A few days later. Ratonm, New Mexico. night. in a penthouse.
We walked into the penthouse.
Cass " Oh No."
Dean and i walked over to the stove. The dinner was being burnt.
Cass walked over to the dead body.
Jack "He cooking body parts, again."
Sam shook his head, looking around " I got nothing"
Dean breathed out annoyed " Aw come on."
Sam asked irritated "Seriously? How dose this keep happening? I thought we had him this time. Look at this, he's all cut up. No restraints, like the last time."
Dean" Look at this, he's all cut up. No restraints like last time."
Castiel" He was killed recently too. I suspect he was very much alive when the cutting started."
Jack asked confused " I don't understand. Why don't any of them fight back?"
Dean"Yeah. Who would just let themselves be eaten? Hey, I'll say it again, my money's on witchcraft."
I nodded "yeah, i think that too"
Rowena showed up" Ouch you. Always blaming the witches."
Dean"Because a lot of times it's witches."
Me " Rowena, your tracking spell was suppose to make things easier."
Rowena" Hu! There I was, in the middle of a glorious rosewater and vanilla oil massage hidden away at an exclusive desert spa. when you called me begging for my help."
Dean" Well, because we've been chasing this guy for weeks. What's the point."
Rowena " My point, Dean, is that you asked for my assistance, and I obliged. And while the killer eluded us, it certainly looks as if he was here quite recently. I'd call that a success."
Dean" Oh, yeah, that's a success. Sam. "
He tossed the wallet of the victim to Sam who caught it.
Rowena " Hello, Castiel."
Dean"Okay, looks like our dinner guest here, his name is Dennis Barron. He's 43, and this is his house. No signs of forced entry and no restraints."
Me " It's all the same."
Jack "Well, not everything."
We looked at him.
He was holding snake skin in his hands.
Me "Maybe it's his pet. "
Sam "I mean, no pictures in his phone. And, uh, this place doesn't exactly scream "snake guy"."
Rowena "Not enough Pantera posters, for one."
Jack started to cough again.
We looked at him.
Jack "There was some pepper on something. I don't know. I'm fine. I'm not dying."
Dean " Okay, so, what? This guy's some real Houdini? "
Cass "Well, however he's avoiding us, he's now claimed the lives of at least six people in northern New Mexico."
Dean"That we know about."
Rowena nodded "Aye, but this is the first one I've seen in the flesh. Did they all have these blackened lips?"
Sam nodded " Yeah, or just black patches of skin around their face and neck."
Dean"Yeah, but we've been more focused on the "missing eyeballs and cannibalism" angle."
Rowena shot Dean an annoyed look.
Jack" Do the black lips mean something?"
Rowena" Darling boy, everything means something. Be a dear and bring the snakeskin."
At a diner.
Sam and Rowena were back at the motel doing some research.
I was sitting across from Dean in the booth.
Dean "You know, I got to say, I got a pretty good feeling about bringing Rowena in on this one. I think her and Sam have a chance of cracking it."
I nodded "They do have many books."
Dean nodded " Yes, they do."
Then he looked at his cup.
He clenched his eyes shut and grimaced.
Then he let out a sigh.
Me "Handsome?"
Dean looked at me " I'm fine."
Me " What you're doing, even just sitting here and having a cup of coffee, .... I can't imagine the willpower it's taking to keep Michael imprisoned."
He nodded.
Me " Are you really fine?"
Dean shook his head " I don't know, Leny. But that's what I'm supposed to say, right? "I'm fine," keep on moving? That's what we all say."
I shook my head, sighing "No, Dean."
Dean" Okay. There's this pounding in my head. It never stops. Michael's in there, and he is fighting hard to get out. And I can't let my guard down not for a second. I'm barely even sleeping."
I nodded "yeah, i know"
He looked at me confused.
Me "when we are lying bed. I know that you just lie there and keep me in your arms because you don't wanna wake me up. "
Dean "you wake up?"
Me "Your heartbeat picks up, Dean. And you let out deep sighs. And i am an empath, dummy"
Dean grimaced "right, forgot about that one"
Then he sighed "But no point in complaining about it. It's on me."
I shook my head "No. It's on us. We are here to help you."
Dean nodded " I know. I know that. And I appreciate that. I do."
Jack was in the restroom.
