Chapter 15
Stiles paced his room that evening, nerves wracked after his fifth time trying to contact the pack with no response. Not a single one of them was answering. They had started acting cagey after Heather’s death and his dad had practically dropped off the face of the planet, swamped with what he had finally admitted were a chain of murders.
Something was definitely going on in Beacon Hills and no one would give him any information on it. After heather’s death, Tony and pepper had demanded that he take a week off and Steve refused to let him overwork himself at the gym so here he was sitting in his bedroom, too wired to work on homework.
He’d been playing the good boy for a week and he finally had enough and flopped himself onto his computer chair, pulling up the Beacon Hills Police Department database and easily infiltrating the system, pulling up file after file and hitting print. Once he was done he printed off a large map of beacon hills into grids that he could stick to the wall to make a complete map.
Ignoring the call for lunch he kept on working, pinning crime scene photos, witness testimonials, anything he could get his hands on, searching and hacking if needed to find information on each of the victims.
It didn’t take long to start making the connections. The girl named Emilly had been speaking with her girlfriend on Facebook about their first time being romantic that night, while the boy proudly sported a purity ring.
Virgins with a threefold death.
The next group of three was Warriors, all involved in some form of military work. Though Harris had yet to be found he was sure that he must be dead by now, not just missing.
Stiles pulled his phone out dialing a number that he never expected himself to ever dial. The zen-like voice on the other end, made him want to punch a wall. “Stiles, to what do I owe this surprise call?”
Stiles rolled his eyes. “I think you know why I’m calling Doc. All of these murders, I’ve been taking a look at them an anyone who has ever looked up human sacrifice before knows that the druids had a pretty big hard-on when it came to giving one up to the gods. You ever hear of the Lindow Man? Found in England? He was found Strangled, head bashed in, throat cut. Threefold death they call it. They also found pollen grains in his stomach. Guess what favorite druid plant it was.”
Deaton was Silent for a moment before he answered. “Mistletoe.”
Stiles huffed “I’m just telling you everything you already know isn’t I? So this guy, is he a druid?”
Deaton replied immediately, for once, forthcoming. “No, it’s someone copying a centuries-old practice of a people who should have known better. Do you know what the word Druid means in Gaelic?”
Stiles vibrated with impatience. “No.”
He could almost hear Deaton smiling. “Wise Oak. The Celtic druids were close to nature. They believed they kept it in balance. They were Philosophers and Scholars. They weren’t serial killers.”
Stiles scoffed once more. “Yeah well this one is.”
Deaton paused as if reluctant in giving him information before he finally spoke. “If a druid goes down the wrong path, the wise Oak was sometimes said to have become a dark Oak. There’s a Gaelic word for that as well: Darach.”
Stiles sighed in impatience. “And what is that supposed to tell me? Hello? Deaton? Damnit!”
Stiles threw his phone on the bed in frustration, pulling at his hair with a huff.
There was a soft knock at the door before Clint poked his head in, eyes worried. “You alright kid?”
Stiles tried to move in order to block his view of the wall but Clint moved in, closing the door behind him, frown in place. “What is that?”
Stiles sighed, hoping Clint wasn’t going to go blabbing to his Uncle. “It’s all the murders that have been going on back home in the last few days. Heather was the first but it escalated super-fast and no one seems to be cluing in that these are ritualistic sacrifices.”
He pointed to the first set of victims, pointing to where they were found and where they were killed. “The first three were virgins, all killed with the three fold death. They were found Strangled, head bashed in, throat cut.”
He pointed to the other set, not all having been found yet. “The other three have all gone missing, only one has been found yet. All three are Warriors, involved in different military branches.”
Stiles felt tense, expecting Clint to tell him that he was just imagining things.
He hummed lightly. “So you think that someone is killing them as some form of sacrifice?”
Stiles nodded. “I don’t have all of the details yet, there are things missing but I know I’m on the right track.”
Clint nodded before heading for the door and calling Natasha and Phil in.
Stiles flinched; worried that he was in for it now.
They both walked in, eyes going straight to his wall, Natasha the first to speak. “What the hell is that?”
Phil, smirked, looking almost proud. “Natasha, you’ve seen plenty of crime scene walls in your day. Judging from the Beacon Hills map and the photos of corpses, I take it Stiles has taken it on himself to look into his dads murder investigation.”
Stiles felt the tension in his shoulders ease. “Yeah, and I found a few things. I called someone I know who has a bit of knowledge in these kinds of things and turns out that whoever is doing these things is a Darach. It’s a Dark Druid. It’s the only thing I know about them yet. I just got the information before Clint walked in. Whatever it is, it’s sacrificing victims in sets of three’s for some reason. The first three were virgins, the next three are warriors. I’ve been trying to get ahold of everyone down home and no one is answering and they have been squirrely all week, obviously keeping something from me, which means that they know about what’s going on back home and have been trying to keep it from me.”
