The Universe's Mixer

Dean was a happy man. A very happy man. He was having his own special show of local talent. There was the Black Canary in her fishnets and leather corset, and she'd brought along some tasty guest dancers. The government agent who wore the tie with corset and so short skirt it shouldn't be one, and the brainy cutie who wore little more than an undersized lab coat. All were in some kickass heels, and all were dancing just for him.

The hunter didn't think twice about enjoying. Not even when one woman was his girlfriend, one was an ex of sorts, and one was edging day by day closer to sister than conquest interest. He just enjoyed the hotness before him.

Now and then Dinah would direct the other two women in how to please him, at least visually. There might have been a kiss or two, some hands roaming in ways they normally wouldn't, and it was all very good. Almost satisfying, as Dean was only allowed to watch the show. He didn't get involved.

He licked his lips, thinking of just what he might do with these women. Or more likely just one of these women. Especially when he got her all alone. For now, he just leaned back and enjoyed.

Dean was reluctant to let Sam go, but his little brother's logic made sense. They needed to find Fred or whatever had hurt her; he had to. He sighed softly as he got into the Impala and pulled out his phone to get a little help from his main squeeze. He knew she wasn't a fan of computers, but he didn't think Dinah would hold back helping him for a friend.

"Pick up, Dinah." It was a habit, talking to the phone and the person on the other end as if anything or one could hear him. He started up the car, hit speaker, and started driving toward the Clock Tower where he'd seen it last.

He continued driving, hoping that it wouldn't take long for the superhero that was his girlfriend to pick up. They'd find Fred; they'd save her. Dean wasn't letting one of his friends disappear again.

Dean wasn't sure what to make of the calls he'd gotten recently. At first he thought they were just a joke, but when Fred didn't pick up, he became a little concerned. There seemed to be some large slimy purple beast in the brainy female's building. The first few people to call could see it in the window, looking as if either it were trying to mate with said window, get some sun, or escape - yes, this sounded like a bad joke.

The older Winchester would have accepted the calls as just weird jokes, but then there were others from Fred's actual building. They gave the woman's apartment number - they'd heard weird croaks and thumps. Dean's concern was growing, so he made the call. Or calls. Only one was answered, or someone picked up. Someone, something, it didn't matter. The person on the other end was not Fred Burkle.

He called Sam, picked him up from the Bunker, and drove over to Fred's place.

"I don't know what we're about to walk in on, but if anyone's hurt her..." He winced. "You know what I mean." It was easy sometimes to forget that Sam had been that 'anyone' at one time. Dean believed Sam wouldn't be again, not if Dean had anything to say about it.

Once the planning was underway for her new costume, Dinah knew that it was time to go home and explain things to Dean. She wanted to check on Zoe too, but she couldn’t keep this secret any longer than she already had. It wasn’t that she’d intended to keep the fact that she’d had to have the Hulk come and help her dodge bullets. It was just that she’d wanted to do something about it before she told Dean. She knew that he wanted her safe and she wanted to be able to show him that she was doing the best she could. She also really didn’t want him to worry. Sure, she knew that that sort of thing came with the territory, but at the very least she didn’t want him worrying more than necessary.

She let herself into their apartment and looked around to see if the man in question was home just yet. The apartment itself wasn’t quite as festive as the previous year, though she had made sure that they had a tree. She’d been cautious about putting up much else in the way of decorations because last year she’d been overcompensating in an attempt to keep her mind off Jake’s absence. And it had backfired, really. Taking everything down after Dean had decided to go off hunting hadn’t been that much fun.

She couldn’t help but worry that this year might be a repeat of the last year. Then again, he’d returned not too long after and that had been the first time they’d actually exchanged ‘I love yous’ so it hadn’t been all that bad in the end. Still, she hoped that this conversation went better than the reveal about her talk with Eric.

( We wish you a merry threadmas... )

Sam wasn't as close to some of the people mentioned in the KWIT City news announcement as some, but that didn't make him any less angry about it. Freaking Jesse... if this place could even take someone with his powers, then it was more powerful than Sam had given it credit for. He was angry at failing to save people yet again.

He also really needed to see his brother. Dean hadn't been among the listed missing, but that didn't stop Sam from needing to reassure himself that his older brother was alive and well. Sam knew that he was dependent to an extent that some might see as unhealthy, but Dean was the only person that he'd had at his side throughout this entire life and even through things that would chase away just about any other person on the face of the earth.

