Four figures sat around in Becky’s living room.
“Wow, Jessica. I didn't realize you would join this line of occupation too.” Becky smiled at Jessica. The two had some contact back at Stanford. “It’s kind of sweet, really. Following your boyfriend...”
“Yeah...sweet.” Jessica glanced at the Winchesters as she slowly wiped her face dry with a towel.
Twice! Twice! You Winchesters! When you need to act with haste, you don’t! And when you should be careful, you just go in like a raging bull!
Amateurs…
“So Jess,” Dean asked, a bottle of beer in his hand. “what happened since Blackwater?”
“I went on hunting, by myself,” Jessica explained casually. That wasn’t a lie, though it was far from the whole truth. “For example, did you know there was a Bloody Mary in Ohio? No? Well, she gouged two people’s eyes out. I stopped her from doing that to a third.” She said proudly. “Oh, and before you say something else…”
“Four women in Louisiana were kidnapped by some random dick. Not a monster, but I handled him and saved them anyways.”
“A police station not that far from here. I saved a Sheriff and two deputies from being devoured by...let’s just say it’s not a criminal that handcuffs and bars can handle.”
Clear save to hide the fact that she had no damn idea what that thing she killed was.
“Wow. That’s...impressive.” Sam and Dean exchanged looks before Sam spoke up in the nicest tone possible. “But Jess, are you sure it’s safe for you to go hunting alone? It’s just...with what the Demon said, I still don’t feel...”
“One mistake is all it takes,” Dean said quietly.
“Demons lie!” Jessica tossed her arms up. “What? I’m not who I claim to be or some shit? They’re trying to get into your head, Sam!” She exclaimed. “I’m fine. You two, on the other hand...”
She gestured at the body at the door.
“A random Shapeshifter had you two going around, chasing each other’s tails...actually, that’s gross. Scratch that. God...now I can’t get this image outta my head!” Jessica suddenly found herself grossed out by what she just said. “Point is, in this line of occupation, I have a better chance of surviving than you two knuckleheads.”
“Well, fine!” Sam could tell Dean was going to rebut, so she cut her brother out. “In that case, stay with us! Protect us!”
Dean growled lowly and emptied the bottle of beer. He knew why Sam said what he said, but it didn't change the fact that it was a huge blow to his oversized ego.
Jessica tilted her head with a small smile. That was something she liked about Sam. The man wasn’t afraid of hurting his pride to keep people around him safe. “Maybe, Sammy.” She said softly. “But you are not going to be benching me or anything. We are two separate groups. Two entities.”
Also...Jessica turned to Becky.
“Have I introduced myself to you yet? Jessica Moore. Supernatural mercenary.”
Mercenary? The Winchesters rose their eyebrows. Have we always been in the wrong career?
“Hmmm…” Becky frowned. “Jess, I know who you are. We went to the same university.” She rose her eyebrows like Jessica was crazy.
“Well…” Jessica bit her lips. “you know...it’s not my name that’s the emphasis here…”
Not the name, so the profession? Wait...supernatural mercenary. Mercenary…
“Normally I do this part before I kill the monster. I mean...I’m good, but I can’t bring monsters back to life.” Jessica mumbled on for a bit. “Point is...mercenaries get paid.”
“Oh god...Jess.” Sam had no idea what to say. “That’s not really how we work.”
“That’s not how y’all work.” Jessica pointed at the brothers. “But that’s how I roll. Remember? Separate Entities.” She turned back to Becky. “Of course, if you don’t pay, I won’t do anything, but don’t expect any further business.”
Becky nodded slowly. The sudden jump from transforming shapeshifters to monetary transactions almost gave her whiplash. “So...what’s the ongoing price?” She smiled. Paying some money was better than death. That was for sure.
“Well, most of the times I just sit back and let the customer name the price.” The self-proclaimed Supernatural Mercenary shrugged. “I was going to do something cool, like 1% of your net worth, but that requires a lot of homework and stuff that is gonna be so boring.” She shrugged. “How about 500 bucks?”
“Sure.” Becky shrugged. “Cash?”
