"You probably won't,
you think you're cooler than me."
word count: 3.6k
Jade Pierce slammed her car door closed, walking towards the crime scene that was already cornered off with police tape, flashing lights from cop cars illuminating her path.
A distressed call from both Lilith and Lydia— who had been giving Malia driving lessons and ended up at a murder scene— had sent her to an alley-way in the middle of the night, instantly being met with a gruesome scene of blood and death, body bags being zipped up and the surviving victims being wheeled into ambulances on stretchers.
Her dog, Fern, had been drifting off to sleep at the end of her bed, not happy when the lights had been flicked on and the duvet was moved so that she could leave. Hey, at least it was an improvement from when Nathan Lawless and his two sisters had shown up the day beforehand, turning to the witch for guidance when all else had failed, the dog almost having a heart attack at the large wings that had broken the left-out china plates.
As far as all three girls had been concerned, the only conclusion they had come to was that the boy was a phoenix— although they weren't exactly sure how it had come around, it was a mystery that could remain unsolved for the time being. Other things couldn't be put to the side, needing to be dealt with as quickly as possible, such as why Nathan's wings were refusing to retract, leaving him with no other choice but to stay home from school.
It was... odd, to say the least. Deaton had been a druid for more than thirty years and not once in that time frame had he seen anything of this nature. Emery Davis and Marin Morrell had both checked in, not having experience in any cases similar, either.
It had been an enlightening day for Jordan Parrish, who had accompanied Blair to the school and then to the animal clinic, refusing to leave her sleep-deprived side, despite her protests that she was fine. She was just as confused as her siblings, trying to mask her shock so as not to alarm them any further. It was worrying, though, because how was anyone meant to go about their day with a pair of wings sticking out of their back? From what she could tell, the boy himself hadn't appeared too disturbed, glad for the time off school.
It would have to be put to the back of Jade's mind for the time being, in the huge jar of things that she had no time to focus on. Right now, she had to stay on track and figure out what in gods name happened here.
The sheriff approached her, pulling Scott and Stiles into the conversation, too. While he knew the three currently weren't on the best of terms, he hoped they would be mature enough to put it aside and work together to track down the murderous criminal. Just like he had cancelled his date, rescheduling for the next evening. "Donovan, a prisoner, was in this criminal transport van. There's no sign of him and the lawyer's dead. Scott, you saw this kid. He wasn't like you, right?"
"I don't think so," he shook his head, trying to keep his eyes trained on the sheriff and not his cousin. It was proving harder by the second, especially when she didn't seem to be bothered by the gravity of the situation.
He had first met Donovan roughly an hour ago when he and Stiles had been helping Noah prepare for his date at the station, the juvenile threatening to kill the sheriff when he found out that he would be spending a maximum of five years in prison. He hadn't appeared to be a werewolf— or a supernatural of any kind— but there was always the possibility that he was covering his scent.
"Well, human or otherwise, this kid might have just murdered his lawyer and mortally wounded two officers."
"Hm, sounds like the kind of guy I'd get along with," Jade commented, tossing her bleached curls over her shoulder. Noah didn't seem to appreciate her sense of humour, but at least she had said it before Stiles had! If you couldn't beat them, join them, that was how the phrase went, right?
Producing a pocket knife from her sleeve, she sliced it into her hand, oblivious to whether or not police officers would be concerned at the action. She tilted her head in thought, watching the spell perform itself with ease, words carving themselves into her palm, resembling a snake wriggling underneath her skin. Embracing her full power had unlocked doors that she hadn't known were there, her location spells not requiring a map anymore.
She slipped out of eye's view, teleporting to the location written on her hand before Scott had time to follow her. This worked quicker than an APB, which would usually take a few hours at the very least. Of course, she already knew that her cousin would be hot on her tail, already convincing himself that he needed to find Donovan before she did. God, you'd swear she was some kind of monster that couldn't control her impulses.
... at least she wasn't a monster!
She waved her hand effortlessly, a boy grunting in pain as she fired him to the ground. He was already handcuffed, meaning that there was no need to wind him up in rope, dark blood dripping down his face as he tried to protect his head with his hands. "Relax, will you? I've got more important people to waste my energy on, so count yourself lucky. I'm not too pleased about being dragged out of bed at this ungodly hour, though. I like my sleep, so next time do you think you could plan your murder spree at a more acceptable time?"