After the announcement, Sam sent Dean a text with the request to meet him. He even chose a bar. Drinking was a thing that should happen anyway and he might as well choose somewhere that had burgers and good beer on tap. Being in a public place might have been a plus at the moment too. If they were completely isolated, it might be easier to fly off the handle about the people that had been lost. Sam knew that at least Jen, Jesse, and Annie were important to Dean in some way or another.

He knew that he was perhaps being selfish in taking Dean away from his girlfriend who probably also was dealing with those losses, but he didn't much care just now. He wouldn't insist that he stayed out all night. Just a couple of beers.

Sam made it to the bar first and slid into the stool and ordered a drink. He didn't bother to wait for Dean. He just wanted to not be entirely sober. And while this wasn't normal for the younger Winchester, it wasn't unheard of. Particularly when faced with yet another failure. Even if it was outside of his power, that didn't matter. Failure to save people was failure to save people.

Dean went home with his treasured booty. He took the time to grind and brew it up; it was quickly poured into a thermos. He headed out the door with one other destination in mind before heading to his final one.

He got yet another bag that made him more than a little happy. It smelled so good. And soon, he was on his way to the correct destination. He had a few places in mind. He touched the ring Dinah had given him, just a light nudge. He wasn’t in trouble, so he wouldn’t activate it; he didn’t want to frighten her.

Instead he used his brain. He knew where she liked to perch, and soon he was standing at the foot of one of the buildings. Pulling his own comm link from his pocket, he sent a signal to her and waited. If he wasn’t in the right place, he would be eventually.

( ---- )

( Abraham wasn't a fan of running from zombies. )

Fred hadn't headed right in to the building. She couldn't; it didn't seem right. She could have done it without upsetting anyone, but she didn't. She just stood there with a bag in one hand and a cup carrier in the other. Four cups of what had to be coffee set in the carrier; she thought this was a good way to thank Dinah, as well as the two fellows along with her. Dinah had warned Fred that Sam would be coming along. Fred didn't know if Sam was prepared to see her or not. She'd suspect so.

"Dinah, I need to use the computers to link up to the City and figure out what's wrong with it? I promise you'll be able to use it later. Probably. I'll figure out a way to fix it. Probably." Her brows furrowed as she worked on the way to ask permission to possibly cannibalize the Clock Tower's computers. She didn't want to do that, but there was a possibility, wasn't it?

The brainy female shifted her weight back and forth as she waited. There was a queasy feeling in her stomach. Sam was going to be there. She was going to ask for something awful without having a real idea of what might have to happen. She looked around and stood a little straighter as the Impala came around the corner.

She hadn't gotten much sleep, but she'd hopefully gotten enough to not look completely out of it.

Sam might have been happy to camp out in the Men of Letters bunker for months discovering all of the secrets within. They'd started out slowly, just in case there were traps. Room by room and so far each room was a marvel. The least exciting place was of course the dormitories and Sam had almost immediately started to move his things in there. The other apartment might have belong to a Sam, but it had never felt like his. He'd dropped into it just like he'd dropped into a life with people who had interacted with the other version of himself. The version that had never lost his soul, never hurt people that he shouldn't have.

In spite of his desire to just hole up in the bunker, life on the outside continued. There were still things to be hunted, still people to be helped. This was a small way to try to atone for the things he'd done.

Currently, they were traipsing through an old house in search of a potential ghost. Of course Dean had called him in on it but there was an extra body involved in this hunt. Sam liked Dinah, but that didn't mean that he was thrilled with the fact that he'd suddenly become the third wheel to what he could only term was the least romantic date ever.

He pulled ahead just a bit and waited for Dean to catch up with him, hoping that they were out of earshot of the superheroine.

"Dean," he said in a furtive whisper. "What is she doing here?"

After all, ghosts weren't exactly in the Black Canary's wheelhouse. She didn't even have a gun. She had a container of salt, but that was about it. Even Jo had been better equipped on their first outing.

Sam carried the key that he'd found with him whenever he went out. Just in case. He'd done some research on the symbol carved into the key and had found mostly rumors and speculation and nothing concrete. He still didn't know why the City had left it for him or what he was supposed to do with it, but he was intrigued.

Unfortunately, his research was just leading to further questions. Which was why Sam took to long walks around the City. If it wanted him to do something with the damn key, it'd show him the place, right? Maybe.

