“You WHAT?!”, I scream at the Doctor.
He steps back, eyes wide, stammering out some kind of sad excuse for an explanation.
“I leave them with you for FIVE MINUTES, and you LOSE them?! They could be anywhere in the multiverse by now! They could be separated! Do you have any idea what Dean is like when he and Sam are separated with no idea where the other is or if they're okay?!”
“Sorry?”, he asks.
“Sorry.”, I echo, “Sorry?! You're gonna be sorry when he's done with us! This is so bad…”
“There’s only a handful of universes where they could be.”, he Doctor defends. “I can have the TARDIS searching for them and get them found in five minutes.”
“Well, what the hell are you standing here talking at me for? Get on it!”
He runs to the TARDIS and I follow him. He's already pressing buttons and throwing levers by the time I get there. I close the door in case this ends up being a ‘spontaneous dematerialization’ trick. He does find them, and mouths ‘Oh’ when he does so.
“What? Where are they? Are they separated?”
“N-No. They're all together. They're just…in…Hogwarts.”
I have to run that through my head a couple times. “They're where?”
“Yeah. Hogwarts.”
“Okay, we need to go get them now.”
He places his hand on the button, and I place my hand on his. “We do not tell Jan,” I say. He nods. “We do not tell Hank.” Another nod. “We do not tell Hill.”
“Wait, Maria Hill?” he asks, confused.
“Yeah. She's a huge Harry Potter fan. And she's a Slytherin — that woman can kill us both and hide our bodies somewhere where they will never be found.”
“Okay then…”, the Doctor replies, “So! Hogwarts!”
He starts flipping levers and pressing buttons, running around the console. I press a few here and there to ensure a smooth flight and correct destination, but otherwise stay out of it.
I'm not really surprised at the weird noise and I have to suppress a chuckle when Sam and Dean jump at the sudden appearance of the blue box right in front of us. Humans... They're too funny sometimes…
I turn to the Doc as soon as we land, and I don't even need to say anything. “You were shadowing them, weren't you?”
“Yes!”, I answer nervously, “Fury's gonna kill me…”
“Well, how do you want to do this?”
“I have no idea. I'm freaking out a little here,” I answer, bringing my ponytail over my right shoulder like I often do when I'm nervous. “Okay. This is ridiculous! I'm a Hufflepuff, dang it! I can do this!”
“You're an American, not an American’t,” the Doc chimes in.
I shoot him this look that hopefully conveys my disappointment and embarrassment on his behalf. He just smiles.
“Hufflepuffs don't panic. I'm gonna go out there and do my job!”
I walk over to the door, confident and ready to take on the world. I throw the doors open, come face to face with the three, and my confidence drains away.
“Hi.” That's about all I can manage. And I'm beyond embarrassed and angry with myself ‘cause of it. But to be fair, I look pretty tiny compared to them.
I prefer to watch before I decide to do something, so while I tilt my head and eye the stranger thoroughly, Dean steps forward and asks bluntly “Who are you?”
It reminds me of my first encounter with the man after I had pulled his soul from Hell. I could smile at the memory, but I have to keep up my facade, for I don't know what the situation might bring.
I get back some shred of confidence and hold out my hand for Dean to shake. “SHIELD agent Nikki Skylar. You must be Dean Winchester.”
I can practically hear the Doctor's smirk. Unfortunately, I need the Winchesters to trust me, so I can't use my powers to throw a snowball at the Doctor's face.
I immediately notice that something is not entirely… human about this person, so I put my hand on Dean’s shoulder and tell him I need to talk to him. He turns around and looks at me questioningly, so I pull him aside and Sam follows. I inform him — them — about my suspicion and also about the Doctor (of course I noticed his presence, he couldn't have expected me not to), whom I have encountered before in my millennia of existence and thus, am thoroughly familiar with.
I look at the Doctor as the third man — the one on whom there's nothing except the fact that he's often seen with the Winchesters — tells the brothers that he needs to talk to them and takes them off to the side.
“I guess Cas recognized me,” the Doctor murmurs.
“Who?”, I ask.
“The guy in the trench coat. Castiel,” he answers.
“Oh. …do you think they know about me being a Phoenix?” I ask in a quiet voice, just above a whisper. He shakes his head.
“No,” he replies, “More likely than not, Cas is sensing your half Gallifreyian part, and maybe your Nix part. Not that piece. You told me that he wouldn't be able to.”
“I said no-one should be able to. Big difference,” I reply.
I cast another glance at the three men, one they don't catch.
After my little introduction of the Doctor and the other relevant information, the Winchesters decide to play along for now. We will see where this will lead us. Dean turns towards the strange person, I can't quite put a finger on yet, all self-confidence and a charming grin in place and asks “Hey, sorry ‘bout that. You are?” He doesn't hold out his hand to shake. Just in case. In the mean time, I watch the Doctor closely, silently thinking about his role in all of this. I don’t bother hiding my intense stare. He can full well know that I recognize him. Regenerated or not. Something about that stranger is still putting me on edge, that I can't seem to figure out just yet. But I will. Eventually. Truth be told, it really just is a matter of time. No-one can fool an angel for long…
“Nikki Skylar,” I introduce myself. Again. I turn to Cas, and I'm glad I don't need to act — something tells me all three of them can see straight through any fake smiles I'd give — when I smile at him. “You're Cas, right?”
“Yes, I am addressed with that nickname quite frequently since Dean made it up. I believe the Doctor has told you about me?”, I reply emotionless and shoot a glance towards said Gallifreyan.