Dean" Look, before the kid gets back -- I know I agreed to give you guys time-"
I nodded "stop right there- we will find a solution."
Dean"Okay. But if -- if you don't we still have Plan B."
I shook my head "Dean, come on."
Dean"Coffin. Ocean. Done."
I sighed.
Dean "you promises, Len"
I clenched my jaw "i know"
Jack walked back to us and sat down next to me.
He cleared his throat.
I eyed him " Are you all right?"
Jack nodded "I'm fine."
Dean "Hey, see? Look at that. Everybody's fine."
Jack asked confused " What?"
Dean"Nothing."
Me " Okay, um these killings -- it seems like there's a ritualistic quality to the crime scenes, right? It's almost liturgical."
The boys looked at me confused.
I rolled my eyes " It means religious."
Dean nodded " Yeah. See, that one I knew. "
Jack nodded "ah"
Me " Maybe we're wrong and -- and this isn't a monster at all. Maybe this is just a deranged person who's been getting lucky."
Jack"Anyone who could do this is a monster. I mean, even if they're human."
Dean "Kid's not wrong."
His phone started to ring and he answered "Yeah....Okay.... Got it."
Then he hung up " Looks like Sam and Rowena have something."
At the motel.
Sam "Okay, so, we've made some progress."
Dean" This is like an A.V. Club presentation."
Jack asked confused "What's an A.V. Club?"
Cass " It's a special group for people who do not play sports."
Dean nodded and pointed at Cass "Yeah, him. He's A.V. Club."
Cass looked at him offended.
Rowena"Excuse me, boys, but this is a bit more pressing than your hilarious banter. I believe we are hunting a gorgon, an ancient, cursed being with an affinity for snakes and a hunger for human flesh."
Dean" Snakes for hair? That's like Medusa."
Rowena asked surprised "You know about Medusa?"
Dean nodded " Oh, yeah. Clash of the Titans? Turns guys to stone?"
Rowena rolled her eyes amused "Oh. That's the exaggerated version. It's not stone. More of a venom-induced paralysis. Hence, the blackened lips."
Castiel"And the fact that the victims didn't fight back."
Rowena" And the snakeskin, which, frankly, was a bit on the nose."
Sam nodded "Yeah. So we expanded our search based on this new information, and we found 17 unexplained deaths that could fit our guy, last three months, moving west across the southern U.S. "
He showed us the chart where it outlined the death tracks.
Jack" 17 people."
Sam nodded " Yeah."
Rowena" Legend has it, every few months, the gorgon goes on a spree and gorges itself."
Dean"Like a snake. That makes sense."
Castiel"So, is there anything in there that explains why this gorgon keeps eluding us?"
Rowena "Uh some lore says that a gorgon can tell people's fates, and, by consuming human eyes, they may "glimpse the future"."
Sam "Yeah. We think that's how he sees us coming."
Castiel"So, then even if we use your tracking spell again, he'll know."
Jack " So how do we get him? "
Sam sighed "I don't know."
At the motel. morning.
Dean and Cas had left to stop by at he truck store. Apparently a new dead body had been found.
I was on the phone with Dean. He was on speaker.
Dean " So, Noah can see you, me, Sammy and Rowena."
Rowena" For the record, I don't love being included on his little hit list."
Dean "But can't see Cass and Jack?"
Castiel" It's an odd and glaring omission."
Sam shook his head "No. It's our shot. I mean, this guy -- for some reason, he -- he can't see angels."
Jack shook his head " I'm not an angel."
Dean " Well, apparently you're close enough. "
Castiel "So, if Jack and I approach Noah on our own, we -- we may surprise him."
Sam nodded " Yeah. I-It's risky. But I-I think it's probably our best play."
Dean " Rowena, get your tracking spell ready."
Then i hung up.
Sam " Okay. Everything you need?"
Rowena"Aye, but I should mix up an antidote to the gorgon's poison in case one of you boys gets sloppy. I'll just need a wee bit of antivenom."
Sam" Antivenom is a controlled substance. How do you --"
Rowena shook her head " Don't worry. I have a plan."
at the vet.
I rushed inside with Rowena while holding a dog in my arms.
Well, the dog was Jack. Rowena had turned him into a dog to get the meds.
Rowena " Help! Please help us! It's our wee doggie -- he's so sick! He's not responding."
Me "He's lethargic. We -- We think he might have eaten something."