“Yep.”
“Jess, Becky. Dean and I will go handle the body and things.” Sam suddenly stood up. When Dean didn't do the same, Sam leaned over and gave his brother a pull. “You know, give the police a way to explain all this and hopefully exonerate your brother. We should be back soon.”
As the two left and Becky walked through the house and found enough cash to pay Jessica, Jessica leaned back in the sofa.
“So...what do you think about Sam? Just so you know, we’re not together anymore…”
What? Jessica might be slaying monsters left and right, but even she needed a little time off, and what was better for relaxing than some friendly gossip?
Plus, a part of Jessica felt a bit guilty. She could tell Sam still cared for her, but Sam cared for her in a way that made him want to protect her, and she didn't need to be protected. If anything, she was to be the one doing the protecting.
Jessica’s goal was clear. Travel across the country and save innocent people from violent deaths, for a price. Do what she could with Killian's power. If the Winchesters could stay out of her way, she wouldn’t find a problem in traveling with them.
Also, to be honest, she was a little concerned about the brothers. I mean...really? A random Shapeshifter almost got them! If she didn't arrive in time, good old Sammy might be dead and Dean would’ve spent the rest of his life on the run. She felt the need to follow them for a while and make sure they were ready to keep hunting.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Sam and Dean drove out of the house. The police were looking for Dean Winchester. They had a dead Dean Winchester in Becky’s house. All they had to do now was pin all the murders the Shapeshifter has committed onto Dean so when the police discover the body tomorrow morning, Becky’s brother and the other unlucky souls who were framed would be exonerated.
But this was just the official reason they were out. The deeper, darker reason?
“Sammy, you really need to refine your taste of girlfriends.” Dean complained as he drove.
“Come on, Dean!”
“No. I’m telling you.” Dean’s eyes were trained on the road in front. “Something is wrong with Jessica. There is no way she’s just a normal hunter, at least not an amateur one. No amateur hunter can recognize a Shapeshifter and kill it in just seconds. You were there yourself. Think about it!”
Sam was thinking about it. It was barely a minute between the Shapeshifter answering the door to him breaking free and going to the door to find the Shapeshifter dead. Recognize. Attack. Kill. These moves took less than a minute to complete. Asking himself, Sam doubted he could achieve this in the limited time.
So how could a girl only introduced to hunting weeks ago do it?
“She’s not a Demon.” Sam said quietly, perhaps the only defense he could think of about Jess.
“There are a lot of things out there ready to get us beside Demons, Sammy.” Dean was unconvinced. “How about Shapeshifters, huh? Have you ever thought maybe Jess is another Shapeshifter? Maybe that’s how she recognized that thing. It’s her own kind.”
“Well, she killed a Shapeshifter with a silver blade, and before you ask, I checked. The handle is also silver. We can rule that out, along with Werewolves and Skinwalkers.”
“Then we do it the hard way.” Dean continued. “We find a chance to drug her and take her to a safe house of some hunter we know. Maybe Bobby. Then we question her...”
“Oh god, Dean!” Sam couldn’t help but cut his brother off. “Listen to what you’re saying! We’re not kidnapping a girl unless we know she’s a monster! What if she’s just really talented?”
That was the last straw.
“Stop defending her, Sammy!” Dean demanded as he suddenly pulled the car to the side of the road. “Listen to me, Sammy! If Jess isn’t who you think she is, if she is really one of the things that we kill, then there can only be two possibilities.”
“First, she has been a monster this entire time, and whatever thing you think you had going on between you and her, it’s fake. It’s just a way she’s getting close to you.”
“Second, she has been replaced. Maybe she didn't survive the Demon attack that night. In fact...how did she survive the Demon? I hate to say this, but the thing had both of our asses handed to us. How did a college girl with a handgun stay alive long enough for us to arrive?”
“If Jess has been replaced, Sammy, then we both know that she’s probably dead right now, and the only thing we can do for her is to avenge her.”
Sam sat there in silence. Logically, he understood what Dean was saying. Not only so, he agreed with it. Jessica has been acting in ways that suggested she wasn’t even human. There were no evidence, but when the stakes were high enough, evidence might not be necessary to take action.