Stiles played with the idea of throwing the werewolves revelation out there just as his phone rang, the image of Scott’s goofy grin, popping up on screen. Stiles turned his back to his Uncle and the others before pressing accept, frown on his face. “Scott, finally decided to stop avoiding me man? Look, I know shit is going down back home and I want answers.”
Scott’s voice was hollow and broken as he spoke. “Stiles, I’m so sorry. S-she… She took your dad. We went to him to try to point him in the right direction but even knowing about us, he refused to listen, he ran in to save Lydia and she was there with him one minute and the next she was gone.”
Stiles felt white hot rage pour through him, adrenaline coursing through his system and yet he did not scream, his voice was hard and lethally cold.. “Of course he would run in Scott, He’s the Sherriff, he swore an oath to serve and protect no matter what. It doesn’t matter that he knows, he still would have gotten involved. That is exactly why I told you to NOT get him involved in this. I’m stealing one of Tony’s fucking suits and getting my way over there right now. I swear to god Scott. If I lose my dad, I will gut you with my own bare hands. I don’t care that we used to be best friends, I will fucking end you like the dog you are and I will use your super healing to make it slow and fucking painful, do you hear me?”
Stiles hung up without another word, trembling with rage and going for his emergency bag he had packed at all times and grabbing his laptop and wallet and shoving it inside as his Uncle demanded. “What happened?”
He turned to face them, holding himself stiff; not allowing himself to lose it yet, his dad needed him. “The Darach took my dad. I need to get home as soon as possible. Every minute we wait leaves him one step closer to being sacrificed.”
Phil fished his phone out. “I can get the bus in the air within twenty minutes and call everyone in, but Stiles I don’t think you should be involved in this, you’re not ready for the field yet.”
Stiles growled. “The hell I’m not. I know what we are getting into, while you guys are going in blind. You need me, I have inside knowledge and an in with the local pack and allies and yes I said Pack. Pack as in Werewolves. We don’t have time to ease you into it. All that crap I got into that caused me to be sent here? It’s all because of werewolves. My best friend was bitten by an Alpha and turned and then life just went to shit from there and I don’t have time to explain the rest but you need me if you have any chance of getting inside information that will help saving him.”
Phil stared at him intently before nodding, dialing a number. “Hey May, fire up the bus and get her ready and make sure everyone is suited up, we need to fly out in twenty. Oh and may? Grab the suit I had made for Stiles.”
He hung up and turned to Nat and Clint. “You two assemble the avengers, I want everyone on this, and time is of the essence.”
They both grabbed their phones and started to dial as they all made their way to Phil’s car, stopping to grab Stiles gun safe and shoving it in Phil’s trunk before they all piled in.
Phil broke every speeding law known to man and got them to the airstrip in ten minutes only to find that all of the avengers must have done the same as Tony was already suited up, Bruce standing next to him looking a little green around the gills, though not like he was going to turn. Steve and Thor both advanced on them as they arrived but Phil stopped them in their tracks. “We can all talk when we are all packed and ready in the air.”
Everyone nodded and made their way into the plane, Phil throwing orders at everyone until May finally spoke on the intercom, confirming they were about to take off and to strap yourselves in.
Once they were in the air, everyone unbuckled and Phil ordered everyone to the conference room as he finished his call he was on, obviously arguing with someone. “I don’t care if the FBI originally had this case; do what you need to do to have it transferred to SHIELD. They are not equipped to deal with this and we are. Get it done.”
Stiles texted the pack, letting them know his ETA and advising that if they were not at the landing strip when he landed he was turning them all into fur coats.
His Uncle guided him to a lab in the back of the plane where a girl and boy were standing in wait. Phil walked forward to introduce them. “Stiles meet Fitz and Simmons. They have a present for you.”
Simmons walked forward, hand extended bright smile on her face. “Nice to meet you Stiles, I’m sorry it had to be under these circumstances.”
Stiles nodded his thanks and Fitz handed him a garment bag. “You’re Uncle had this made up especially for you. Apparently he knew you would eventually need it. “
Stiles unzipped it and gasped. “This is a SHIELD bodysuit.”
Phil smiled. “If you are going to be going in on this op with us, then you need to be able to be protected. That means proper body armor and the right to carry a weapon. I always had a feeling this might happen one day and took measures to be ready. Here is your temporary SHIELD badge. Maybe one day you’ll join us officially?”
Stiles huffed lightly, lip quirking, knowing if this would have been any other occasion he would have been beaming. “Is that a job offer Uncle Phil? I remember dad telling me to remind you that he would have your head if you enlisted me. Now I know why.”
Phil moved forward, placing his hand on Stiles shoulder. “We will get him back Stiles. And when we do he can complain all he wants if you do accept my offer. Once you graduate that is.”
Stiles nodded, quickly getting changed and slipping his Beretta into the hip holster at his side. Fitz passed him another firearm and went on a long spiel about how they lovingly called it the night night gun.”