Donovan's wide eyes never once faltered as he watched her pace the floor, arms hanging by her side in a bored manner. If people thought he was a psychopath, they had never met whoever this was. "So— you're not gonna kill me?"
"As I said, I have better things to do with my time. Unfortunately, I do have to hand you in to the sheriff. I know, I know, you were just starting to think I was cool, I get it. See, I have no problem letting you go. I feel like you and I could be good friends— so long as you're not small-minded. I have some morals. But I have to hand you in, otherwise, it'll look bad on me. 'Jade, you killed him!' 'Jade, homicidal rage isn't an acceptable emotion, blah blah blah.'" she sighed, sitting cross-legged opposite her hostage.
She didn't seem to care that Donovan was slightly impressed at the careless speech, the boy not being as confused as she would have thought. Flipping her phone out, she typed in Noah's number, humming under her breath as the dial tone reached her ears. "Hey boss, I found our little runaway, I'll send you my location because I've no clue what this place is." She paused for a second, ears pricking up at what Donovan was muttering. "And who the fuck is Tracy?"
⌜ • ° + ° • ⌝
"No, come on," Liam rolled his eyes, gripping Jade by the shoulder, finding it quite difficult with their astounding height difference. Honestly, those boots of hers needed to be burnt on a bonfire. It was embarrassing when he stood next to her; he looked like a freaking toddler!
For someone that was a year— or two, she could never remember— younger, he was surprisingly strong. "It's a pack meeting. The key word is pack. Last time I checked, I was disowned for being a mass murderer," she noted, shrugging his hand off her leather jacket, but still keeping in line with his steps.
For someone who was being marched to the school car park against her will, she was complying without too much of a struggle. Liam shot Mason a pointed look, trying to tell him not to ask the question that was dying to roll off his tongue, and that he would go into a further explanation later.
Liam had filled his best friend in on the different supernaturals that occupied the pack, as well as the complicated dynamics between the members. Given that he had shifted and Nathan had grown wings when the coyote had attacked, it was quite literally impossible to hide the secret anymore.
Even though Blair had confined her brother to bed rest until she figured out a solution, she hadn't had the heart to turn away Liam and Mason when they turned up at her door with video games and snacks. Anyway, the three boys weren't causing any trouble, so long as they stayed in the living room where she could keep an eye on them. Besides, it had been nice to see Nathan's eyes shine with joy as he shared what he knew about the supernatural world, making him feel normal for a little while.
Mason had, naturally, been briefed on why Jade was no longer a part of the pack, including the limited information Liam had found out about what had occurred at Calliope's last November. To cut a very long story short, he had just restated the two golden rules, which were to not mention Max or Allison and to not take offence when she spoke, as she wasn't in the right headspace to understand when she was being mean.
"You weren't disowned, don't be dramatic. And the last thing I remember, Scott tried to get you to rejoin and you threatened to kill him," Liam spoke quickly, running a hand through his tousled curls as he tried to change the subject. If he wasn't careful, she would storm off and busy herself in a corner, trying to light paper aeroplanes on fire. Again. "Anyway, you said you wanted to be kept in the loop and what better way? It shouldn't take long, okay?"
"Fine. But you're wrong. I never said I wanted to be kept in the loop, they were your words," she pointed out, eyes narrowing at the figures that were finally coming into view. At least Lilith was there to keep the peace— or at least make sure she didn't flip her lid.
"Tracy wasn't just having trouble sleeping. It was a real disorder, it was night terrors!" Lydia exclaimed, wasting no time when the others finally made their tardy appearance. She already had a fairly good idea that Jade's stubbornness was the reason for their delay.
Search parties had been alternating all night, yet no one had found a sign of where Tracy Stewart could have gone to. The conclusion they had come to was that the girl had murdered her father, but no one was sure why. Donovan was being held in police custody but was refusing to speak on what he saw, which was understandable, given that his hatred of the sheriff wasn't new information.