Rowena asked irritated ""We think"? "We think"? My step-daughter means that it's my fault for not keeping an eye on the poor dear. She thinks that everything is my fault."
I said through gritted teeth "Can we not fight in front of the vet? I guess it's not entirely your fault that you looked away!"
Rowena "She blames me for everything! Just because her parents divorced because of me"
Nurse "Here, I'll just-- Let me take him."
I handed her the dog.
Nurse" What's his name? "
Me "Jack."
Rowena "Wee Jackie boy."
Nurse" His breathing's okay. Let me set him down in the back, check his vitals".
Rowena" Thank you. Thank you so much. Please help him."
The Nurse walked away.
I looked at Rowena "What are you doing?"
Rowena" Ohh, I mean I realize it's not pretending to be the FBI. But there are other ways of doing things, Elena. Plus I thought my performance was quite magnificent."
I rolled my eyes "Oscar worthy"
Outside.
Jack walked out and handed Rowena the meds.
Rowena"Oh, this will work perfectly."
Jack" Great. Just wish I could've got it before she took my temperature. "
My jaw dropped as he grimaced uncomfortably.
Me "oh my god"
Jack walked away with his head down.
I nodded " Right. All right. Let's get."
Rowena "Oh, uh, a moment, Elena. "
I asked confused "What? "
Rowena "What did you do to that boy? When I cast the transformation spell, I felt something else pushing back, some other thing inside him. It's volatile magic, powerful, and it's stitched to him like some kind of parasite. I was curious before, but now I am worried, so I'll ask you again, Elena. What did you do?"
Me "Okay, listen. Jack's being careful. We're all being careful. That's all you need to know."
Rowena "Fine. Don't tell me. But using dangerous, mysterious magic, regardless of the cost, that's a very on-brand me thing to do."
I nodded "Well, thank you."
Rowena"Of course, Elena. Until very recently, I was the villain."
At the motel.
Dean" All right. Everybody ready?"
Jack nodded "Yes."
Rowena"He's less than an hour west of us and not moving."
Sam" All right, well, break out the silver blades. Maggie says decapitation is the only way to kill these things."
Dean "But if we cut off their head, then is more creatures gonna crawl out?"
Jack's jaw dropped "Wait. Other creatures?"
Sam " H-He's talking about Clash of the Titans again."
Dean" We don't know."
Rowena"A few drops of this concoction should counteract any poison. Theoretically."
She handed Castiel the potion.
Castiel""Theoretically." That's comforting."
Rowena" Yeah, well, assuming you're not all paralyzed or eaten... off with his head."
at another motel.
Cass and Jack were the first one to go in.
The boys and i rushed inside when we heard Jack yell out Cass' name.
Cass was on the ground, paralyzed.
Jack was on the other side of the room, on the ground
Noah " Hello, Dean. Wish I could say it's nice to meet you in person."
Dean nodded " Yeah. It's a real pleasure. "
I attacked Noah but he threw me against the kitchen counter. I cried out in pain.
Sam landed on the ground next to me.
Then Dean fought Noah but Noah smashed Dean's head into the wall .
Dean fell to the ground unconscious.
Me "Dean? Dean!?"
Noah rushed to the front door but Jack cut his head off.
I looked at Jack surprised "Check on Cass. I got Dean"
Then i rushed over to Dean while Jack went to Cass.
Sam crawled over to me.
I shook Dean "Dean? Dean?"
No response.
I shook him "Wake up! Hey! Dean? Guys! Hey. Wake up. Dean."
Sam asked confused "Dean?"
I looked at Sam with wide eyes "he isn't waking up"
At the bunker. At med room.
Maggie asked worried "W-Why won't he wake up? Is he -- -"
I shook my head " It's a head injury."
Maggie nodded " I'll get ice."
She rushed out.
Sam "Cass, do it."
Castiel tried to heal Dean.
Me "Well? "
Cass shook his head "I still can't heal him. I can't even see what's going on inside his head."
Jack walked to us " I can help."
Castiel"No. Jack. I appreciate what you did for me, but you cannot afford to burn off any more of your soul. "
Jack's face dropped and he walked out.
Rowena asked surprised "So that's what you have him doing?"
Me " We'll talk about it later, Rowena. Now is not a good time."