I surprise him and everyone else by giving Cas an impulsive hug. “Thank you for saving the Doctor from the Vashta Nerada in London.” He probably won't ever know that, by doing so, he allowed the Doctor to meet me and change my life. Probably save my life.
Oh, a hug… What- What should I do? I'm not good at human interaction, so I look at Dean, searching for help, but he seems to be just as shocked as I am. So, I end up just standing there awkwardly, waiting be let go of. As soon as the hug is over, I tilt my head and say “You're welcome. I guess…”
I chuckle as I let go. “Touching and entertaining as this is…”, the Doctor cuts in, “We need to get you three home. Preferably before anyone notices you're missing.”
Sam scoffs “Yeah, we know that.”
Dean cuts him off “And how do think that's gonna happen? Not even Cas can zap between universes, goddammit!”
I squint at him and start to talk calmly “I have told you about the Doctor and his TARDIS. This ship is capable of traveling between universes, it could easily bring us back home.”
“What? You want me to get in there?!”, he retorted, pointing at the blue box, “No friggin’ way!”
I frown at him “Dean, this might be our only chance. The only other thing I know of, that can travel between universes, are archangels and I think it is needless to say, that we can't rely on any of them to help us.”
He frowns deeply and looks very uncomfortable, but he also nods in defeat. I turn back towards the Doctor and his mysterious companion and ask the stranger “Before we take you up on your kind offer, may I ask you a rather intimate question?”
“Long as I retain the right to not answer, sure,” I reply cheerfully.
I tilt my head, but restrain from pointing out that this response didn't really make much sense and instead just blurt my question “What are you?”
“You promise not to kill me? ‘Cause that would put a serious dent in my day.”
I don't answer the question vocally. Instead I just give a pointed stare, that should unmistakably say ‘answer the question, we'll see about that later’.
“I'm a Frost Phoenix,” I answer. I pump all the cheer and confidence into my voice that I can, and hope that my ‘In control and nothing gets to me’ mask doesn't break.
Of course this mask does not much to deceive me. I see fear. Suddenly I hear Dean blurt behind me “What the hell is that?!” and Sam just let out a low “Huh?”
I decidedly ignore them and respond instead “How is that possible? I thought they were extinct.”
“Nope. There are actually a lot of us. You just can't see us ‘cause we got good at hiding. And in response to your question, Dean, Frost Phoenixes are Elementals that can control ice,” I create a snowflake in my hand, much like Elsa from ‘Frozen’, “and fire.” I dissolve the snowflake and snap my fingers. A small flame ignites at the tip of my pointer finger. I act nonchalant until I actually see the flame, and then look back at the Doctor.
“Whoa!”, I exclaim excitedly, “It actually worked. That looked totally badass!”
He's not looking at me, though, and he doesn't look happy. He looks almost scared. I turn around to see where he's looking. At the end of the hallway, staring at us with the creepiest smile I've ever seen, is a Weeping Angel.
“Guys…", I say, “Get in the TARDIS.”
As soon as I spot the statue-like creature, my eyes go wide and I immediately grab the Winchester brothers and practically drag them into the Doctor’s fascinating blue box, never letting my eyes off the Weeping Angel. Dean protests at first, but I quickly shut him up with a harsh “Explanations have to wait, now hurry!”
I move back as fast as I can, but they're organized. While my eyes are on the one angel at the end of the hallway, another grabs me. Well, my jacket, thankfully. So, short of a rather embarrassing and terrified yelp, I'm fine. I stumble back onboard the TARDIS, slamming and locking the door with more force than really necessary. The angels aren't ones to give up, however, so they rock the TARDIS back and forth, jostling all of us inside.
“Doctor, quick!”, I all but yell at him while simultaneously moving towards the TARDIS’ middle console and start to push some buttons to accelerate our take off. Meanwhile, the brothers are having the typical reaction to the ship with the unusual large interior.
I brush past the brothers as I run up to the console and start getting us out of here.
“Would you people stop flying my ship?!”, the Doctor shouts as he runs around the console, doing the same thing Cas and I are.
“As soon as you learn how to fly it, absolutely!”, I shout back.
Another large lurch to the side accompanies the noise of her dematerializing. “Winchester boys,” I shout to get their attention, “Hang on to something!”
With three pilots, the ship actually flies somewhat smoothly, because at least two of us know what we are doing, those being Nikki and myself. In the mean time, the brothers are clinging to whatever has been in their reach, Dean wearing an expression of sheer panic while the TARDIS left this plain of existence and with it, the Weeping Angels.
The landing is actually really smooth, and when I glance back at Dean, I'm glad it was. Poor guy looks like he's about to have a heart attack.
“That was the smoothest landing I've had in forever!”
“Yeah, that's 'cause you weren't the one landing.”
“Oh, be quiet,” the Doctor replies.
“You just don't want to admit that someone knows your ship better than you.”
“That's not true!”, the Doctor protests.
I put my hands on my hips and walk over. I point to a set of blue switches next to him.
“What are these?”, I ask.
“Calibrators?”, he asks.
“Wrong,” I reply, “They're the stabilizers.”
I point to a set of green buttons. “These are the calibrators. What's this?”, I point to a single, yellow button.
“No clue,” he admits. I press it, and it sounds like a car horn. Despite my best efforts, I can't keep a straight face with that one. The Doc sorta looks at his feet.
“Told you.” I cross my arms.
“Fine, okay. You know it better than I do,” he concedes.
Without taking my eyes off the Doctor, I ask the boys “You two okay?”