He placed that one on a thigh holster, grabbing a few knives and setting those up, a KBAR on the other thigh and another in his boot.
Once he was done his Uncle gave him a nod of approval, a proud gleam in his eye before they made their way to the conference room where everyone was gathered.
Stiles and Phil debriefed everyone about the current situation until Stiles phone started to ring. He looked at the screen and answered it when he saw it was Lydia, placing her on speaker. “Hey Lyds, I have you on speaker. Are you going to give me more information? We need as much details as we can to figure out where she took dad. Everyone is aware of Werewolves so you have free reign.”
He could hear the quiver of Lydia’s voice as she recounted everything from the first body being discovered to the Alpha pack coming in. Stiles felt his heart constrict when he heard that both Boyd and Erica were dead.
His body swayed lightly and he sat down when he heard that Tara died.
Steve was at his side in a moment, hand on his shoulder and Stiles squeezed it gently back whispering. “She used to help me with my homework at the station when Dad was working long nights.”
He felt rage pour through him when he heard that everyone had thought Derek was dead but then turns out he had been sleeping with the new teacher who they found out was the Darach.
After she gave all of her information and hung up, Thor was the first to speak. “I have faced a Darach before. They can be a powerful foe. They move through what Jane calls Telluric currents and use its energy to source their power, adding sacrifices to this, her power could be immense. We would need someone able to wield mistletoe in order to stop her.”
Stiles frowned. “Is it the same as working with mountain ash? I’ve used that before to lock werewolves into a warehouse. I’m surprised I managed to do it too, he gave me this tiny bag, I shouldn’t have been able to do the whole circle.”
Thor looked taken aback. “You have managed to surround a whole building with mountain ash and have it hold? Truly Stiles you are full of surprises. Not many humans carry a Spark.”
Stiles sighed. “What exactly is a Spark? Deaton mentioned it but the man is evasive as hell.”
Thor’s hands moved, expressively as he explained. “A Spark is a human who has the potential to wield magic. They also tend to be magnets for the strange and supernatural. Perhaps once this is all done, you would permit me to call upon an old friend to help you?”
Stiles nodded, more than willing to learn more skills than just making mountain ash duplicate.
They continued to discuss potential tactics until May finally advised everyone to buckle in as they were going in for a landing.
Once they had landed, stiles was the first in line to descend, using the excuse that he was the contact with the pack, he needed to do the introductions.
The hatch descended slowly, revealing Scott and Derek standing in front, Isaac, Lydia and Alisson standing behind them.
He descended with purpose, Scott stepping forward already uttering apologies but quickly cut off by Stiles swinging fist.
It landed with a resounding crack, breaking Scotts jaw if the noise he made and the crunching sound were any indication. “I told you to leave my father out of this but no! You are fucking Scott McCall you never think anyone else can be right!”
Derek moved to stop him and Stiles turned on him, landing punch after punch. “This is all your fault! If you hadn’t hooked up with Kate and burned your family alive, Peter wouldn’t have lost his mind and Scott would never have been turned into a werewolf and we never would have had to be pulled into any of your shit! Not only did you fuck one psycho bitch but you landed right into the bed of another one. It isn’t enough that you killed your family, but you have to try to kill mine!? I wish Kate had killed you too so you could never come back to ruin everyone else's life!"
Derek just let him land punch after punch, a haunted, pained look on his face, until Stiles finally collapsed into his arms, sobbing.
Steve watched from a distance, jealously and helplessness leaving him rooted in place as the man he was in love with sob in another’s arms.
Stiles finally managed to pull himself together and pulled back to stare into Derek’s eyes. “I’m sorry I said those things. I didn’t mean it, I just wanted someone to hurt as much as I am right now and hit below the belt.”
Derek just nodded, lip managing a small smile for Stiles sake. “I know Stiles, I know.”
Wiping the tears from his face he sighed. “But why did you do it? Why sleep with her Derek?”
Derek sighed "I don't know. I just.... Did. I'm not really sure what happened. I was looking for you. I knew you weren't here but, it’s kind of second nature to seek you out when I’m in dying now...”
His smile was rueful for a moment before he grimaced at the memories that came. “And then there she was and I just.... She just took me home and it was like it made sense that she should be there. I don't know why. You know I don't like strangers in my space or touching me."
Stiles sighed, feeling both relief and intense anger. “The bitch used magic on you. It makes so much more sense now. Listen, we need to all congregate to the loft and hash out a plan of attack. I brought the avengers with me. If anyone can fix this screw-up, including the Alpha pack, it’s them, alright?”
Derek nodded and they separated, their brothers in war status that they had slowly been forging, once again cemented.
Steve was quickly at Stiles side, taking his hand in his and squeezing gently, letting him know he was there to support him.
Stiles squeezed his hand back in thanks, smiling at him gently before starting on the introductions and then making their way to the loft to form a plan of attack.