He was just about ready to turn around and go home when he spotted the doorway. It looked like an underground bunker or something. He couldn't help but wander a little closer since he hadn't seen this particular doorway before. Upon closer inspection, he saw a symbol carved on the handle that matched the symbol on the key.

Sam's breath caught with excitement and he tried not to get his hopes up too much as he fished the key out of his pocket and tried it.

His jaw dropped ever so slightly as the key worked and the door pushed open. He moved forward onto a balcony overlooking what could only be described as a war room. It had a switchboard, a ham radio, and a telegraph. As he moved further in, he spotted a room lined with books off of the circular war room. He was naturally drawn to the books and started to investigate. It was only once he looked a little bit that he realized that this was the sort of library he could get lost in.

"What is this place?" Sam murmured as he traced the titles of tomes thought long lost and those that he'd never even heard of on everything from demons to werewolves to just about every other piece of mythology he could imagine.

He finally started looking at the card catalog, which was extensive. And next to that was a membership roster. Sam opened it up and saw the same symbol with the title "Men of Letters." He silently scanned the membership roster, though he wasn't sure why. It was only when he came to a familiar name that he stopped, blinked, and then stared at the page until the letters no longer seemed to make sense.

Henry Winchester.

His dad hadn't talked much about their grandfather except to mention that he'd left when dad was young. But he had mentioned the name. Henry. Was this a coincidence? Or a trick of the City?

All Sam knew was that he wanted to share this with his brother. This place seemed filled with questions and together they could maybe find some of the answers. Sam took out his cell phone, fully expecting to have to step outside to make this call. After all, an underground bunker wasn't the best place to make a call. He was surprised when he saw that his phone had full signal in here. Not wanting to question it for now, Sam dialed the phone and waited for Dean to pick up.

Life very rarely slowed down for Dean and Dinah. She'd given him gift certificates for couples' cooking lessons for Christmas. Her intentions had been good. After all, she burned just about everything she tried to cook. And though he said he didn't mind that they lived on take-out, she'd thought that a lesson or two might be fun for an outing for them.

She just hadn't expected over half a year to pass before they finally used them.

Even now, there was a lot going on and taking a night out seemed like something that probably wasn't the best idea. Even so, Dinah firmly believed that even superheroes and hunters needed a night off sometimes. Which was why she'd all but insisted that they put aside their current worries (barring the City being on the verge of destruction, of course) and go to a cooking class together.

They'd even managed to make a meal together that was... well, a little better than edible. It wasn't too bad at all, actually. Nothing had been burned and perhaps that was because Dinah had been determined to live in the moment for the night. To truly be present and not thinking about the dozen or so things that probably needed her attention.

Small doggie bag of leftovers in hand, Dinah smiled as she took Dean's hand and started to walk toward the Impala.

Dinah hadn't acted right away after her encounter with the blonde vampire who claimed to be covered under the truce with Eric. It wasn't that she was ready to let that slide, but she didn't want simply react. She wanted to take her time to think the situation over and go in with a clear head and a game plan. This wasn't going to be like when he'd blindsided her while she was Christmas shopping.

She also knew that she needed to talk to Dean. Whatever step she took next needed to be something they both agreed on.

On the night that she'd chosen to talk to Dean, she beat him home. She even had dinner ready. Take-out Chinese, since that would probably be more conducive to coming up with a plan of action than her cooking.

It was perhaps funny and sad that almost half a year after she'd given Dean the gift certificate for them to take a few sessions of a cooking class together and they still hadn't made it to do that. It seemed like this year had yet to have any downtime for either of them.

She waited in the kitchen, stealing a few nibbles from the egg rolls as she hoped that Dean came home soon. It was long past any normal dinner time, but they usually had dinner together later at night when she came home from patrol and he from any hunts he might be doing. So this was the 'normal' for them at least.

Dean hadn't seen Jo in a while, but he had a feeling she was still around. Something told him that he'd know if she were gone - mainly that a little creature by the name of Fred would let him know. Fred had been the one to tell him that Jack was gone. Perhaps she'd meant to tell Dinah, but the strange too smart for her own good woman had told him instead. He'd passed the information along.

He'd also told Dinah he was concerned about Jo, not having had a chance to speak with the hunter in a while, so he was going to go to her new place. He couldn't bring himself to call the bar by its name; it was a twisted joke, and Dean just wasn't going to join in on the laughter.