Sam nods, while Dean is still busy trying to get his breathing under control. I speak up “He'll be alright, give him a minute. Now… I would like to know how we happened to end up in a foreign universe in the first place.”
My smirk is positively mischievous as I look at the Doctor. “It wasn't me!”, he protests, “I have no idea who it was or how they did that.”
He pulls out his sonic screwdriver and scans all three of them, starting with the Winchesters — likely in case Cas shorts out the screwdriver. “Well, it looks like a manual teleportation. Not Weeping Angels, mind you.”
“So, we have someone else running around with a teleportation device? Great…”
I think about that for a moment. “What kind of device would be strong enough to manage that? And where could one have access to it?”
“Oh, just about any teleportation device has the capacity to take people across dimensions. Depends on what type it is. A personal teleportation device, I could cobble it together with spare pieces in an auto shop — although I would need to scrounge up a time crystal — and I could go anywhere. As for teleporting someone else, it depends. How far away you want to put them, random or intentional, how many people you're teleporting, how far away from them you want to be. Stuff like that.”
“Anyone could build it; you'd just need the right parts. And really, they aren't hard to get ahold of. It's the actual know-how to build it that's difficult to obtain.”
“I can tell you it came from your universe, so I'd guess someone's trying to get rid of you three,” the Doctor cuts in, “but I can't actually determine what kind of device they were using.”
“Well, ain't that just great!”, Dean grumbles, letting out a humorless laugh, “Ya hear that, Cas? Someone wants to get rid of us! Sorry to break it to you, Doc, but that ain't exactly news to us.”
“Calm down Dean, he's just trying to help.”, Sam chimes in.
“We don't even know if we can trust them, Sammy!”
“Dean, stop it,” I say with a warning tone of voice, “I know the Doctor, he would never harm us.”
I look at Nikki and tilt my head to the side “Would you mind telling us a bit more about yourself? The brothers and I have trouble trusting people we don't know.”
“Completely reasonable troubles!”, Dean insists.
“I'm 28 years old, born and raised in Tennessee ‘til I was about 10. Dad and I had to run and hide from this psycho — also a Phoenix, calls himself Inferno — who had an obsession with my mom. She…uh…she died when I was six months old. So it was just me and Dad. And then…" Oh, God, I'd hoped to maybe get through this story once without breaking. Guess it's not my lucky day. “Dad was out getting something, and he told me to stay where I was, but I didn't listen to him. I sensed that something was gonna go wrong. I followed him, and I'm the reason we got caught. By Inferno. He, uh… He tortured me and my Dad, and Dad… Dad let himself get killed so I could escape. I was 12.” I sigh. “Well, it took me a week to put myself together, and once I did, I became a bounty hunter. I mean, I never took jobs that involved me killing people, but I also didn't care if anyone got killed. It was about 9 months later that I met the Doctor. He took me in, was kind to me, gave me a second chance.” I look Cas in the eye. “If you hadn't saved him, he wouldn't have saved me. That's why I hugged you. Anyway… I traveled with the Doc ’til I was 16, joined SHIELD for a year, got on the Avengers at 17,” I leave out certain parts that they don't need to know, “And about a week ago, Fury assigned me to shadow you three. And then I left the Doc in charge of you, and it took him all of five minutes to lose track of you.”
I take the information in and nod “I understand. I am glad, I could help with the process of granting you a second chance, as the Winchesters have already done for me more times than I can count.”
I turn around and look at the brothers, just then Dean murmurs “Guess we're all sitting in the same boat then…”
Sam then says thoughtful “I think we can trust you. And sorry about your family.”
“Okay, enough caring-and-sharing, what are we gonna do about our current situation?”, Dean grumbles.
“Wait. Why did SHIELD assign you to shadow us?”, I require.
“Well, I don't know if y'all have noticed, but you three are on just about everyone's radar. I mean, the stuff you do doesn't go unnoticed. SHIELD likes to keep tabs on any potential threats or allies. And Fury couldn't find anyone else who wasn't busy, would actually be able to speak if they got caught, and wasn't too intimidated to come within 50 feet of you. That's why they assigned me,” I answer.
I just stare for a few seconds, then Dean says “Intimidated?”
I can literally hear the smirk in his voice and it makes me smile a little.
“Uh… you guys are the freakin’ Winchesters. Why wouldn't they be intimidated?”, I ask.
Deans smirk turns into a full-on grin at those words and I turn towards him and deadpan “Well, it's not wrong.” Which makes him grin even wider, while Sam just huffs a laugh at his older brother.
I laugh a little. Then I start thinking. I turn to the Doctor, realizing it. “You weren't watching them.”
“Yes, we've been over this already,” he replies, “And you already did chastise me, which was surprisingly devoid of swear words.”
“No, you weren't paying attention, but you were in the TARDIS,” I enunciate, “That means she caught it-”
“On camera!”, he and I finish the sentence together.
“You're brilliant!”, the Doctor praises.
“Save your praise ‘til I actually do something,” I reply as I pull up the camera footage. I rewind to when they were teleported away, then play it at .25 speed.
“Now we're goin’ somewhere,” I say to no-one in particular.
“What is it that you have found?”, I ask, not missing a beat and make my way towards them to look over their shoulders. The Winchester brothers look curious and walk also into the direction of the screen.