"Well, now she's the night terror. Especially since no one can find her," Stiles brought up, moving his hands about chaotically as he spoke. It wasn't a new thing for a murderer to be missing in Beacon Hills, but Tracy had murdered her father, seemingly without a trace of remorse. If that wasn't worrying, he didn't know what was.
"And the most insensitive person of the year award goes to," Jade drummed her fingers against the bus, ignoring Lily's desperate attempts to get her to stop before she dented the vehicle.
"Yeah, that was a bit harsh. And a bit rich. Weren't you sleepwalking around town a few months ago, being a night terror, too?" Lilith raised a brow, pointing an accusing finger at Stiles, who opened and closed his mouth like a fish. It was hypocrisy when you thought about it.
Scott massaged his temple, trying to stop a full-blown catfight from breaking out in the middle of the parking lot. The group of them already owed this school enough money in damages, there was no need to create a more extensive list. "Look, I know we're all tired and miserable," he paused, eyes landing on a giddy Mason, who was grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Except for you."
"Oh, I'm sorry. This is all just mind-blowing. You're a kitsune," he gestured to Kira Yukimura, her shiny hair bouncing down her back as she looked between him and her boyfriend. "I don't even know what that is!"
"Liam, we said you could tell him, not invite him to the inner circle," Stiles bit his cheek, trying to gather together his remaining threads of patience. Enough unwanted people were intruding on the pack— cough cough, Jade, cough cough— without adding another person to that list. He didn't hate Mason— quite the contrary! But the more people that were involved, the more people that were at risk of being attacked.
"I'm in the inner circle!?"
"No!"
"Yup."
"Look, back to Tracy. She's just one lone wolf, we can find her," Scott shook his head at his cousin, the only one who had disagreed with the rest of them, trying to instil some reassurance into his exhausted and anxious pack.
"Why don't I just do a locater spell?" Jade suggested, stretching the muscles of her back out. None of them had two brain cells to rub together, honestly. If you asked them for a penny for their thoughts, you'd get fucking change! If they had told her and she had been informed, Tracy would have been in custody hours ago.
"No!" Scott yelped quickly, clearing his throat after realising how horrible he had sounded. "I mean— it's okay, we'll find her. We can use a locater spell as a last resort." He genuinely hadn't meant to shout. It was just— he didn't want Jade to be the one to find her. There was a high likelihood that she would hurt Tracy, whether it was on purpose or not. It would end badly, that was all.
"Fine by me," she shrugged, not paying attention to what he was saying. When did she ever listen to anyone, let alone Scott? She could just do the locater spell during the break between classes, problem solved.
The bell was shrill as it erupted through the school grounds, giving them a five-minute warning to get to where they needed to be.
Jade was off without another word, stuck in a world of her own. She had swapped out her usual tearing-at-the-sole ankle boots, changing them for an almost identical pair of ebony combat boots, white stripes running down the sides of the shoes. They weren't as comfortable as her usual pair, but she was working with what was thrown her way. God gave the toughest battles to his strongest soldiers.
Their biology teacher, Ms Finch, had already busied herself with handing out their graded tests from the other day, shooting the blonde a small smile as the piece of paper landed on her table. A ninety-six. She was hoping Ms Finch wasn't expecting this kind of a mark every time they had an exam, otherwise she was in for quite a nasty shock.
Jade sighed, pulling at the roots of her hair in anguish. If she thought a pack meeting was a bad start to her day, there was a high likelihood that it was going downhill from there.
Blair Lawless bounced through the door, her usual level of chirpiness accompanied by a small anxious twitch in her nose every now and then. Ms Finch waved a dismissive hand, not bothering to bat an eyelid anymore at the school psychologist's daily appearance at her class. "Jade. Can you come with me?" Blair rested her elbows on the table, crouching down to eye level with the blonde. "I'm not asking," she smiled, arching a brow that showed she meant business, matching the girl's level of sarcasm.
"Tracy Stewart. She's in Liam's history class right now," she tilted her head to Liam, who was hiding outside of the biology classroom, trying and failing to catch his alpha's attention. "I have a feeling we might need a little helping hand from you."
The pair neared Mr Yukimura's history class, the fire alarm going off in sharp bursts of noise, none of the students willing to leave their possessions behind as instructed in the fire drill rules.