Castiel" Maybe the gorgon did something to Dean before he --"
Rowena" Smashed his face into the wall?"
Cass walked out pissed off.
Sam" What do we do?"
Rowena" Clean his wound. Make him comfortable, then we'll see."
Then she walked out.
I looked at Dean.
Sam "i'll get something to clean up the wound"
I nodded as he walked out.
Then i put a hand on Dean's chest.
suddenly he jerked up, panicking.
Me "Dean, Dean! hey, it's okay"
Suddenly he jumped off the bed and started throwing stuff across the room.
He yelled while going crazy "Where is he?! Where is he?!"
I yelled "No, wait! Dean! Dean! No! Stop! Dean, stop it! It's -- It's me! - You're in the bunker!"
Dean yelled "I know where I am! That's not --"
Then he froze.
Sam"Dean."
Dean turned to us "He's gone. Michael. He's gone."
Jack asked shocked "How?"
Dean scoffed, shaking his head " This is my fault. I let my guard down. This is my fault."
Castiel"No, Dean -- -"
Dean yelled " I told you! I told you to let me take that coffin ride to the bottom of the ocean!"
I nodded " Okay, Dean, j-just --"
We heard Maggie screaming.
Then we rushed into the control room.
dead hunters were on the ground. their eyes were burnt out.
Sam yelled "Maggie?! "
Maggie ran to us "Sam! "
Suddenly she glowed. She screamed then fell to the ground, dead, with her eyes burned out.
Sam knelt down to her body "Maggie!"
We looked around.
Everywhere were dead hunters. oh my god.
We heard footsteps coming closer.
Rowena/Michael showed up "Hello, boys, my Queen. I could've burned them all, but I'm feeling very hands-on."
Dean "Michael."
Michael/Rowena nodded " That's right. I thought you'd appreciate this vessel."
Cass aimed an angel blade at her "You let her go."
Michael scoffed, amused "Oh. Please. She's much sturdier than she looks. Must be the hundreds of years of magic."
I shook my head "Rowena never would have let you in."
Michael"She didn't want to say yes, but i was able to convince her by threatening to kill all of you. I had no intention of keeping my word, but I think she knew that. If only Dean had used that coffin when he had the chance."
Dean "Never too late for a good idea. Sam, get the cuffs."
Sam stood up "yeah"
Rowena threw us all back to the ground.
Michael" That's not very nice. And if we're not being nice, what if you couldn't breathe? "
He snapped in her fingers.
Sam ,Dean and Cass started to gasp for air.
Michael "That's a terrible feeling, isn't it? What if you were also blind? "
He snapped again.
Dean gasped out "Sam. Where are you? Elena"
Michael "And what if you just hurt? But fun as this is, I think no more games. This time, you all die. This time, the world burns."
They all groaned while gasping for air.
Jack " Michael!"
Michael threw a flash at Jack who didn't even flinch.
Jack's eyes started to glow.
I couldn't move. My body was kept in place by Michael's magic.
Jack "Let them go."
Michael" You think you can match me, boy? This power you have now -- it's nothing, just a crutch. "
Jack threw an energy ball at Michael who fell back.
The guys stood up. They were back to normal.
I could move again.
Michael stood up and threw an energy ball back at Jack "How dare you!"
Jack fell to the ground, coughing .
Michael" Burning off your soul? You'll run out soon enough."
Jack stood up, coughing " It's worth the cost."
Michael said annoyed " I should have killed you when I had the chance."
Jack" I feel the same."
Michael threw energy balls at Jack who didn't flinch " I am the commander of the host! I am the cleanser of worlds! I will not be challenged by a child!"
Jack yelled "I'm not a child! I'm the son of Lucifer. I'm a Hunter. I am a Winchester!"
He grabbed Michael and Michael's grace left Rowena's body.
Castiel " Jack! No!"
Rowena fell to the ground unconscious.
Michael's grace was flying around the ceiling.
Jack "you won't hurt anyone ever again!"
Suddenly there was this high pitched noise again.
Michael's grace turned into flames.
It burned and a bit of the grace flew back into Jack.
No one said anything.
Me "Jack?"
Jack" Michael -- He's dead."
Sam " Jack, a-are you, uh --"
Jack turned to us " I'm me again. "
suddenly he had light all around him as his wings spread out as a shadow behind him.
His eyes were glowing golden again as he smiled.