“By using the camera footage, I can analyze the method of teleportation, and I can use that to determine what they used, where it is, and thus, who used it,” I pause, “Okay… Blue flash, then zip away; means it's a Torus class teleport.” I pull up the two universes positions. “Across three dimensions, that makes it an X model… Untraceable signal and better than a decade back, so it's a Torus X8. And since I know what it is, I can trace the exact machine used, since there are only 4 of them on Earth to exact coordinates…” Which I pull up on the monitor moments later. “Got ‘em!” I step back, throwing my hands up in victory. “Who's the queen?”
“You are brilliant!”, the Doctor exclaims, giving me a very quick hug, then breaking out of it a second later to check the coordinates. I look over everyone's shoulders to check them, and when I see where they are, my smile fades. Lawrence, Kansas. The old Winchester house.
“What,” the brothers say in unison, obviously just as confused as everyone else. “How is that possible, there is just a normal family residing in that house at present time,” I exclaim puzzled.
“Uh…not really. They sorta moved out a month ago. Place has been empty since. And it's not inconceivable that someone could've just moved into the basement with it. It does have a perception filter,” I reply, crossing my arms. “I can go handle this myself if you guys want me to.”
“No way,” Dean insisted “Our old house, our problem.”
“I would be glad to help,” I add.
“He's right, this is sort of about us anyway, so we might as well help you with this,” Sam said.
“Guess it's decided.”
The Doctor and I start pressing buttons, locking coordinates, and taking off. We don't get off the ground. The whole ship lurches to the side, throwing us all off our feet. The cloister bell tolls, reverberating through the interior. The Doctor and I look at each other.
“What'd you touch?”, we ask each other simultaneously.
“I didn't do it!”, we answer, again, at the same time.
“Well as it wasn't me either, it was probably the result of an exterior influence,” I conclude shortly.
I look at the doors, and see a silhouette through the window.
“Well, what could do that?”, the Doctor asks, “I'm not reading any dampening fields or-”
“There's something clinging to the outside of the TARDIS!”, I exclaim quietly.
Approaching cautiously, I look through the window, and see something horrifying. It's a Weeping Angel, but it doesn't look like it usually would. Instead of there being simply gray stone, her face is a mix of gray stone and black markings. Her eyes are red, and her snarl seems even worse than usual. I gasp, frozen to my spot with fear. Then she slams her hand against the other window, and I jump back with a shriek. I lean against the railing by the door.
“It's a Weeping Angel!”, I shout, “She must've been clinging to the outside of the TARDIS when we took off.” That would explain the turbulence just before we did.
I step forward and declare calmly “I'll take care of it.”
I move past Nikki, yank the door open, never breaking my stare — good thing I don't need to blink — and touch two fingers to the creature’s forehead. It vanishes and I close the door again, turning around with a look of indifference on my face. Everyone seems to stare at me.
“Whoa!” I chuckle. “How'd you do that?”
“Angel mojo, as Dean would call it,” is my only reply and when I look at said hunter, I see a look of… pride? I'm not sure what to do with that.
“Wait, angel?”
I tilt my head in confusion. How could she know about the Winchesters and not about angels?
“Um… yeah. Cas is an angel. Like, a real angel, with a capital 'A'. You know, complete with wings and all…”, Dean explains.
“The file never said anything about that, but it explains why I couldn't figure out what he was. Coordinates.” I get back to taking off. Once I start, the Doctor takes over, and I watch, correcting him every so often. I eventually turn to Cas and ask “How come I can't see your wings?”
“Well, they are located on a different plain of existence, therefore your eyes are simply not highly enough developed to perceive them. The same thing applies to my true form,” I explain.
“Oh, okay,” I reply. A light thud and the cloister bell ringing once signals our landing. “Well, we're here. Who wants to go out first?”
I just shrug, which seems to be either really confusing or really amusing to the Winchester brothers (and even the Doctor), because their expressions appear to be caught between shocked, impressed and suppressed laughter.
I chuckle a bit and walk to the door. “Guess I'll go first.”
I open the doors and walk out. Maybe a moment later, three gunshots ring out. My mind snaps straight to training, and I hide behind the TARDIS.
“Someone in the house has a gun!”, I warn them.
I pull mine out of my holster and risk a peek around the corner at my attacker. They're shooting from inside, so I can't really see them.
Sam and Dean pull out their guns in an instant while I hear the Doctor yell something along the lines of “Why does everyone always have guns?!”
I turn towards him and look pointedly at him as I materialize my angel blade. Not everyone. Then I turn back around and march through the open door, not really caring about the gun fire. Bullets can't harm me anyway.
“He just walks straight in…”, I mutter as I follow, keeping my gun at the ready. Sam and Dean are in front of me.
“Well, he is kinda impervious to bullets,” Sam points out.
“Uh-huh,” I reply.
At least I deal with enough weird stuff that this info doesn't really shake me.
I just keep walking right to where the gun fire comes from and soon I spot the enemy. It's not human, that much I can tell in an instant. The creature has black hair and pale skin. I scan it with my powers and soon recognize it as what it is. A Shadower. Shadowers are elementals that control dark versions of the normal elements and are generally considered evil. I haven't seen one of them in ages, but well… I was fairly occupied with other things. Such as the apocalypse. More than one, to be honest. The creature stops firing, apparently noticing the nonexistent effect the bullets have on me. In the fraction of a second I lunge forward, and drive my blade through the creatures chest. It doesn't stand a chance. Realization seems to dawn upon it as it stares at me wide-eyed while the life drifts from its eyes and is replaced by emptiness. I draw my blade back out and let the body slump down on the ground.
I see another Shadower step out of the shadows. The Shadower smiles at Cas.
“Hello, Castiel.” The voice is familiar…
“Castilla?!”, I ask, incredulous and angry.