Just as Blair had said, Tracy Stewart sat at the back of the classroom, bushy hair frazzled from her nighttime adventures. A concerned classmate stood next to her, not wanting to leave the distressed girl in a possible burning building. Scott and Liam came tumbling into the classroom next, accidentally hitting shoulders with the fleeing students.
The three teenagers and two teachers seemed to topple Tracy over the edge, grip tightening on the arm of the girl beside her, threatening to break the bone as her breathing became more strained, a silent warning to not come any closer.
Blair grabbed the witch's shoulder, hand movements after betraying her plan that would more than likely end with Tracy lifeless on the floor as well as a lot of covering up the secret of the supernatural. Blair bit down hard on her cheek, a stinging warmth heating the palm of her hand, Jade's magic becoming restless at the interference.
Tracy stood up, bright red blood dripping onto the pale and shiny floor as the Dread Doctors continued to walk closer, ready to take her back to the lab for more experiments. They needed to back the hell up, seriously underestimating her if they thought she would refrain from breaking the girl's wrist.
The skin slipped from beneath her fingertips, both hands cradling her head, the pain solidifying her suspicion that something was seriously wrong with her. It felt as though someone was expanding her brain, making it ten sizes too large for her skull to contain. "They're coming. They're coming for all of us."
She dropped to the ground, yet her heart was still faintly beating, a sign that there was still time to save her. A silver substance flowed from her mouth, unlike anything that any of them had ever witnessed before.
It pooled from her mouth as the group stood frozen in fear, glancing around wildly for guidance on what to do. "What the hell did you do to her?" he pushed Jade into the whiteboard, sending a chair flying to the ground in the process.
"I didn't do anything to her. I gave her a debilitating migraine, which is why she grabbed her head, but I've done that to Liberty before and that didn't happen. I don't think it's even physically possible for me to do that— which you should be very thankful for because if you lay another hand on me, I'll break your neck. So, if you're done with your little outburst of making a fool of yourself, you'll stop being a dick and I can teleport her to Deaton's so he can figure out what's going on," she hissed through gritted teeth, a hand pressed firmly onto the table, the other curled into a fist by her side.
Mr Yukimura stepped in between the cousins before their altercation could turn physical. It was smart thinking on Blair's behalf, the psychologist escorting Hayden Romero outside, given that the hurt student wasn't aware of the supernatural world— well, as far as they knew, at least. "Jade, you can take Tracy and Scott to the animal clinic, yes?"
Blair closed the door behind her, pulling a poster down to cover the small window. "I can't leave. I'll stay here with Liam, just go and make sure she's okay."
Teleportation was becoming easier by the minute, even when Jade had two or three passengers with her. It didn't require the whole candle method as it previously had, her magic being strong enough to transport almost anything, regardless of the amount or weight.
Dr Deaton, Malia and Stiles were already waiting for them, all three after receiving a phone call from their local school druid. He clicked on a flashlight, laying the girl on the metal table, wanting to waste no time in the examination. "Pupils dilate normally, heart rate is 250. Evidence of an allogeneic skin graft on the right shoulder. The silver substance on her lips, now that's something I have never seen before. It almost looks like mercury," he observed, stepping back slightly when Tracy's body twitched.
"Can we not just give her a shot to kill her?" Malia bluntly asked, not understanding why everyone— excluding Jade— had been against the idea. It was the most logical one that they could think of so far. She was dangerous. Lydia and Kira had found out that while on her escapades last night, Tracy had stopped by the hospital to murder her psychiatrist. Who was to say that she wasn't going to turn around and do the exact same thing to them?
"I may argue against euthanasia," Deaton cast a wary glance at the witch in the corner, murderous daggers being stared at the girl on the table. Scott stepped to the opposite side of his boss, half of his body acting as a shield to Tracy, a precaution in case she lost it. "But I'm not opposed to some extra security." He picked up a jar, sealing them into the room with a line of mountain ash.
"So what do we now if you won't let us kill her?"
Deaton ignored the girl's lack of a filter, trying to answer the question as if it had been phrased in a better way. "We try and figure out what she is."