Purgatory was more than a little off putting, but he forged his way in, trying to ignore all the things he wanted to end. There were too many to try to act now, and rumor was there were precautions in place. Maybe Jo had mentioned it, maybe she hadn't. It didn't matter now; the place made his skin crawl, and that was saying something.

Settling down at the bar, the hunter's side of the bar, he order a beer and started to get a better look at the place, wishing he hadn't. As he did so, he noticed someone he hadn't seen in a while, and said someone was on the wrong side of the bar, serving the wrong kind of people.

"Son of a bitch."

Dean couldn't believe the crap they were dealing with, and he couldn't believe just how good it felt to be digging through said crap with his little brother, soul and all. It wasn't something he'd done in a while, or at least something he'd felt good about or right about. There had always been something missing. That look or that feeling had been gone, and now it was back.

They'd had to clean up a small ghost problem at one spot. Had to explain away a situation in another. They'd even pulled out the FBI badges, that actually said "CBI" but who was paying that much attention. They hadn't used every trick in the book, but quite a few to get where they thought the bastard was hiding.

The docks. The boys had been to the docks, or dock like area, and on at least one occasion had seen Sam possessed. That wasn't the case now. Nor were they dealing with vampires - though that had been more of a mill. Either way, Dean couldn't exactly hide the smile or the grimace when he thought of his brother; he was torn. He was glad Sam was back to normal or as normal as the Sasquatch got, but he wasn't glad that Sam was caught here. That he'd have to deal with the guilt. They'd have to have a talk about a particular death soon, but right now...right now they'd hunt demon and do what they were raised to do.

"This is it." The older Winchester motioned to a warehouse. "Why's it always warehouses?"

Sam had spent long enough hating himself. Oh, he still hadn't forgiven him self for the things that he'd done without a soul, but wallowing wasn't the way to handle it. He woke up one morning and realized that he needed to be doing something. He needed to get out there and try to make amends.

That meant getting back to hunting, and getting to a point where Dean didn't feel like he had to babysit all the time.

The first thing Sam did was head out to the corner store to buy a newspaper. It was strange leaving the house for the first time in days, possibly even weeks. The sunlight was harsh after sitting in the half-darkness of his apartment for so long, but it also gave him a small sense of hope. Maybe he could start over. Maybe he could make up for the things he'd done.

Sam returned home before the usual time when Dean would come over in the morning. He didn't look at the paper right away. Instead, he took out the waffle maker and waffle mix and started to make breakfast. It was partially a thank you to Dean for being there, and partially a way to show his older brother that he was on the way to okay.

Once the waffles had been cooked, Sam settled in with the paper and started to look for any stories that might point to something that they could hunt.

Dean made sure Sam was comfortable. He also made sure that the weird basket from Fred had been set to the side, almost hidden. It was a basket full of waffle related items: batters, preserves, whipped cream, syrups, even little pitchers and dishes. No waffle iron, but when he was putting things away, the older Winchester found the waffle irons; he didn’t think too hard about that one, just chalked it up to the City. He really hoped whatever version of his brother that had lived here before the current one...he hoped that Sam hadn’t shared a weird waffle fetish with the brainy loon.

The basket had come with a card, and wanting to see if it was safe or not, Dean had read it. So, I heard you got your soul back... Dean stopped right there and shoved the card in a drawer with cooking utensils, not thinking Sam would go looking through those drawers anytime soon.

“Okay, Sammy, I’m heading out for a bit. Call if you need anything.” He didn’t go kiss the guy on the top of his head, nor did he pat him on the shoulder. He just gave Sam a wave and headed out. He had a plan.

( ---- )

Dean was reluctant to let Dinah go off with Fred, but they both knew what had to be done. Or something like that. He gave her one more kiss, silently promising that he would return to her, before he let her go. Slipping into the Impala, he followed the women for a few blocks before turning another corner and heading to Sam's apartment.

It was strange that they lived in real places, or as real as the City allowed. The brothers had few opportunities to live in one spot for long, and when they did, it was usually after something very bad happened. Dean had lived with Lisa only after making a promise to Sam, only after Sam had sacrificed himself. Sam had lived with Jessica for how long when he decided to leave his family and become a regular boy - a college student? They had become isolated, yet here in the City, they didn't have to be so separated. So, why were they?