She smiles at us, waves at me. “So close, yet so far. You aren't getting me yet.”
“We'll see about that, you bitch!”, I shout. I create an ice dagger — yes, out of thin air — and throw it at her. If she didn't teleport away in a black mist, it would've pierced her heart.
“Don't hold back; tell us what you really think,” Dean murmurs. I take a second to contain my anger and frustration before actually walking into the house.
I turn away from the dead body with indifference and follow Nikki.
“You know her.” It's not a question.
I take a deep breath. “You remember when I said my mom died? That was the woman who killed her. She's not exactly at the top of my friend list.”
I nod and say, without looking at her “I have encountered her before, as you could probably guess yourself. It wasn't a very… pleasant encounter.”
I nod shortly, wanting to end that part of the conversation. I check the living room, finding no-one in there. “Clear!”, I call. I glance back to see Sam giving me a confused expression. “What, you guys don't do that? Or watch any cop shows?”
“Um… We don't exactly have a lot of time to, uh… watch cop shows,” Sam replies, rubbing the back of his neck.
Okay, so I've never had a partner. So I've never been an official teacher. But I do teach people, and by now, it's so natural that this feels familiar enough that I barely miss a beat.
“That's okay. So when you check a room, you sweep it. If there's no-one or thing in there, you call ‘Clear.’ If you don't call clear, then you found something or could be in trouble and thus, someone else knows to look for you. Got it?”
“We're not stupid, we know what you were doing, it was just… unexpected, you could say. But it's self-explanatory, really. Jeez…”, Dean shoots back a little exasperated. Sam just shrugs and nods.
“There is no need for this, as I am perfectly capable of scanning this building — and also the whole city if I have to — for other Shadowers. It would spare us much time and effort,” I speak up.
I try not to be irritated. Really, I do. “Look, I'm just tryin’ to help here, Dean.”
I see one of them traveling via shadow, trying to sneak up on Dean. “Look out!” I jump between him and her, pushing him behind me while firing at her, hitting her in the heart.
I hear two gunshots, one of which is mine, and one of which is hers. I whirl around and make sure that the shot didn't hit the other three. It didn't, but there's no round in the couch, table, or lamp. So where'd it go?
“Oh my god! Nikki!”, Sam exclaimed, shock and worry laced in his words as he ran over to her side.
She was bleeding. The bullet had gone right though her abdomen. It seems as if she hadn't even noticed it cutting through her skin and flesh. A shock, most likely. Quickly, I use my powers to scan the area for other possible attackers, but luckily there are none.
“There are no more Shadowers, we should be safe for now, but there could arrive more soon. We should try to find the teleportation device.”
Although I'm not worried about it, I press my left hand to my side and hold my gun with my right.
“Well, I guess that's where it went. Okay, the device is in the basement.”
I follow Dean to the door and let him open it and go down. He turns on the light, revealing the machine. I raise my gun and empty the mag into the teleport. Once I fire the last bullet, I lower the gun and reload it with another mag.
“Think that did it?”, I ask.
I step forward and place a hand on the device. “Yes, it seems to be destroyed.” Then I turn around and raise my right hand in an attempt to put two fingers to Nikki's forehead.
I take a half step back. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm fine. I mean, thanks for the offer, but I'm fine. Or I will be in a few minutes.” Maybe. Sorta. Ish.
“You are injured. It is only logical that I heal you, otherwise you would be an easier target and slow us down,” I deadpan. Truth be told, sensibility isn't exactly one of my higher skills, but I don't really care.
“Firstly, your delivery needs a little work. Secondly, you clearly have no clue who I am. I can walk 5 miles with a bullet to the gut easily. And thirdly-” I stop when I sense one of them teleport here. I turn and run back upstairs.
“What? What's going on?”, Sam asks, following me.
I get back upstairs, out to the front lawn, and stop. It's another Shadower, maybe 21 years old, holding a knife to the Doctor's neck. I raise my gun, using only one hand, but letting the other drop to my side. “Girl, you have no idea what you're doing.”
“On the contrary, I know exactly what I'm doing.”
“Then you really are that stupid.”
“You won't shoot him,” she declares confidently.
“Don't be so sure. I know what I'm doing, too.”
“You could hit him,” she taunts, grinning.
“I won’t," I reply, voice calm and even.
She opens her mouth to say something, moves the knife closer to his neck, and I shoot. The bullet hits her right between the eyes, even though she was using the Doc as a shield. He looks at her, then at me, stunned. I lower the weapon.
“I warned you,” I say, even though she can't hear me.
I witness the whole scene, Dean standing beside me as he says clearly impressed “Not bad.”
“We should leave now, as I already mentioned, there will be more coming, soon,” I urge the others on, then pause for a moment to ask the Doctor “Are you alright?”
“I'm fine,” he says quietly. I bite my lip. He looks at me, and I know what he's gonna say. I turn on my heel and look at him. “Look, I know what you're gonna say, but let me stop you right there. I've seen that move before. They open their mouth, like they're gonna negotiate, then they slit your throat. I've lost two close friends that way, and I refuse to lose anyone else because I hesitated,” I cut him off. I turn on my heel again and walk into the TARDIS.
“She's right, y'know. She'd hesitated, you wouldn't be standin’ here now,” Dean says as he follows her, Sam on his heels.
“Are you sure, it didn't harm you?”, I ask for good measure.
“Yeah, it didn't get the chance,” he replied. There's a hint of bitterness to his voice, but he seems to understand that she didn't have a choice. He walks into the ship and I follow, closing the door behind me.
