Order of the Mystic.

'This is Spencer Reid, our resident encyclopedia,' JJ gestures to the younger of the two, 'And David Rossi, Wizard,' she gestures to the older one. 'Guys, this is Emily Prentiss, our newest agent.'

'I prefer the term "Practitioner of Magic,"' Rossi says, shaking Emily's hand. She's surprised by his inherent lack of hesitation. This isn't a guy that gets hung up on species.

'It's uh…nice to meet you,' Reid says nervously, giving a tiny wave. He's not so big on human contact, apparently. And this makes Emily even more curious as to his origins – normally droids are as out-of-the-box as they come. Stereotypical personalities. This one seems a little more…human. Life-like.

'We'll usually brief new cases at ten a.m,' continues JJ. 'But this week is "catch up on the overflowing inboxes" week, so unless there's an emergency, it's going to be mostly paperwork.'

'It means you'll probably get a better start than our last new agent,' Rossi adds with a grimace. Reid bows his head slightly, and Emily finds herself immediately intrigued.

'What happened?'

'There were a group of rogue witches kidnapping children to use as human sacrifices,' JJ reveals. 'Our agent – Elle – got in the way of a spell, and…' She trails off.

There's an uncomfortable silence, and Emily feels slightly guilty for bringing up the subject. She knows that it's always hard to lose an agent – even one you haven't known very long. It seems to drive home the fact that this isn't a normal job. There are a lot of names etched on the memorial wall in the courtyard of the FBI headquarters. It and the surrounding gardens are well maintained. Some kind of silent epitaph. Emily can recall several occasions on which her name almost ended up etched on that wall. Undead doesn't quite count. That said, there are a fair number of agents whose names had been removed from the wall due to their resurrection at the hands of a Necromancer.

The world can be a pretty complicated place.

As if there hadn't been that awkwardness, JJ continues with her tour. 'That one will be your desk,' she says, pointing to Emily's left. It's stark, empty. A position waiting to be filled. Emily wonders how long the last agent had been there before all of her possessions had been swept unceremoniously into a garbage bag. A week? A couple of days? Hours? This is the BAU, not some after school kids' club, and Emily's not entirely sure that she belongs. It's all a matter of trying to pretend that she does.

With a quick goodbye to Reid and Rossi, they continue on their way, JJ pointing out areas of interest, like the supply closet full of stakes and silver bullets, or the medical office, for identifying all kinds of nasty bites and scratches.

'And this is Garcia's lair,' JJ opens a door right at the end of the hallway.

Emily frowns, trying to ascertain the nature of the room before stepping right into it. The description sounds almost ominous, as though there's some great beast they keep locked away, and send in those they don't like, unaware. It's a surprise then, when she's met with a fluttering of wings, and a rapidly beating heart. A fairy. She's met fairies before; most of them are incredibly affable, until you mess with them. A powerful force can be unleashed from such a small package.

This fairy isn't pissed. She's one shining ball of happy.

So distracted by the tiny white creature that's sussing her out, it's a few moments before she notices the bank of computer screens that dominate the room. The last time she had seen this much electrical equipment was when she was tracking down some over-eager scientist trying to reanimate corpses.

'Emily Prentiss, meet Penelope Garcia, "tech kitten."'

Emily holds out a finger for the fairy to shake, which is accepted with gusto.

'She's a little bit hyperactive,' says JJ following Garcia into the room, not bothering to lower her voice this time. Adding, 'Sugar,' as if it explains everything.

And, Emily smirks, noting the tiny bag of gummi bears in one corner of the desk; it probably does explain a lot of things.

'I emailed you those files you asked for,' Garcia tells JJ, and JJ nods. There's definitely something going on there, Emily knows. She also knows that it's not her business to find out. 'Also, I found some stuff on what Morgan was looking for. Really weird stuff.'

JJ's interest piques noticeably. Turning to Emily, she explains. 'A 'wolf was killed in the Sanctuary this morning.' Her brow creases, as she adds, 'That's probably why Morgan is in such a bad mood. He's not usually so…aggressive.'

'I was wondering,' says Emily, giving a half smile. 'I mean, he was acting as though I slaughtered his entire family, or something.'

Garcia winces, and Emily knows immediately that it had definitely not been the right thing to say.

'His father was killed by a vampire,' provides JJ, evidently taking pity on Emily's horror. 'A lowlife, crackhead vampire,' she elaborates. 'But still…'

Tread softly, is the unspoken message. Emily doesn't need to be told twice. She's not about to screw up her chances in the BAU thanks to another vendetta. There have been enough of those, not all of them her fault.

'Will we be taking the case?' Emily asks, biting her lip. It would be just her luck for her first case to be involving werewolves. Although, she reasons, at least it's not vampires. That would be a hundred times worse.

'That depends on what Garcia's found,' explains JJ. 'Technically speaking, we usually only take serial cases, regardless of whether or not they are supernatural concerns. It's difficult to build a profile with just one death.'

'Well then, I have good news, and bad news,' announces Garcia. 'The good news is, I have more bodies. The bad news is, I have more bodies. Thirteen lycanthropes killed over the past year across the country, silver knife, no defensive wounds, not including the one that was killed this morning. Thanks to "pack dynamics," most alphas wanted to keep their investigations in house, which is the reason why no-one ever made the connection. They were all treating it as an isolated attack against their own pack.'

'And yet none of the cases were ever solved,' concludes JJ. Garcia gives a grimace that would be imperceptible to anyone not less than two feet away or with superhuman vision.

'That's shifters for you,' shrugs Garcia. 'Very hung up on the camaraderie of their own pack, but when it comes to liaising with other packs…A bit like the vamps. They'll respect each other's territory, but they won't be inviting each other to their parties. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule in both species.'

She's talking about Morgan, Emily thinks; he smells like a wolf, but he doesn't smell like a pack. Why, then, does it make him so upset to find a fellow wolf dead?

'He's got trouble trusting a lot of people, doesn't he?' she asks. 'It's not just me.'

She admits, she's intrigued by Derek Morgan. And she hopes like hell she'll get the chance to figure him out.