Because Sam wasn't himself.

No, it was more than that. Probably, possibly. Dean wasn't going to let himself think about it right now. He was good at avoiding the whole thinking thing. He was damn good, and right now he was going to have to act, in more ways than one.

Along the way, Dean had picked up a bucket of chicken, a six pack, and a pie. He'd also made sure he had rope - the kind they sold to survivalists and worrywarts, it collapsed down to seemingly nothing - and a good bit of holy water. He'd hidden away a silver blade or three in his jacket, and he was ready. Or as ready as he could be.

A few minutes after getting out of the Impala, the older Winchester stood at Sam's door and knocked.

While Fred showered, Dinah made two calls. The first was for food delivery. She knew that Fred was hungry and thought that they’d all be better off if there was some sort of food available. Though she was pretty sure that Dean might not want to eat when she said what she had to say.

She just hoped that Dean wasn’t with Sam right now. The important thing was that Sam wasn’t tipped off that they might be onto... whatever it was that was going. While Fred was washing up, she picked up the phone and dialed, pacing the apartment and trying not to worry too much about his safety while she waited for him to pick up.

After all, if Sam wasn’t Sam, there was a chance that he would try to hurt Dean next. Then again, she knew full well that Dean was going to be hurt by this in one way or another. Even if that hurt might not be physical.

( The truth is out there. )

Dean had been so caught up in the Fred case that he hadn't noticed the City doing more than defying normal science. It was going full tilt screwed up scifi, and he didn't know what to make of it. He was on his way to check on Fred, maybe see his own personal superheroine while he was at it. His thumb grazed the palmside of the ring, but he didn't try to activate it. It was strange to feel comfort in a lo-jack.

The older Winchester glanced down at his watch and thought of shaking it, but he knew it wouldn't matter. Things had been off for nearly a day, and he didn't think it would get better. This was not good. He'd have to ask the two women he was going to see if they'd seen something like this. Dinah hadn't been in the City much longer than he had, but still, she might have seen something in that whacky verse of hers before all this.

As he was going to see Fred, one of those he knew could appreciate a good burger, he decided to hit up a burger stand that had become one of his favorites. The people of the City, the ones born there, seemed okay with the strangeness. Dean wasn't, but at the time, there wasn't much he could do. He had a few ideas of who to ask, but it'd have to wait.

He got in line to wait and stare at a dark starlit sky that should have at least had a little bit of sun in it.

Dinah had just pulled her bike into the garage when she received the call from Jack Heart. Her first instinct was to wonder exactly why the mayor would be calling her. As Jack started to explain, she felt a little weak from the shock but she also resisted the urge to laugh out of sheer relief.

Fred was alive. She was in rough shape and Dinah couldn’t visit her until the morning, but she was alive. Jack had warned that there was some memory loss, but Dinah could only hope that that would come back in time.

Whatever the case, her friend was alive. Dinah thanked the mayor, trying not to wonder out loud as to why he was the first to know about this. For now, she was grateful for the fact that Fred had survived the fire at her place.

She let herself into the shop and made sure that everything was still in order there. She hadn’t been to her flower shop for awhile and she missed it. Truthfully, she was really hoping that she would be able to catch some downtime once she had made sure that the City was safe. It seemed like lately Dinah and everyone else she cared about had been running themselves ragged as they rushed to put out one fire after another.

Dinah caught sight of something in the window of the building as she went to start checking things out. She jumped before she realized that whatever it was out there was person-shaped but wasn’t moving. The Canary wasn’t sure what that meant, but she couldn’t just hide in here. She wasn’t the sort to hide and hope that the bad things just went away.

What she found out front wasn’t what she expected at all. The statue was eerily lifelike and her first thought was that this was just the latest in the long line of Joker’s sick pranks. It was only once she inspected it closer that she started to wonder if it was a statue indeed. Or rather, it was most definitely a statue, but there were certain things about the pose and the expression on the statue’s face that she didn’t think any sculptor would have chosen to sculpt.

She also found the petrified flower-shaped bomb stuck in the sidewalk. She frowned and looked from the flower to the bronzed Joker.

Finally, she sighed and made her way upstairs. It seemed that she had another mystery to unravel, but for now she was exhausted and just wanted to share the news about Fred with Dean and curl up to the man that she hadn’t gotten much alone time with lately.

( Never a dull moment. )