“What now?”, Sam asks.
“There is no time to waste. We need to find Castilla and stop her,” I reply.
I wait for a long moment, in which nobody talks, before I say what's on my mind. “I think I may need to sit this one out, guys.” And I don't want to say that, but the thing I want to happen even less is me going all Dark Side and hurting innocents or someone I care about because I'm so focused on revenge that I'm not paying attention to anything else.
“What? What do you mean?”, Dean required.
“I don't understand, why would you quit now. I thought we were your charge,” I say.
I take a glimpse at the Doctor. He seems to know her reason. I still don't understand. Humans are weird. Well, technically she isn't human, but all mortal creatures are somewhat similar in that matter. Sam looks at her thoughtful. Then it seems like realization dawns on him and he asks softly “Is it because of your family? Because she took them away from you?”
Now Dean seems to catch on and asks “You want revenge, is it that?”
I nod biting my lip. “I'm worried that if I start going after her, I won't stop. I won't care about anything but making her pay in the worst way I know, and I won't care who's in my way. I don't want to be that person again, ‘cause I don't know that anyone's gonna be able to keep me from doing it, but…”, I sigh, “I want to finish this fight myself. She killed my mom. I'm not letting that go. Call it stupid, but I feel like a Skylar has to be the one to finish this fight. And seeing as I'm the only one left, there aren't a lot of options for me. I don't know what I want to do.”
“That's not stupid. We've been there, believe me, we understand,” Dean told her.
And oh how right he is. I don't know how much she actually knows about us, but even if she knows only about 30% of what we've been through, she should know that we'll have her back.
I smile. “Thanks guys.”
I refrain from giving Dean a hug, just in case he doesn't trust me yet or doesn't react well to surprise hugs. The Doctor half raises his hand.
“I have something,” he says, “Well, half a something. Well-”
“What?”
“Some kind of signal I can't quite recognize. It's over in Seattle.”
I walk over to look.
“Yeah, that looks like her. Or something she's organizing,” I reply.
Dean frowns “We'll have to fly again with this thing, right?”
I give him a tiny, affectionate smile “I could always fly you to our destination myself. Without any turbulences, as you know.”
He grimaces “No thanks, I'll pass. I prefer to avoid angel-airways when possible.”
I shrug “I'm here, in case you change your mind.” Then I walk over to the Doctor and Nikki and start getting the TARDIS ready for take-off.
“Dean, I'd like to say that it's not usually this bad, but if I'm being honest, this is actually one of the better days.” I can practically hear his eyes go wide. My side still hurts, but at least I'm not bleeding out. The Doctor sees it, but I shoot him a look that clearly dares him to say it. So because he's smart, he doesn't mention it at all.
I decide to interrupt the little exchange by speaking up “We should get going. Nikki, Doctor, I would appreciate your assistance in flying this ship, so if you would move over here. I'd rather spare Dean the experience of a flight with only a single pilot.”
“Of course.” I press buttons, throw levers, and correct the Doc's mistakes as I see them. This trip is smoother than the first couple were. Thankfully. I also notice Cas disengaged the brakes and turn them back on. I know it's not good for her brakes, but I like the noise.
It doesn't make sense to leave the breaks on, the ship would run more smoothly without them on. I let it slide anyway, because we don't have time for such useless discussions. Dean actually seems a little more collected and almost a little relaxed this time. The knowledge that I am capable of zapping him out if problems arise, seems to calm him.
Once we land, I walk straight out. “St. Louis. I don't think I have a recent pic of the Arch. Or my camera.”
“You have your phone?”, the Doctor asks. I give him an annoyed look.
“You're not funny,” I reply.
I just give them a confused look and say “Let's get moving.”
I smile. “Not much of a tourist, are you, Cas?”
“Haha, no he's really not,” Dean replies, “Except if you count that he and I are the only people known, who've been to Hell, Heaven and Purgatory.”
“Eh, not really. When this is over, remind me to bring you to New York and teach you how to be tourists.”
Sam snorts “Are you saying there is a guideline for that?”
“Well, sorta. In my opinion, yeah. Laugh all you like, but it's a useful set of skills.”
Sam huffed a laugh “Huh, sure. Whatever you say.”
I'm getting impatient now and urge them on “We really should go now, we haven't got time for this.”
Dean seems to know exactly what I mean and agrees with me “Cas is right, this Castilda, or whatever her name is, won't just sit around and wait until we stop her.”
“Her name is Castilla,” I correct him.
“Yeah, like I said, whatever,” he just replies.
“Right.” The Doctor comes out with a scanner. It's very obviously cobbled together, but what catches my attention is that I was the one who made it.
“You kept that?”
“Haven't found anything that works better,” he replies, “Okay, the signal is about half a mile from here.”
“Right in the heart of the city. Go figure,” I add.
“Then we should better get movin’”, Dean says.
We walk a few minutes, but when we arrive where the Doctor was leading us, there was nothing there.
“I don't understand, it should be right here!”, he gestured vaguely in front of us.
“Yeah, but it isn’t," Dean retorted.
It is. I can sense it. There are many Shadowers here somewhere, we just can't see them. Maybe… “What if it is here, but not right here,” I say. Everyone just looks at me confused.
“Well, there are a number of caves and tunnels under the city,” I explain.
I snap my fingers. “Cas, you're a genius.”
“I saw a subway entrance half a block ago,” Sam offers up. I smile.
“Spot on, Sam,” I say as I bound off in that direction.
“Can you please not just dart headfirst into trouble again?”, the Doctor asks.