Finally, he made up his decision.
“Jessica came back to us. This means she needs us for some reason. We need to find out what that is. If she really is a monster,” Sam glanced at Dean. “we need to know who she is before we can fight her. We need information.”
In terms of power levels, Sam and Dean were just at peak human level. Yes. They were good hand-to-hand fighters and were proficient with guns, but against monsters, they needed a lot more than that. In most cases, they had to discover what the monsters were and find their figurative, sometimes literal, silver bullets because they could take the monsters head-on.
Jessica, or whatever it was taking her body, was powerful. Perhaps even more powerful than most of the monsters the brothers have faced and killed.
They needed...info.
Dean started the car once again.
“Well, in the meantime, let’s just hope she doesn’t try to sleep with you again.” He shrugged with a grin. “Or me, for the matter. That’ll make things really weird.”
The joke didn't make Sam smile. The man merely stared straight out of the car window.
Jess...you better not disappoint me…
Jessica had no idea the Winchester brothers have completely gone off the rail with their imaginations. If she realized her presence bothered the Winchesters so much, she would’ve turned and left at once.
Remember kids, communication is important.
If you have a question on your mind, just ask it.
A few hours later, not long after the Winchesters returned from their setup for the police, Becky called 911. Jessica went to a local hotel and booked a night in its best room.
What’s the point of making money if you’re not spending it?
As she laid on her bed, she couldn’t really sleep. It suddenly occurred to her that Killian has been quiet for a while.
“Kil? Everything all right?”
“Yeah.” Killian realized Jessica’s concerns almost immediately. “I’m just thinking.”
“About what?”
“Spirits.” Killian slowly explained. “Most worlds in the Infinite Realms have a set of similar objects with similar attributes. In most worlds, water has the same quality. Planets and stars have the same quality. But in some worlds, some things may be different. Namely, souls.”
“Yeah, what about them?”
“In some worlds I traveled to, souls aren’t even a thing. They don’t exist. People live and die, just like that. Well,” Killian was a little struggling to find the right words. “correction. People have souls, but the attributes of souls are that when babies are born, their souls are created. When people die, their souls disappear. In that sense, souls are just consciousness.”
“Ok…”
“But in this world, souls are assigned a different set of attributes. Some go to Heaven and some go to Hell, while others can be left on Earth for different reasons. The water spirit was a soul stranded on Earth. Bloody Mary was another. My question is...who assigned the souls these attributes?”
“What?” Jessica frowned.
“Who decides when souls die, they get these options?” Killian continued. “You know, at first, I thought these attributes are just randomly generated the same way most attributes in the Infinite Realms are generated. Automatically. But then, I remembered something else. I told you about the Angels, right?”
“Yeah. Beings that want to condemn you to death because you are not a part of this world.”
“Across many worlds of the Infinite Realms, there’s this idea of God, and Angels exist as God’s loyal soldiers. Now, in most cases, God doesn’t exist, but in this world, if Angels and Demons are a thing, then perhaps...so is God.”
“Wait…” Jessica suddenly sat up on the bed. “You are saying there is actually a God watching over us? As in the actual being?”
“I am saying it’s possible God created this world. If not, then he was the one who assigned all these attributes to this world, including to all the souls and spirits and Demons and Angels and, yes, Bloody Mary. Whether if he is watching over us is a different matter.”
“Well, I mean...so what if God is watching over us?” Jessica laid back down. “If God is watching, then he is a cold-blooded bastard. There are so many atrocities committed in his name, and he did nothing. All these pain and death and torture, and he did nothing. So what if he exists? Won’t make a difference.”
Killian didn't answer.
Perhaps it wouldn’t make a difference to Jessica or anyone in this world, but to him…
If God does exist, and God did create this world and the numberless Demons and Angels that exist in this realm, then perhaps he will be a greater ally than Azazel and his fellow Demons could ever be.
And if he could get God on his side, his chance of seeking vengeance against the Protector Corps would be greater than ever.
He just had to find out how...