I throw a glance over my shoulder at him and reply “Well, I learned it from you.”
I chuckle and say “Sounds like you.”
“Hey!”, the Doctor complains, but doesn't object. Dean, Sam and I follow Nikki to the entrance and the Doctor comes along after only a short moment of hesitation.
I quickly walk down the stairs and wait for everyone else when I get to the bottom. The Doctor has the scanner yet again and is following the little dot on the screen. Knowing that our search is gonna take us through the turnstiles, I dart ahead and tap on the window. The attendant inside looks up, ready to say whatever they usually say — I haven't been on a subway in forever — and stops when he sees me. It's very clear that he recognizes me. I wave. “Mind unlocking it for me really quick? Chasing a terrorist and I'd rather they not get away.”
As they usually do, the starstruck guy nods and releases the turnstile lock.
“Thanks!” I walk through and look around. The others follow me, and the Doc comes up next to me.
“Yes, I do that often. Yes, I sometimes have friends with me. Yes, I knew he was gonna do that. Anyone see them?”
“I can sense them, follow me,” is all I say, before wandering off into the tunnels.
“Just be careful,” the Doctor warns, “There are creatures down here that are known for disappearing people.”
“I can let people disappear as well and I myself can disappear in the blink of an eye,” is my blunt response.
“Not that that's gonna be a necessity,” I say.
“Bit of running may be required, though,” the Doctor chimes in.
“Probably not,” I reply.
“Why?”, the Doc asks.
“Because I'm a Shadow Walker,” I answer, “None of them are gonna touch us.”
“What is a Shadow Walker?”, Dean asks all of a sudden. And, okay, I think I should tell him a little more about some creatures he doesn't know yet. He already taught me so much about humanity, I might as well share some of my knowledge with him as well. It would only be fair. And honest to my father, I'm pretty sure it would be quite fun too.
“Someone who can walk through the darkest corners, the scariest places, and not flinch. They're scared of me, so I don't need to be scared of them.”
Dean just nods, obviously impressed and mumbles “Awesome.”
Now I speak up “Similar thing applies to me. Those creatures can feel my power. The light, that is an angel’s grace. They wouldn't dare to come close to me.”
“Well, two are better than one,” Dean points out.
I have the advantage of knowing a lot of Shadower tricks. I run my fingers along the left wall until they catch on a hidden door handle. My touch triggers it and it opens, so I simply swing around the corner and into the new hallway.
I follow in a swift motion, not missing a beat, whereas the others are a little startled at first at the new development. The hallway is dark and obviously containing Shadowers. I let a bit of my grace seep through my vessel, just enough to make my eyes glow with a blue light and to uncover the two Shadowers who had been hiding there. Then, in one fluid motion, I have them both lying dead on the ground, with their eyes burnt out, in only the fraction of a second. Not much of an effort, really.
“Whoa.” That's about what I can manage. I follow Cas, who clearly has this handled.
We wander through the corridors, working like a well oiled machine. As soon as I sense the presence of Shadowers, I use my grace to uncover them and one of us takes them out. We cut through their defenses like a knife through butter and it doesn't take us long to locate the room where Castilla is currently residing. We stop in front of the door as I say “She's in there.” Then I turn to Nikki and ask “How do you want to proceed from here?”
“Personally? I'd like to take her out myself. But I have a feeling she isn't gonna let that happen, and neither will you.”
“Damn right, we won't. But we're also not gonna do it without you,” Dean retorted.
“The problem is, that there are at least 13 Shadowers behind this door, not counting Castilla herself,” I provide.
“We need a plan,” Sam concludes.
“This door is massive and effectively protected from sonic technology, so I can't open it,” the Doctor chimes in.
“I can bring us in, there is no angel warding. That won't be a problem,” I answer.
“The problem is, what are we gonna do when we're in there,” Dean says.
I press my ear to the door, trying to hear what's going on inside. “Three right by the front door… two just beyond that… Castilla's on her throne resting against the center of the back wall. I'd guess that the rest of the Shadowers are evenly distributed around the room. The moment we open the door, Castilla is gonna try to take us out, so someone has to start the fight by just shooting at her straight of the bat. I'd like to do it, but if someone else wants to, I'm fine with that.”
“Sounds like a job for me,” Dean speaks up and, yeah, that actually sounds like him.
“Okay then.” I point to the point on the door where he'd need to be aiming.
“She's gonna be right there. We open this thing, you empty your mag into her and don't stop ’til your gun clicks empty. I'll open the doors hard enough to knock out the ones on either side of it. Once we open the door, just start shooting. Sound like a good plan?”
Everyone nods, except the Doctor, who just grimaces. I am not completely convinced that this will work, but I don't object. I'm fairly certain that if the need arises, I will be capable of transporting everyone out of danger.
I count to three, then throw the doors open. Dean does exactly what I need him to and starts shooting at Castilla. The head Shadower blocks the shots with a shadow ice shield, but is incapable of attacking. As I thought, the guards by the door are completely knocked out. I start working my way through the left side of the room, taking out any Shadower that attacks me.
In swift movements I take care of one Shadower after another, sometimes two simultaneously. I switch between burning them out with my grace and simply stabbing them with my angel blade. Sam and Nikki are doing well beside me. Dean is standing a little further inside the room, firing at Castilla. I always keep an eye on him. Just in case…
Castilla eventually recovers enough to send out a shockwave that pins us all to the wall. She smirks as she walks over toward Cas.
“Secure the Angel,” she orders.
I see them bringing the cortosis cuffs over, and I free up only my hand so that I can direct a steady stream of lethal ice at anyone who tries to approach the others. This gets Castilla's attention. “You Skylars… always the protectors. Always the first to defend, and the first to die.”
She unsheathes a cortosis sword, and I actually try to get away. Between her unrelenting telekinetic hold and the unloving stone wall behind me, I have nowhere to go. Maybe not the best thought out rebellion.
I eye the small and slender young man bringing the cuffs to secure me. If he manages to do so, I'd be grounded. I just have to free myself from these telekinetic restrains and I'd be back in play. I let my eyes sweep over the others. They won't be of any help with this. I look at the young man again. He doesn't really pose a threat to me and appears to be considerably intimidated by my gaze. I can work with that. I take a deep breath and let the power of my grace shine through. My eyes start to glow and my wings cast huge, long shadows on the wall behind me. This sudden surge of energy startles Castilla enough for me to free myself from her hold. One of the three Shadowers who are still alive, surges towards me and I take him down with a simple touch of my hand. Then I materialize my angel sword and throw it across the room, hitting the second one straight in the head.
I'm stunned by the wings. No, really, even just the shadows are magnificent. I quickly shake off he stunned feeling and act. Having been released from the hold, I spot a case. A rather long and ornate one. I smirk. Oh, I know which case that is and what's in it. I walk over to it, undo the latches, and pull out a silver sword. It almost glows in its own right. Castilla is starting to get nervous.
The third one — the one with the cuffs — stumbles backwards and falls to the floor, eyes wide with fear. With a flick of my wrist, Castilla flies across the room and I have her pinned against the opposite wall, effectively releasing her grip on the rest of my team.
“You've done enough, Castilla. It is over,” I growl.
Dean walks up to my side with a smug look on his face and says “Never underestimate a wayward angel.”
I can't help ruffling my feathers with pride at Dean’s words and expression of acknowledgement. I take a glance at Nikki, spot the sword and ask “What now?”
“Now we finish this.” She tries to move. She really does. But she's pinned, and even if she wasn't, I'd still catch her. I run the blade through her heart, and she gasps sharply. She does say something rather curious before she dies, though.
“You lose, Skylar,” she whispers, just loud enough for me to hear. “You still lose.” One final exhale, and she's gone. It's over. Well, for me, half over.
My expression changes into one of curiosity and confusion. Sam turns towards Nikki and asks “What did she mean with that?”
“Knowing her and knowing me, any number of things,” I groan. “On the bright side, that was one of the major things on my to-do list, and I'm not dead, so I'd say this was a good day.” I turn to them, look each of them in the eye. “Thank you.”
I nod once as Dean simply says “Anytime.”
“Yeah, we're a good team. So… If you ever need something, don't hesitate to give us a call,” Sam offers.
“Will do,” I assure him.
“Same goes for you guys. If you ever need a hand, or someone to get the feds off your back,” I hand them my number, “Just shoot me a call.”
“Yeah, sure. We'll take you up on it,” Sam replies with a smile. Dean looks around for a moment and then asks “And what now?”
“Well, the Doc would be happy to drop you guys off at the Impala. I'll, uh, stay here to make sure that nothing happens and the TARDIS doesn't accidentally end up somewhere she isn't supposed to be.” The Doctor nods.
“Sounds good enough to me,” Dean says as he starts walking away with Sam in tow. I look at Nikki and say “It was a pleasure to meet you. I'm sure we will see each other again.” Then I turn to the Doctor and add “Take good care of her. And I look forward to our next encounter, Time Lord.” I smile at them and follow Dean and Sam out of the room.
The Doctor leads them to the TARDIS and I follow behind. I do stay outside, true to word, as the TARDIS dematerializes, taking the Winchesters and Cas back to their usual lives.
I stand outside, watching people move on with their daily lives. It still hasn't really sunk in yet. I'm sure it will by tonight, but for now, I'm just getting over the fact that I'm not dead.
Then my phone rings. It's Director Fury. I take a deep breath and answer. He doesn't mention the Winchesters, or my previous mission concerning them. He only says “Got a new mission for you, Skylar. You anywhere near Saint Louis?”
“As a matter of fact, I'm standing in the heart of the city,” I reply with a smirk, “What do you have?”
And as usual, I just move on.
When we reach the TARDIS, the Doctor walks inside with the Winchesters and I follow behind. I turn around one more time before the door closes and bow my head slightly, only for Nikki to see. She doesn't come with us. I didn't expect her to.
I help the Doctor maneuvering the ship until we reach our destination. He waves us goodbye as we walk towards the Impala. Then, the door falls shut behind him and the all too familiar sound rings on the empty road as the blue box disappears. As even the last echoes have dissipated, Sam sighs and gets into the passenger seat.
Dean turns to me and asks, careful to keep his voice emotionless “Do you have business to attend to in Heaven?”
I look at my feet and shake my head “No. Not anymore.”
“So, will you…”, Dean starts, with a look of hope in his eyes, but trails off, leaving the question hanging in the air between us.
“Yes,” I say, “I will stay. If you'll have me…”
He doesn't answer. Not with words. He doesn't need to. Instead, he pulls me into a hug and for once, I hug him back. When we break apart, he grins at me and slides into the drivers seat, while I take my seat in the back of the car I've come to feel at home in. I don't suppress the smile that spreads on my face when we drive off.
No one of us knows what the future might hold, for two hunters, a SHIELD agent, a lonesome Time Lord and a wayward angel, but whatever might come, we all know one thing for sure.
When it comes down to it, there is always one to have our back.